Settle in, catch your breath and enjoy a freshly made brew, served from the PoliNations tuk tuk. Accompanied by an original audio score and live dance performance, this immersive and interactive experience celebrates the ritual and the history of tea.

Have a well-deserved TEABREAK in this heart-warming new show from Trigger, the creators of PoliNations. As you stir your cup, gently glide through the journey of tea with a transportive audio piece and live dance performance. Follow tea across continents and centuries, onto our shores and into our teapots as the great comforter of our time.&nbsp;
With freshly brewed tea served from Trigger&rsquo;s beautifully hand painted Tuk Tuk, this gentle performance brings an uplifting moment of pause as a weaving tapestry of voices reflect on the meaning of tea. From personal stories of love, loss and ritual come something universal: an invitation to rest awhile, appreciate all that we have, honour moments that have passed and ready ourselves for what is to come.
Trigger are creators and producers of participative and socially engaged live events. Trigger reimagine and revive public spaces and put audiences and togetherness at the heart of everything they do; from flying dragons to city-centre super gardens, their varied output is inclusive and accessible.
TEABREAK is a free, ticketed performance for anyone who enjoys tea. Tickets can be reserved&nbsp;via individual festival websites.

Norfolk and Norwich Festival

Have a well-deserved TEABREAK in this heart-warming new show from Trigger, the creators of PoliNations. As you stir your cup, gently glide through the journey of tea with a transportive audio piece and live dance performance. Follow tea across continents and centuries, onto our shores and into our teapots as the great comforter of our time.&nbsp;
With freshly brewed tea served from Trigger&rsquo;s beautifully hand painted Tuk Tuk, this gentle performance brings an uplifting moment of pause as a weaving tapestry of voices reflect on the meaning of tea. From personal stories of love, loss and ritual come something universal: an invitation to rest awhile, appreciate all that we have, honour moments that have passed and ready ourselves for what is to come.
Trigger are creators and producers of participative and socially engaged live events. Trigger reimagine and revive public spaces and put audiences and togetherness at the heart of everything they do; from flying dragons to city-centre super gardens, their varied output is inclusive and accessible.
TEABREAK is a free, ticketed performance for anyone who enjoys tea. Tickets can be reserved&nbsp;via individual festival websites.

Brighton Festival

Have a well-deserved TEABREAK in this heart-warming new show from Trigger, the creators of PoliNations. As you stir your cup, gently glide through the journey of tea with a transportive audio piece and live dance performance. Follow tea across continents and centuries, onto our shores and into our teapots as the great comforter of our time.&nbsp;
With freshly brewed tea served from Trigger&rsquo;s beautifully hand painted Tuk Tuk, this gentle performance brings an uplifting moment of pause as a weaving tapestry of voices reflect on the meaning of tea. From personal stories of love, loss and ritual come something universal: an invitation to rest awhile, appreciate all that we have, honour moments that have passed and ready ourselves for what is to come.
Trigger are creators and producers of participative and socially engaged live events. Trigger reimagine and revive public spaces and put audiences and togetherness at the heart of everything they do; from flying dragons to city-centre super gardens, their varied output is inclusive and accessible.

Certain Blacks - Ensemble Festival

Have a well-deserved TEABREAK in this heart-warming new show from Trigger, the creators of PoliNations. As you stir your cup, gently glide through the journey of tea with a transportive audio piece and live dance performance. Follow tea across continents and centuries, onto our shores and into our teapots as the great comforter of our time.&nbsp;
With freshly brewed tea served from Trigger&rsquo;s beautifully hand painted Tuk Tuk, this gentle performance brings an uplifting moment of pause as a weaving tapestry of voices reflect on the meaning of tea. From personal stories of love, loss and ritual come something universal: an invitation to rest awhile, appreciate all that we have, honour moments that have passed and ready ourselves for what is to come.
Trigger are creators and producers of participative and socially engaged live events. Trigger reimagine and revive public spaces and put audiences and togetherness at the heart of everything they do; from flying dragons to city-centre super gardens, their varied output is inclusive and accessible.
TEABREAK is a free, ticketed performance for anyone who enjoys tea. Tickets can be purchased via the festival website.

Timber Festival

Tour Locations

Trigger Teabreak Photo Katja Ogrin1

TEABREAK

Catch your breath and enjoy a free, freshly made brew in this heart-warming new show. Join us at Certain Blacks' Ensemble Festival, an explosive mix of art and performance set to inspire and entertain audiences on 21st-23rd July!&nbsp;

Certain Blacks Ensemble Festival

Catch your breath and enjoy a free, freshly made brew in this heart-warming new show. Join us for our first showing at the flagship arts festival for the East of England, Norfolk and Norwich Festival, on 13th and 14th May!&nbsp;

Norfolk and Norwich

Catch your breath and enjoy a free, freshly made brew in this heart-warming new show. Come and see us at the largest curated annual arts festival in England, Brighton Festival, on 27th and 28th May!

