We came, we saw, we Planted
21 September 2020
Written by Sam Peters, co-founder and executive director of Planted
So that was the week that was. An exciting, engrossing, inspiring few days culminating in an absorbing three-part talks programme saw Planted firmly put down its roots on Granary Square as part of LDF.
After more than three years of imagining, creating and grafting, I can’t deny it was an emotional moment for my wife and co-founder Deborah and I to see the wonderful Planted Unplugged stage set out in all its green glory in the sparkling late summer sunshine when we arrived on site last Wednesday morning.
Finally, after so much hard work, we had something tangible to show for our efforts.
In conjunction with Biotecture, whose stunning green wall provided the backdrop to our striking outdoor studio, and with a lot of help from our friends including Oliver Heath Design, Vestre, Bramley, Equinox Kambucha, The Botanical Boys, Stormboard, Green Rooms Botanical Markets, Chalk & Moss, Ilex and the entire Planted team, the five days on site delivered everything we’d hoped for and more.
On top of our physical offering, we also partnered with Dezeen to launch an online brand showcase to give a taste of what’s to come when we launch our main physical event next May.
On the ground we were blessed with the weather, for sure, while who knows how long this window of social opportunity will last in the current Covid world we are in? But to be the only design show to deliver a physical iteration of any kind this year, and our launch event as well, is a huge testimony to the strength of the team we’ve put together and the desire and determination that exists to make this project work. If we can make Planted work under these trying circumstances, it bodes very well for the future.
Not everything went perfectly to plan; and for the slight delay in getting our talks programme live please accept our apologies. Perhaps downloading video files on an open public wifi network wasn’t a great plan in retrospect, but we live and learn and it won’t happen again. In the end, we hope you agree the Planted Unplugged talks were well worth waiting for. Click here
On the waste side, we failed to clearly brief our suppliers about the need for no single-use plastic to used for the few deliveries we took. But to end an entire five-day event with less than a single small hold-all full of single-use plastic as the totality of our waste was, in our view, something to work with. It also gave us confidence when it comes to launching our main physical event next year we will absolutely be aiming to be the first ever zero waste design event. Whatever happens, you have our commitment we’ll improve year on year.
On top of that, with our beautiful Planted signage made by Stormboard out of recycled single-use plastic (yes cigarette butts, crisp packets, you name it) we have a materials partner capable of taking away any unintentional or unexpected plastic and putting it to excellent use in future.
In so many ways putting on a show all about reconnecting cities with nature could not have been more timely considering events engulfing us. David Attenborough’s latest masterpiece “Extinction” aired three days before Planted Unplugged did and put into crystal clear focus why our event has come into existence. If we don’t act fast, decisively and collectively our environment and the biodiversity within it is going suffer catastrophic, irreversible on our watch. As Andrew Waugh from Thistletone Waugh Architecture Practice put it: “in many ways we are the most important generation in the history of humankind”. It was a big call but when you think about it, it makes sense.
Where hope can be found, is in the number of businesses, partners and people who see the problem for what it is and are determined to effect change. The next step for Planted, is to engage on a political level to ensure nature and its myriad mental, physical and commercial benefits are pushed to the very top of the agenda in the corridors of power. With your help, we can make it happen. Watch this space.
But for now it’s just left to me to say “thank you” again. Thank you for everyone who visited, partnered or supported us in any way. Last week was just the beginning but finally it feels like Planted has arrived.
Friends made, brand launched, momentum gained. A good week? We came, we saw, we Planted!