The Beck Forrest Memorial Garden,
Highgate Wood School, London, N8
A very special project to design a garden to honour and remember Beck and Loren, much missed students of Highgate Wood School.
Beck’s friends asked for a special place within their school where Beck could be remembered. The school located an unused, derelict area within the grounds, working closely with his friends, family and the wider community we transformed this space into a serene, green oasis, closely connected to Beck; a place which is treasured by students and staff and lovingly maintained by a group of volunteers.
Key design features:
Seating : The garden contains circular wooden seating for friends to come together and has been described as a big hug for Beck.
There is also a separate seating area for quieter reflection.
Memorialising: In the centre of the garden cedar bee posts are inscribed with the names of Beck and Loren and display plaques with a QR code which links to a website containing special photos videos and memories of them.
Beck’s friends designed and painted the mural on the brick wall with memories of him and the whole community came together to plant the garden in a communal act of love.
Six silver birch trees were added to the garden to create the ‘forest’ in memory of Beck whose middle name was Forrest.
Sustainability: The cedar posts and circular sand filled metal container contain specially drilled holes which provide homes for solitary bees, pollinator friendly plants like Erigeron and Verbena provide food for insects, the planting is resilient and drought resistant and the surface of the paths and seating areas is made from permeable self binding gravel. The original concrete surface had to be dug out and was crushed up and repurposed as the sub base reducing land fill.
“The Beck Memorial Garden is such a special space for our school and always will be.
What you created with the students and the wider community was incredibly thoughtful and it has become exactly what we hoped for. “
Jen Burniston, Deputy Head, Highgate Wood School