Brighton

Catch your breath and enjoy a free, freshly made brew in this heart-warming new show. Join us at the family friendly garden adventure and joyous celebration of nature, Timber Festival, between 7th-9th July!

Impact

The city centre bloomed into a vibrant living oasis filled with thousands of plants and brought to life through free garden tours, audio baths, live music and light shows, costume design workshops, sensory experiences, poetry and performance and more!

Screenshot 2022 09 27 at 10.47.40

PoliNations Highlights: Birmingham 2022

Yoga and Wellbeing

Iconic Works of Plant Life

PoliNations in Birmingham - Sunset Shift Live

PoliNations in Birmingham - Tea Ceremony

PoliNations Trailer

PoliNations App

Plant Giveaway

Using the PoliNations App

Listen to the Sunset Shift

Joey A Frenette Residency at BCU

Spectra - From Soil to Sip

Jaivant Patel Dance - Tea Ceremony

Audio Tour

The Wondersphere

Iconic Plant Costumes: Chrysanthemum

Iconic Plant Costumes: Honeysuckle

PoliNations in Birmingham

Sunset Shift

Euphorica

<h5>Opening Times</h5>
Friday 2nd September: 14:00 &ndash; 22:00 Daily: 08:00 - 22:00 Saturday 17th September: 08:00 &ndash; 00:00
<h5>Accessibility</h5>
<ul>
<li>The whole PoliNations site is accessible via wheelchair</li>
<li>The closest Accessible/Blue Badge Car Park is Pinfold Street parking and Waterloo Street parking. More information on this can be found on the Birmingham City Council Website.</li>
<li>We will have an accessible viewing platform available during the Poetry &amp; Perfomrance Festival and Ballistic Seed Party</li>
<li>Many of the events will have BSL interpreters and Audio Description available.</li>
</ul>
<h5>Getting here</h5>
<h5>By Train</h5>
The nearest train station to Victoria Square are Birmingham New Street (0.2 miles, 6-minute walk) and Birmingham Snow Hill (0.4 miles, 9-minute walk).
<h5>By Bus:</h5>
The closest bus stops to Victoria Square are for buses 9, X10, 82, 87 and 89. Bus services are operated by <a href="https://nxbus.co.uk/west-midlands">National Express West Midlands</a>.
<h5>By Tram:</h5>
The nearest tram stops to Victoria Square are: &bull; Colmore Row (Stop Sh11) is 222 meters away, 3 min walk. &bull; Colmore Row (Stop Sh1) is 246 meters away, 4 min walk. &bull; Baskerville House is 300 meters away, 4 min walk. &bull; Colmore Row (Stop Sh2) is 312 meters away, 5 min walk. The West Midlands Metro runs regularly. For more information on where it runs and how to buy tickets visit the <a title="" href="https://westmidlandsmetro.com&nbsp;" target="_blank" rel="noopener">West Midlands Metro Website</a>.
<h5>By Bike: </h5>
Bike racks can be located on the corner of Edmund Street and Eden Place or in the Southwest corner of Victoria Square. Birmingham benefits from segregated cycle routes into the centre from Selly Oak and Perry Barr as well as an extensive canal network providing traffic free routes. Find out more about Birmingham's cycle routes on Birmingham City Council website. Don&rsquo;t have a bike? Don&rsquo;t worry you can hire an E-bike! A dock is located near Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery. To find out more visit West Midlands Cycle Hire.
<h5>Parking:</h5>
Access to parking will be limited and we want to avoid congestion within Birmingham City Centre, so we encourage you to get to the site via walking, cycling or public transport. Birmingham is a 'Category D Clean Air Zone'. What this means is that owners of high-polluting vehicles will get charged for driving within certain parts of Birmingham &ndash; including around and near the location of PoliNations. To find out if your vehicle will be charged visit the Brum Breathes website.
Nearest parking to Victoria and Chamberlain Square is Paradise Circus Car Park and Town Hall multi-storey car park. It is operated by Birmingham City Council and charges will apply. If you display your Blue Badge, parking is free with no time limits.

Victoria Square

Birmingham

TEALIGHT is a vibrant participatory light installation that combines the joyous spirit of Diwali with the warming comfort of tea; illuminating hearts and minds through ritual and togetherness. 
Join in as the rich history of tea is interwoven with the celebratory essence of Diwali. You are invited to light a candle with us and enjoy a comforting cup of freshly brewed chai, served from a beautifully hand painted tuk tuk.  

Sip your cup and be transported across continents and centuries; scan a QR code and listen to the evocative story of tea unfold alongside an original composition from Rakae Jamil.

