My final landscape architecture project on an online MA course

Firstly, I hadn’t paid attention to the time commitment, or my lack of technical skills, but the train was moving and I had to keep holding on. My skills were of the hand-drawn variety; however, I realised that holding my tracing paper up to my screen to try and emulate the fabulous drawings everyone else seemed to be creating was not producing very good results. So, I took a deep breath and bought a massive iPad and got down to some serious catching up.

The end of the course soon arrived, along with the ‘great idea’ question – what on earth was my project focus going to be? After finding myself down some weird and wonderful rabbit holes, I decided to look back over the course to see what had really interested me, and there it was – people. How different communities interact with the landscape, young, old, alone or together, how are they using it and what do they want. How children connect with the outdoors in this modern, screen-focussed world. So, I looked around and found a large public space that I had discovered during lockdown.

After checking in with my amazing tutor, she suggested that I check out the history of my location. A brief look online led me to a group that were actively involved in researching the area. This was a gold mine, and it gave my project an injection of real-life intrigue and the group gave me a fantastic welcome.

During my research, I discovered a network of charities growing food for food banks, beehives on top of shopping centres, BMX tracks where not only kids were using the space, but also a group of exceptionally cool women with BMX bikes, helmets and kit charging round the track – all elements that I wanted to include in my design.

The research part was brilliant fun and within my chosen landscape, I had found the hub of the park and the community surrounding it, but it was time to stop, gather my ideas together and create my new park. Part of my idea was to create a heritage trail, so I went back to the history group to pick their brains about the area’s past. They helped me create a walk through the woods, exploring a historical project created by two sisters to combat poverty.

This became the icing on the cake for my design. The group were interested and brought the trail to life. People came to walk round it, along with the local MP and a piece in the local newspaper, then to my delight, AUB asked me to share my story. It felt amazing.

What did I enjoy? The people and their projects, interest and passions. The online students – who knew it was possible to have such a great time and make real connections all over the world? It wasn’t something that I thought would be possible when I first enrolled.

As for advice I would give – utilise all the things the university has to offer. The knowledge, the guidance, the help. With no previous experience of a degree, it made an incredible difference to my project. It was an immersive and brilliant experience. It was hard but I had the time of my life.

I am still in contact with the history group, tagging along when I can, trying where I can to be a part of their passion project. Great times!