Father Luke Larner, priest in charge of Saint Andrews, Biscot, shares the vision for the new community garden and wellbeing hub they are creating at the church.
Three years ago I was sent off to Bedford as an apprentice, or curate, as we call it in the church. I learned a lot, but we really missed Luton while we were away. Then I heard about this opportunity Biscot, and I came to look around before the interview. The church wardens happened to be working outside at the time. I saw how a few members of the congregation had built a peace garden round the back of the church during lockdown, using old pews to make raised beds. They told me how they wanted to use the outdoor spaces around the church to connect with the local community, including the doctor’s surgery next door.
Seeing how they were creating beauty in a densely populated and concreted-over area of Luton really captured my imagination. So when I took the post we started looking at what we could do with our outside space. As far as I know it’s the only community green space in this part of Luton.
What I inherited was this beautiful but very small peace garden at the back of church, two big lawns, and a conveniently ideal location for growing fruit trees, vegetables and flowers. Getting practical, we’ve set up what we’re calling a ‘peace and well-being hub’. We are hoping to transform the way that people relate to their environment in this part of town. We’re having outdoor exercise, yoga and mindfulness classes, and doing community gardening sessions.
Many people in our communities talk about the incredible gardening skills that their parents and grandparents or their uncles and aunties had, but those skills haven’t always been passed on to the second and third generations living here in Luton. That breaks the connection with traditions of growing and sharing food together that is important in Kashmiri or Bengali culture. I love hearing about these traditions from our neighbours that we’re working with, and creating a space for that growing and sharing to happen. It benefits health and biodiversity, and it enhances our relationship with each other, with the earth and with our culture and heritage. It’s the fullest possible definition of peace and wellbeing.
This year on Saint Brigid’s Day, which is the traditional first day of spring, we planted our community orchard of local apple and pear species. About 30 people from right across the community came and it was so joyous just digging holes and getting muddy together.
We’re doing something incredibly simple, but Luton is a spiritual town. The number of people with no religion is very low compared to the national average, and so you don’t need me to tell you that there is a deeper and more meaningful dimension to what we’re doing. We recognised this as we planted our trees, using a mixture of sacred texts from different traditions. There’s a wonderful hadith attributed to Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) which says even if eternity was to be bestowed on you tomorrow, if you’ve got a sapling in your hand, you should plant it. That is a captivating idea and a beautiful saying.
Going away to Bedford and coming back has helped me fall back in love with this town. It’s not all romantic. It can be a hard place. But there is something so special here, and I think we have the start of something truly hopeful.
Want to get involved? Our first community gardening session is at 2pm on Saturday 16th of March, and our Spring Festival and Seedling Swap is on the 20th April. See the website for details.
Zero Carbon Luton 