&nbsp;Saturday 4th November 2023, St Peter's Square, Leicester

Leicester Diwali

16:00 - 20:00, Saturday 2nd November 2024

Greenwich Peninsula Diwali Festival

Tour Dates

Tealight   Leicester   Credit Robin Hardman51

TEALIGHT

Around the Lake Festival

Redbridge Outdoor Arts & South Asian Heritage Month

BD:Festival

Feel Good Family Picnic

Birmingham Weekender

Harbour Fest

The Full Shebang

Edible Grimsby

The National Festival of Making

Basingstoke Festival

Creative Crawley   around The Lake Day 2 Web 61

In 2022, giant architectural trees created a canopy over a spectacular pop-up garden in Birmingham. PoliNations was a celebration of colour, beauty, and natural diversity. An urban oasis for everyone to explore, enjoy and be their true unique selves.

Shangri La2025 Jody Hartley 3

PoliNations Trees at Shangri La

It's been two days since PoliNations ended, and we've been reflecting on an extraordinary 17 days in Victoria Square, Birmingham.
PoliNations wouldn't have been what it was without the hundreds of thousands of people that visited, participated, celebrated and reflected with us. THANK YOU to each and every one of you that joined us in the garden.
PoliNations was created by Trigger Collective and led by Bristol based arts organisation <a href="https://www.triggerstuff.co.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Trigger</a>. This project was the result of an incredible amount of work, from a world class team who we feel very lucky to have worked alongside. We'd like to give an enormous thank you to our <a href="https://www.polinations.com/partners" target="_blank" rel="noopener">creative team and collaborators</a><a target="_blank">.</a>
We've been blown away by the enthusiasm for PoliNations. While we were disappointed not to present the full programme as intended following the passing of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, it was an exceptional and truly unforgettable 17 days.
We've listed some of our favourite moments below - and we'd love to hear yours! <a title="" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bU4moAoFMVU" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Watch this video</a> to see what some of our audiences loved most, and remember that you can still explore the Virtual Super Garden&nbsp;is still available through the <a href="https://www.polinations.com/create">desktop platform</a> and PoliNations app. Download now for <a href="https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/polinations/id1634837679">iOS</a> and <a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=co.megaverse.polinations">Android</a>.
We can't wait to bring PoliNations to more audiences, connect with more communities, and share more moments with you. Stay tuned, PoliNations is on the move&hellip;

Poli Nations, Created and Produced by Trigger. Photo by Fabio De Paola (8)

Thank you, Birmingham

We have been blown away by the incredible response to PoliNations over the last two weeks. We are thrilled to hear that you have enjoyed your time with us, thank you so much to the thousands of you who came along. Here are just a few of our favourite responses.
Over the opening weekend, PoliNations was featured by <a title="https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m001bl3s" href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m001bl3s" target="_blank" rel="noopener">BBC Gardener&rsquo;s Question Time</a> (listen from 32:55); <a title="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cp0y3mqy202o" href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cp0y3mqy202o" target="_blank" rel="noopener">BBC News</a> published a photo-led feature which was syndicated across other channels including Yahoo News and MSN. Later in the programme, Angie Bual was interviewed by Lauren Laverne on BBC 6 Music Breakfast Show, and ITV joined us on our final day to cover the Plant Giveaway and ongoing legacy of this event.
Have a look at some audience highlights from the first weekend of PoliNations <a title="" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bU4moAoFMVU&amp;t=2s" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a>.
<blockquote>
Articles:&nbsp;
</blockquote>
PoliNations is next Birmingham mega attraction set to dominate city centre after the bull &ndash; <a href="https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/whats-on/whats-on-news/polinations-next-birmingham-mega-attraction-24704852" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Birmingham Live</a>&nbsp;
A square in Birmingham is being turned into a gigantic &lsquo;super garden&rsquo; - <a href="https://www.timeout.com/uk/news/a-square-in-birmingham-is-being-turned-into-a-gigantic-super-garden-080822" target="_blank" rel="noopener">TimeOut</a>&nbsp;
Birmingham to bloom into &lsquo;magical&rsquo; garden with 11-metre trees - <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2022/aug/16/birmingham-garden-polinations-migraton-plants" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Guardian</a>&nbsp;
Featured in the Guardians Best Photos of the day - <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/news/gallery/2022/sep/02/energy-saving-workers-and-the-worlds-largest-zoetrope-fridays-best-photos" target="_blank" rel="noopener">LINK</a>&nbsp;
PoliNations Arts Festival celebrates UK&rsquo;s Diversity - <a href="https://www.desiblitz.com/content/polinations-arts-festival-celebrates-uks-diversity" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Desiblitz</a>&nbsp;
Giant tree sculptures tower over Birmingham 'super garden' - <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cp0y3mqy202o" target="_blank" rel="noopener">BBC News</a>&nbsp;
&ldquo;The garden is stunning. If you have the opportunity to visit, you truly must... hopefully the popularity of the PoliNations Garden can inspire similar projects to also appear.&rdquo; - <a href="https://www.freshered.com/polinations-garden-makes-birmingham-city-centre-its-home/">Freshered.com</a>
<blockquote>
Social Media Responses:&nbsp;
</blockquote>
&ldquo;PoliNations&nbsp;thank you for providing the perfect calming backdrop to reflect on the mood of the nation - I know it's a far cry from the flamboyant, carnival atmosphere that you had planned this weekend, but please know that you've been loved and very much enjoyed.&rdquo;&nbsp;
&ldquo;Managed to spend some time at #PoliNations today. The sheer volume of flowers for insects, unlike the normal city annuals that offer little to them. I REALLY wish there was more of this @Poli_Nations&rdquo;&nbsp;
&ldquo;This place smells incredible &ndash; one happy nose, right here. You almost forget you&rsquo;re deep in a city, it&rsquo;s so relaxing and I LOVE IT&nbsp;❤&nbsp;@Poli_Nations bravo&rdquo;&nbsp;
&ldquo;I originally went intending to just take a couple of photos for Instagram, thinking it might be quite an interesting diversion to start my day.&nbsp; Instead, I came away feeling inspired.&rdquo;&nbsp;
&ldquo;Today I visited the beautiful gardens which have popped up in Victoria Square, Birmingham. The Number of bees was astonishing, the sculptural trees were stunning and it just felt really peaceful. Definitely going again."&nbsp;
&ldquo;Favourite <a href="https://twitter.com/unboxed2022">@unboxed2022</a> project has to <a href="https://twitter.com/Poli_Nations">@Poli_Nations</a> by <a href="https://twitter.com/TriggerStuff">@TriggerStuff</a> - its a reminder that we need sanctuary spaces to build communities of the future. Plus I loved the conversations, quiet contemplation &amp; the ambient sound was just exquisite&hellip;&rdquo;
&ldquo;Sad <a href="https://twitter.com/Poli_Nations">@Poli_Nations</a> won&rsquo;t be in town anymore, i visited about 6 times with people and on my own and found it so healing. Especially the sensory garden. Watching the public&rsquo;s behaviour change in that environment shows how places like this are so needed permanently&rdquo;

