We aimed to make local people take notice of the Nose – the community garden where Planet South Bank members grow fruit and veg for all to share. On Monday 30th March, the weather was fine, and we got all twelve decorated frames up on the railings.
Some frames were at the right height for kids to look through, some seemed to pick up the colours of the sky and the grass, and some seemed to recognise the church nearby.
Sonny could see Ian the Gnome and the Big Green Snail through three frames: the flower-shaped frame, the cobweb and the binoculars.
People passing by could look into the garden through the frames, or around the side of the frames – it certainly made them look at the gardening space differently!
Nicola made a Palm Sunday themed frame, including lots of seasonal messages.
The frames were made and put up by: Bron, Cath, Jo, John G, John S, Joy, Madelaine, Meg, Nicola, Niki, Pie, Rosie, Sara, Shirley and Susan – thanks, everyone! And thanks to St. Clement’s Church for letting us do this art project at the garden.
The community garden has a great location in many ways; the pavements on its two long sides allow us to chat to passersby as we garden, it’s convenient for residents to drop off compost, the railings make it safe for children to wander around, it’s close to great shops (and cafes), and the fact that it is church property makes it seem more open to all.
However, many locals still don’t know about the garden, and the work of Planet South Bank as a whole – and we could certainly do with more gardeners! So this March, we are working on a project to make a series of weird and wonderful frames which will be installed around the railings – for one day only! – through which passersby can look. We’ll be there all afternoon to answer questions.
Originally planned for Sunday 29th, the poor weather forecast means that we have postponed it to Monday 30th – other details are all the same.
Come to meet us and find out more about the garden, and the work of Planet South Bank, on Monday 30th March, between 12 and 4: all welcome!
The 2026 gardening dates are up! Check out the signs on the fences at the garden; they’re also available on this blog (here on the Community Garden page). The first gardening date is March 15th (2pm – 3pm) … we’ll be there, whatever the weather, and if it’s sunny, we’ll be having a cuppa too.
Other events this year include:
Looking through the garden (art installation): 29th March, 12-4
Spring Fayre: 19th April (stalls etc.)
Foraging walks with Carl Wain: 3rd May and 9th August
Festival of Ideas ‘thrutopia’ event with Rupert Read: 11th June, 6-7pm (online)
Beautifully designed and printed, Planet South Bank’s community creative writing anthology How We Made It Throughis makes a perfect gift for those locally and for friends and family.
The poems, stories and illustrations make a great combination together.
Copies are available at The Bishy Weight and at Pextons Hardware, both on the Bishopthorpe Road parade of shops.
We are pleased to announce that copies of South Bank’s community creative writing anthology How We Made It Through is available at Pextons Hardware on the Bishopthorpe Road parade of shops.
Thank you to the staff @pextonshardware for your support, it is so much appreciated.
The anthology is beautifully designed and printed, and makes a perfect gift for those locally and for friends and family. The poems, stories and illustrations make a great combination together.
For anyone who is looking for inspiration and hope in these times…
For anyone interested in reading about their own neighbourhood in York…
For anyone interested in how we can respond as a community to the challenges of climate and society…
Please take cash with you, as your donation won’t be put through Pextons’ electronic tills.
The cost is ‘Pay as you feel’ – browse through it, and judge how much you value it and what your circumstances say you can afford.
All donations go to Planet South Bank, to take forward our climate mitigation and adaptation work in the community.
We hope you enjoy reading it, and giving it as a gift too.
This time, we’re meeting at Tower Gardens (near the benches), and we’re going for a short walk. It’ll be at an easy pace on level ground, so that we can chat about our feelings about the climate, without getting breathless, and we’ll end up in a pub, to have a drink and carry on talking!
Time and Date: 7pm, Tuesday, 11th November 2025
It’s free! However, all the details are on the Eventbrite link is here and if you sign up on Eventbrite, we’ll know to expect you.
Planet South Bank is delighted to invite you to the launch this Tuesday evening, 28 October, of our community creative writing anthology, How We Made It Through.
For six months in 2024, local residents and those who love South Bank were invited to create visions of hope for the future – looking back from the future, to say ‘This is how we made it through’.
At the launch we’ll be sharing extracts from the anthology, sharing how we ran the project and how it can easily be replicated in any local community. Get your own copy, and share ideas for helping local communities work together in the face of current future challenges. There’ll even be short performances from a one-off climate choir – details below if you’d like to join in as a singer.
More about the project: Twenty people responded initially and once our programme of free workshops and online calls kicked off, more joined along the way. By the end of the project, we had received more than thirty individual entries, in media ranging from prose to poetry, and from collage to needle felt. The generous support of the Joseph Rowntree Foundation and Abundance Press pulled all of our work into a beautiful book, copies of which will be for a donation at the launch, and an electronic copy made available online.
Would you like to be in the climate choir during the evening? The inspirational Catherine Heinemeyer will be leading a group of singers as part of the event, in three short songs climate and hope. Singers are warmly welcome! There will be one rehearsal, this Sunday 26 October 2 to 5pm. Please email laura.bok@balliol.oxon.org to show your interest and so that we can send you details of the rehearsal.
Planet South Bank is delighted to invite you to the launch of our community creative writing anthology, How We Made It Through.
For six months in 2024, local residents and those who love South Bank were invited to create visions of hope for the future – looking back from the future, to say ‘This is how we made it through’.
At the launch we’ll be sharing extracts from the anthology, sharing how we ran the project and how it can easily be replicated in any local community. Get your own copy, and share ideas for helping local communities work together in the face of current future challenges. There’ll even be short performances from a one-off climate choir – details below if you’d like to join in as a singer.
More about the project: Twenty people responded initially and once our programme of free workshops and online calls kicked off, more joined along the way. By the end of the project, we had received more than thirty individual entries, in media ranging from prose to poetry, and from collage to needle felt. The generous support of the Joseph Rowntree Foundation and Abundance Press pulled all of our work into a beautiful book, copies of which will be for a donation at the launch, and an electronic copy made available online.
Would you like to be in the climate choir during the evening? The inspirational Catherine Heinemeyer will be leading a group of singers as part of the event, in three short songs climate and hope. Singers are warmly welcome! There will be one rehearsal, on Sunday 26 October 2 to 5pm (venue to be arranged). Please email laura.bok@balliol.oxon.org to show your interest and so that we can send you details of the rehearsal.