Weeds. What a word. A word that can define many things, humans or plants, as lesser, weaker and inferior. However, it is time to challenge those stereotypes. To show that growing on your own terms does not mean you are of less worth or value.

from the introduction to the exhibtion

I also delivered a CPD session and designed some workshop materials to support the the RHS Outreach to run zine workshops, and continue to use the exhibition as inspiration for the groups the work with.

I loved this project. Co-production with young people is something I feel really strongly about, and the theme of weeds opens up all sorts of questions about human relationships to the world around us, judgement, exclusion, and compassion. The young people really dug into the concept of weeds, and came up with creative pieces including zines, comics and illustrations, interactive elements and even herbarium specimens. The result was an immersive, welcoming space, full of incisive thought and empathy.

Young people are often excluded from ‘serious’ exhibitions and art – their work might be seen as something that maybe their friends and family will come and see, but not something to be given a platform for three months at the RHS’s flagship garden! But they are leaders on climate change, ecological crisis and social justice, and their creativity is radical. They’re capable of imagining incredible things. By taking their ideas seriously, and working with professionals who have the resources to bring their ideas to life, this project gave a platform to voices that need to be heard.

The students in my group showed huge empathy for weeds. The message that kept coming back was that weeds can be friends: that if we work to understand each other and see the worth and beauty in everyone – plants and humans – there are so many more possibilities for richness and joy.