Poli Nations Opening Day 02 Sept2022 083

Incredible Responses to PoliNations

<div>
As a mark of respect for the period of mourning ahead of Her Majesty the Queen&rsquo;s funeral on Monday 19 September, we have revised the PoliNations programme.
&nbsp;
The PoliNations garden will remain open until Sunday 18 September as planned, providing a place for reflection as well as to explore the space. At 8pm on Sunday, following the final Sunset Shift, we will observe the nationwide minute of silence.
&nbsp;
Also on Sunday, we are inviting the public to our Plant Giveaway, which will allow thousands of plants and shrubs to go back out and take root in homes and green spaces across Birmingham. Plants will be available from the Wondersphere in Chamberlain Square from 12pm on a first-come-first-served basis, with one plant given per person.
&nbsp;
The revised programme includes free workshops in the WonderSphere, the creation of beautiful Rangoli street art and living sculptures inspired by key plants and flowers from the garden. A number of activities, including The Ballistic Seed Party will no longer take place. For further updates, keep checking the website and our social media channels.
&nbsp;
The visitor feedback and enthusiasm for PoliNations has been fantastic. We are not able to extend its presence in Victoria Square, but we hope it will be able to take root in another city soon.
</div>

Poli Nations Day2 03 Sept2022 116

PoliNations Update: 15 - 18 September

We send our deepest condolences to the Royal Family and to the public at the news of the passing of Her Majesty the Queen. We have been liaising closely with our partners and artists to determine the most appropriate course of action.
The PoliNations garden will continue to remain open, providing a space for the public to come together.&nbsp;
We&nbsp; are still offering a programme of daily events of a reflective nature, including our self-guided headphone tours, yoga and meditation sessions, and the evening soundscape, the Sunset Shift. You can find details about the workshops that are also taking place <a title="" href="https://www.polinations.com/whats-on" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a>.
However we will be suspending our live programme of talks and performances until further notice. The following performances in partnership with BBC&rsquo;s Contains Strong Language Poetry and Performance Festival, due to take place today and across the weekend of 9-11 September, will not be going ahead:
<ul>
<li aria-level="1">Performance by the finalists of the Laurel Prize 2022</li>
<li aria-level="1">Soweto Kinch: White Juju</li>
<li aria-level="1">Jasmine Gardosi: Dancing to Music You Hate</li>
<li aria-level="1">BBC Words First Showcase reading and film screenings</li>
<li aria-level="1">Laurel Prize Workshops with Elena Karina Byrne &amp; Glyn Maxwell</li>
<li aria-level="1">Across Borders Poets land at PoliNations</li>
<li aria-level="1">Plot17</li>
<li aria-level="1">India:UK Exchange Poets land at PoliNations</li>
<li aria-level="1">Luke Wright</li>
</ul>
We apologise to everyone who was looking forward to these specific events and will provide an update next week about the rest of the PoliNations programme.&nbsp;

