Families begin peace garden for home education space

Local families have begun a new community project creating a Peace Garden that will grow over the course of the year at The Village Frome.

The first session to design the space was held on Thursday 11th September, with families gathering in the woods to share lunch, walk the land and begin imagining the garden together.

The project will unfold weekly, guided by a permaculture design process and the rhythm of the seasons. Alongside practical gardening, families will explore what peace means through creativity, stillness, play, art and music.

The Village Frome runs the Phoenix Project, a home education initiative project at Critchill Manor Estate offering a self-directed learning space for home-educated children aged 7 to 14. It was recently saved from closure by two local women, Jessie and Hannah, who saw an opportunity to not only save the project but reimagine it as a shared space for both the home-educating community and the wider public.

The Peace Garden forms part of The Village Frome’s wider vision of creating a modern-day sanctuary for local families: a place to connect with nature, community and a slower rhythm of life. Parents remain responsible for their children, and sessions are open to all ages.

Project facilitator Pia Valtanen-Amies, a trained Children in Permaculture practitioner, said, “Supporting children to grow up with a compassionate and cooperative relationship with each other and the natural world is one of the most important steps we can take for the future. The Peace Garden is about nurturing that consciousness while building a space where families can simply show up as they are.”

Sessions run weekly and are donation-based, with shared lunch at 12pm and group time from 12.30pm to 2.30pm at the Phoenix Project, Critchill Manor Estate, Frome, BA11 4LJ.

Contact villagefrome@gmail.com for further information.

Pictured: Design work starts on the Peace Garden