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Excitement was in full bloom for the RHS Chelsea Flower Show, and everyone was not only looking forward to seeing the fabulous gardens, but also seeing what’s instore for them after the world-famous event. The entirety of the MEDITE SMARTPLY Building the Future garden will be reused, with a large part being donated to Andover Trees United, a volunteer-led environmental charity which works closely with schools and local authorities.
The charity’s evolving woodland site ‘Harmony Woods’ represents a 10-year planting project, which gives children and young people in local communities the chance to help turn 12 acres of farmland to the north of Andover into a natural urban woodland, increasing biodiversity and providing a wealth of opportunities for learning in and about the environment.
The impressive garden structure, made from MEDITE TRICOYA EXTREME, and including SMARTPLY STRONGDECK in its roofing, will be relocated to a local school in Andover, who Andover Trees United work closely with. The buttresses and turf will also be relocated to the community school, in addition to the self-binding gravel featured in the garden.
“We are extremely delighted to be donating this astonishing garden to benefit local school children and students,” commented Chris King, Managing Director – Commercial at MEDITE SMARTPLY. “To be able to contribute back to the community and educate people from a young age about the importance of trees and how they contribute positively to the climate change emergency is an incredible opportunity. The garden name, MEDITE SMARTPLY Building the Future, really does encompass the ethos of the garden and its longevity. As a company, we are very proud to be taking a steer on this.”
The relocation forms part of MEDITE SMARTPLY’s legacy campaign. Every part of the garden has been relocated for reuse in new projects, thereby reducing waste and continuing to store the carbon captured within the wood panels. This is a further demonstration of the company’s commitment to being fully sustainable and promoting circularity – an aspect that all partners involved in the garden embrace.
“The construction industry needs to do more to avert the climate crisis. We need to embrace the concept of a circular economy; to reuse, recycle and refurbish existing materials to reduce waste and be more sustainable. Our engineered wood panels are an example of just what can be achieved.”
In addition, half of the trees used in the garden will be donated to Andover Trees United to be replanted in Harmony Woods as part of their 10-year planting project. The remaining trees will be reused by the multi-award-winning garden designer herself Sarah Eberle, in her other garden design projects. Sarah will also be reusing numerous plants; some for her upcoming project at the RHS Hampton Court Flower Show and others for her personal projects.
Regarding the furniture used on the garden, artists Alex and Emma Devereux will be returning them to their site in Slough to be used. Even the fencing around the garden is to be reused. Landform Consultants, who are constructing the garden, will keep the 38 sheets of SITEPROTECT PLUS panels used in the boundary of the garden to reuse them in site hoarding of future projects.
Chris King concluded: “We are very excited to see how this project develops in its second life. The RHS Chelsea Flower Show is just the beginning!”
The RHS Chelsea Flower Show took place 24th-28th May 2022.
To illustrate further possibilities of what can be done with MDF, MEDITE SMARTPLY have a dedicated online MDF community site which invites enthusiasts to share work, gain inspiration and even win prizes that will enable the user to build bigger and better with MDF: www.meditemakesitreal.com.
Image credit: Ollie Dixon