Poli Nations, Created and Produced by Trigger. Photo   Katja Ogrin 

PoliNations programme update: 9 September 2022

Jane Memmott OBE is an ecologist and entomologist, and professor of ecology at the University of Bristol. Jane is an expert on the interactions between insect pollinators and plants, and in particular the role that cities can play as a home to pollinators.&nbsp;
You may have read on our website the surprising fact that inspired PoliNations: that 80% of plants in UK city-gardens originated overseas. This fact came from research by Jane.&nbsp;
We spoke to Jane about her background, research, and some of her top tips for promoting pollinator abundance in the green spaces we occupy...
<h5>&nbsp;</h5>
<h5>Could you tell us a bit about yourself and your research, and how you came to be involved with the PoliNations research and development process?</h5>
I&rsquo;ve been interested in natural history, particularly insects, for as long as I can remember. I can clearly remember finding a huge furry, caterpillar in the hedge at infants school and it turned into a huge red and black stripy tiger moth. It seemed like magic at the time, and it still does to be honest, even though I now understand exactly how it happens. I began research on pollinators about 20 years ago and have been working on them ever since. They are endlessly fascinating, and I&rsquo;ve run lots of projects on their ecology and conservation here in the UK and am currently working on a large pollination project in Nepal, looking at how climate change, pollination, crop harvests and human health interact.
I got involved with PoliNations project right at the start.&nbsp; I was contacted by the Brigstow Institute at Bristol University about an event that Trigger Stuff was wanting to run.&nbsp; It was described to me as a &ldquo;mass participatory growing artwork&rdquo; and it sounded intriguing.&nbsp; I&rsquo;ve always been interested in the links between art and science and think that both sides get a lot out of working together.&nbsp;&nbsp;
<h5>PoliNations emerged from a surprising fact you discovered through your research: that over 80% of plants in UK gardens come from overseas. Can you tell us about how you came to land at this figure, and expand a bit on what it means?</h5>
This figure came out towards the end of a 10-year stint working on pollinators in towns and cities.&nbsp;&nbsp; This research programme started as a large interdisciplinary project with academics working with conservation practitioners in UK cities and asked how many pollinators are found in four UK cities &ndash; Bristol, Reading Leeds and Edinburgh - compared with farmland and nature reserves.&nbsp; We were very interested in using the data we collected to work out how to make cities better habitats for pollinators.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
When this project ended, a PhD student called Nick Tew continued the research in urban habitats.&nbsp; He used the data on the number of flowers in the four cities and added information on the amount of nectar in each flower species.&nbsp; He found that the vast majority of the plants in gardens came from overseas and that these contributed most of the nectar in the gardens. We were looking at lots of different things in this project, but the fact that most of the plants in British gardens come from overseas, was the one that caught the imagination of the Trigger Stuff team.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
<h5>We&rsquo;re interested in your research on Urban Pollinators. Could you tell us a bit about the importance of cities as a home for pollinators?</h5>
Cities can be very good places for pollinators to live; indeed, there are more species of bee in cities than in the surrounding farmland. That said, it tends to be the common species that you find in cities &ndash; you don&rsquo;t find the pollinator species that need habitats like sand dunes, salt marshes or ancient woodland in cities.&nbsp;&nbsp; Rather those species need nature reserves or farms with patches of natural habitat on them. But cities can be fantastic places for many pollinator species and given that most people in the UK live in urban areas it&rsquo;s where most people get to see pollinators too.
<img src="https://cms.polinations.com/assets/15ce9d4f-f083-4e27-9a77-8381b08bd0da?width=3008&amp;height=2000" alt="Road Verge Planted with A Mix of Flower Species." />
Many councils are planting pollinator friendly flower beds &ndash; to the joy of the local people as well as the pollinators.
<h5>Do you have advice for what we can do on an individual and community level to promote pollinator abundance in the green spaces we occupy? </h5>
There is lots we can do to encourage pollinators. As an individual if you have a garden or allotment just make sure there are plenty of flowers in there of all sorts of shapes and sizes.&nbsp; Our research showed that garden size really doesn&rsquo;t matter &ndash; it&rsquo;s what you grow there that counts!&nbsp; &nbsp;So, grow as many species of flowering plants as you can, for as long as you can, so that both you and the pollinators get to enjoy the flowers from the first signs of spring until October/November.
Many gardens have a lawn and these look much nicer with some flowers in them, so encourage flowers like daisies and clover to grow there - go for the Persian carpet look, rather than a boring billiard table!&nbsp; &nbsp;Plant flowers and pollinators will come &ndash; it&rsquo;s 100% guaranteed.&nbsp;&nbsp; And once you have some plants in place, perhaps try installing some bee homes &ndash; most garden centres sell nesting sites for solitary bees and there are many recipes for making these for free online too.
At the community level, you can join a Friends group for a local greenspace and get involved with making it pollinator friendly &ndash; this nearly always involves more flowers which makes people happy too. &nbsp;&nbsp;Or join a local wildlife group, everyone will have a local Wildlife Trust and nearly all of them will be interested in pollinators.&nbsp;
<h5>Is there anything we can do if we don&rsquo;t have a garden?</h5>
If you don&rsquo;t have a garden, then there is still loads you can do. One of my first homes was a first floor flat.&nbsp; It didn&rsquo;t have a garden, but it had steps up to the front door and I had 3 large plant pots on the doorstep with lots of pollinator friendly plants.&nbsp; Those three pots were my first garden and I remember them very fondly. &nbsp;These days I have a garden but on my walk into work in Bristol, I walk past a house in the mornings whose front door opens directly onto the street, but the owner has taken over both sides of the pavement and I walk 20 paces through a corridor of flowers, which makes me smile every day and it&rsquo;ll make the local pollinators happy too.
If you have a flat with a balcony, then there is even more you can do.&nbsp;&nbsp; Grow potted plants like lavender which pollinators adore, and which likes growing in dry windy places. Grow herbs too &ndash; herbs like mint, thyme, marjoram and sage all have very attractive flowers for pollinators, and you can put their leaves on your pizza too!&nbsp;&nbsp; Leave space for a couple of chairs and a cup of tea/glass of wine so you can enjoy watching pollinators visiting your flowers.
And if feeling really ambitious, try adding a solitary bees nest to your garden, balcony or allotment.&nbsp;&nbsp; Here&rsquo;s mine at the peak of the solitary bee season.&nbsp; They won&rsquo;t sting unless you hold them tightly and it&rsquo;s very relaxing watching them coming and going carrying their cargo of pollen and leaves.
In my garden right now in early September, my pineapple lilies (from South Africa) and Dahlias (from Mexico) are very popular with pollinating insects. (images below)
&nbsp;
<img src="https://cms.polinations.com/assets/69c72bd7-ce2d-48cd-876b-8f5dd3a6b945?width=3024&amp;height=4032" alt="Pineapple Lillies 2022" /><img src="https://cms.polinations.com/assets/722bde44-f03a-40fa-917c-688a8d232cac?width=3024&amp;height=4032" alt="Bumble Bee on Pineapple Lily[98]" />

Dahlia (bishop of Llandaff)

Meet Jane Memmott: ecologist and entomologist

Dishoom&rsquo;s Chef Naved always tastes the masala chai as soon as he sets foot into any of the Dishoom kitchens. Here, you can try the much-loved Dishoom recipe in the comfort of your home.
Serves 4&nbsp;
<h5>Ingredients</h5>
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">2 tbsp Assam or Darjeeling tea</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">12 slices fresh ginger</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">1&frac12; tsp black peppercorns</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">12 cardamom pods</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">2 cinnamon sticks</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">5 cloves</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">50 sugar</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">500ml whole milk</li>
</ul>
<h5>Method</h5>
<ol>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Put the tea, ginger and spices into a saucepan. Pour on 1 litre boiling and bring to the boil. Lower the heat and simmer until you can smell the spices, about 10 minutes.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Add the sugar and milk, turn up the heat and bring to the boil. Allow 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. (A skin will form, but this is strained off at the end.) Taste to see if the chai is to your liking; boil a little more if you wish for a stronger flavour. Patience will be rewarded!</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Strain, discard the solids, and serve immediately.</li>
</ol>
<h5>You can enjoy a free cup of chai every morning at PoliNations: sample Dishoom&rsquo;s recipe whilst exploring the history of masala chai at our Tuk Tuk.</h5>
<a title="" href="https://www.polinations.com/whats-on/events/tuk-tuk-chaiwallah" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Tuk Tuk Chaiwallah</a> Every day of PoliNations 11am &ndash; 12pm and 3pm &ndash; 4pm
In the meantime, discover a <a title="" href="https://www.polinations.com/latest/a-brief-history-of-chai-dishoom" target="_blank" rel="noopener">brief history of masala chai in our second blog with Dishoom.</a>
This recipe has been taken from Dishoom&rsquo;s cookery book, <a href="https://store.dishoom.com/dishoom-cookery-book/">Dishoom: From Bombay with Love</a>.&nbsp;

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Make Masala Chai at Home

No morning in India starts without masala chai. From Bombay&rsquo;s innumerable tapris (street stalls), roadside kiosks or at home, it is an integral part of the rhythm of life in the city.
Our friends at <a href="https://www.dishoom.com/">Dishoom</a> have been lovingly brewing their masala chai for over ten years, using the same blend you&rsquo;ll encounter at Tuk Tuk Chaiwallah in the PoliNations super garden. Endlessly comforting and satisfyingly spicy, the mix is packed full of fond memories from leisurely Sunday mornings with family to chit-chatting with friends and summer holidays with numerous aunties and uncles.
<h5>But where does masala chai come from?&nbsp;</h5>
Just like the city of Bombay, chai is characterised by international transactions, a complex past and the ability to unite people of all backgrounds.
In 1901, the Indian Tea Association (largely consisting of British tea plantation owners) began a campaign to increase consumption of its product among Indians by providing tea. A daily tea break was introduced into the working day, on the grounds that it was believed to make workers happier and more productive.
During the 1920s and 1930s, Indians began adding masala (spice blend) to their tea to mask the bitter taste (and anyway, they had a long history of flavouring milky drinks with spices). In the 1930s, the Association tried to prevent this as they believed that this meant less tea being used and, in turn, less profit. Adding masala became, in a way, a form of quiet resistance.&nbsp;
In 1947, India achieved its independence from British rule. Indian tea was labelled 100% Swadeshi (Indian produced) and became a source of national pride. In the following years India began nationalising the plantations and, at the same time, the popularity of affordable CTC (cut-tear-curl &ndash; a method of production that breaks each tea leaf into smaller parts which ensures that it mixes beautifully with the spices resulting in a perfect infusion with superb colour and strength) tea soared. Tea soon became the fuel of the nation and, to this day, is the morning start and afternoon sustenance of Indian homes.
By the way, chai simply means &ldquo;tea&rdquo;
For this reason, you probably shouldn&rsquo;t say &ldquo;chai tea&rdquo;
Thank you to Dishoom for taking us on this fascinating chai-filled journey!&nbsp;
In the UK we import an epic 126,000 tonnes of tea from around the world every year! Some of it is grown in harsh working conditions and with the use of chemicals, so keep an eye out for Fairtrade and Organic tea to help support farmers and our ecological system.
<h5>You can enjoy a free cup of chai every morning at PoliNations: sample Dishoom&rsquo;s blend whilst exploring the history of masala chai at our Tuk Tuk.</h5>
<a title="" href="https://www.polinations.com/whats-on/events/tuk-tuk-chaiwallah" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Tuk Tuk Chaiwallah</a> Every day of PoliNations 11am &ndash; 12pm and 3pm &ndash; 4pm 
In the meantime, perfect your chai making skills at home <a title="" href="https://www.polinations.com/latest/make-masala-chai-at-home-with-dishoom" target="_blank" rel="noopener">with the Dishoom recipe</a>.

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A Brief History of Chai

The PoliNations digital project is a visual reflection of a moment in time &ndash; where thoughts, feelings and experiences are captured as flowers in a Virtual Super Garden.
<img src="https://cms.polinations.com/assets/04b4b9d0-1fed-4a02-b770-e0f5a7e8dcca?width=1080&amp;height=1080" alt="PoliNations Virtual Super Garden" />
<h4>How does it work?</h4>
 The Virtual Super Garden takes the idea behind PoliNations and translates it into a digital reality! Within the app, our thoughts, feelings and experiences are captured as flowers, unique to each individual. From the shape of the leaves to the colour of the petals, your flower is influenced by your own personal thoughts and feelings.
<h4>Slow down and reflect</h4>
 Creating your flower invites a moment to reflect. It asks you to be present, and think about perceptions of yourself; to consider thoughts, feelings and experiences that you may have never thought about before.
It&rsquo;s also about accepting how your feelings and perceptions change over time, meaning you could get a completely different looking flower on any different day!
<h4>Consider your feelings</h4>
 The questions in the app are driven by emotional meaning. They involve interpretation and personal reflection to generate thoughts, feelings and ideas around our identities.
The content was informed by a creative workshop, where we were able to collaborate with a diverse group of people to shape and design the questions. We then consulted a psychologist to focus the questions, ensuring they were reflective and open.
<img src="https://cms.polinations.com/assets/37782071-cacf-4fc1-a5a3-70e0873e5415?width=2418&amp;height=2065" alt="PoliNations Virtual Super Garden" />
<h4>Plant your flower</h4>
 Using Augmented Reality, you can plant your flower wherever you like and see how this representation of your feelings changes in your immediate environment. You can even mix your flowers with others, cross-pollinating to create new plant life in a shared experience
<img src="https://cms.polinations.com/assets/766801fb-0f82-4c8e-894b-58f42798e8db?width=1125&amp;height=1474" alt="PoliNations Virtual Super Garden" />
&nbsp;
This project was developed in collaboration with digital agency, Peter &amp; Paul.
&nbsp;&ldquo;From deep diving into nature to find out about all the weird and wonderful things in the natural world to hosting workshops to listen to as many thoughts, feelings and experiences around identity as we could, this experience has really pushed us to understand and embrace the nuances of how we see ourselves and others. It&rsquo;s been an opportunity to ask what is it about our identity that we think is valuable and how do we celebrate it?
We want anyone who visits the virtual super garden to go on a personal journey in which they can immerse themselves and be their authentic self.&rdquo;
Paul Reardon, co-founder
We hope you enjoy your AR experience! We'd love to see your flowers &ndash; please share with us using the #GrowYourMind hashtag and tagging us on social media. Happy growing!

App Teaser Fb Twitter

Introducing: The PoliNations Virtual Super Garden

We're so excited to share our programme for PoliNations - a super garden of magical proportions taking over Birmingham&rsquo;s city centre for 17 days this September!&nbsp;
Inspired by the fact that the majority of plants in our city gardens come from overseas, PoliNations will celebrate the cross-pollination that has shaped British culture. Across two spectacular long weekend festivals, a community planting weekend, and a daily programme of inspiring activity, PoliNations will present artist commissions, talks, workshops, garden tours, and performances spanning live music, spoken word, dance, and drag. All events will be free and open to everyone!
Taking place in Birmingham, one of the most multicultural, creative and green cities of the UK, which has &lsquo;Tree City of the World&rsquo; status, PoliNations will highlight stories of migration shared by plants and humans alike. The epic programme will shine a light on our differences, similarities, roots and freedoms.
Angie Bual, Creative Director, Trigger, said:
&ldquo;The idea behind PoliNations derived from the wave of Black Lives Matter protests that happened at the same time as the coronavirus lockdowns, when more and more people were reconnecting with nature. These phenomena made me think about my own identity and place in the UK, and at Trigger Collective we began exploring the relationship between plants, cultural identity and civic activism. We were surprised to find out that most of the plant life in our city gardens has travelled in from outside of the UK and wanted to use the vibrancy of plant life as a metaphor to understand why we're multi-cultural. Together we make the world more beautiful and interesting, and we've been doing this in the UK for thousands of years. Migration isn't a recent action - it's as old as the rose, apple and lavender are to our gardens. The PoliNations programme is the result of collaborations with members of many diverse communities and it's a true celebration of cultural diversity, individuality and self-expression.&rdquo;
Martin Green, Chief Creative Officer at UNBOXED: Creativity in the UK and the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games, said:
 &ldquo;PoliNations will be a joyous celebration of the incredible creativity and cultural diversity across the UK today. We&rsquo;re thrilled to have commissioned the festival as a part of UNBOXED, and that it will also provide a spectacular free event for everyone in the final month of the Birmingham 2022 Festival. Audiences from the region and far and wide will be able to experience an event that embraces diverse forms of art, and myriad ways to tell captivating personal and collective stories that reflect the magnificent richness of our society.&rdquo;
<h5>THE SUPER GARDEN</h5>
PoliNations was inspired by the surprising fact that over 80% of plants found in UK city-gardens originate from overseas.
Audiences will discover a super garden in Birmingham&rsquo;s town centre, with giant architectural trees and thousands of colourful living plants beautifully arranged in zones ranging from meadow to forest. As part of a partnership with Birmingham City Council,&nbsp; plants from the PoliNations garden will go back out to re-green the city.
The visionary team behind the super garden, <a href="https://www.triggerstuff.co.uk/">Trigger Collective</a>, include experts in horticulture, arts, science and architecture, brought together by arts organisation Trigger. The Collective includes: <a title="" href="https://www.triggerstuff.co.uk/about" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Angie Bual</a> (<a title="" href="https://www.thehatchling.co.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Hatchling</a>), <a title="" href="https://www.carlrobertshaw.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Carl Robertshaw</a> (Bj&ouml;rk, Kylie Minogue, London 2012 Olympics Ceremonies), set and costume designer <a href="https://bronia.co.uk/">Bronia Housman</a> (Bristol Old Vic, Take That, Sadler&rsquo;s Wells), design and architecture studio <a href="https://thiss.works/">THISS</a> (The Bartlett, UCL, 2021 Seoul Biennale of Architecture and Urbanism), and award-winning horticultural designers Chris and Toby Marchant (RHS Chelsea Flower Show medal-winners, Hauser &amp; Wirth Somerset).
<h5>ICONIC PLANT SCULPTURES AND WALKING WORKS OF ART</h5>
Beyond the super garden&rsquo;s living plants, throughout Victoria Square and Chamberlain Square visitors will discover Iconic Plant Sculptures, inspired by the incredible diversity of plant-life in the UK and their equally colourful origins and uses ranging from protest to ritual and wellbeing. Designed by Carl Robertshaw, the sculptures will feature soundscapes created by local and international artists, in collaboration with Olivier Award-winning sound designer Tom Gibbons.
Throughout the finale weekend, Ballistic Seed Party&nbsp; (15-18 September), a cast of Walkabout Performers led by artist and performer Symon&eacute; (Guinness World Records) will personify the iconic garden plants. Dressed in Met-Gala worthy costumes designed by Clary Salandy (Mahogany Carnival Design) and Bourgeoise aka Joey A. Frenette (RuPaul&rsquo;s Drag Race), these walking works of art will animate the super garden and conclude each day with a choreographed performance at Sunset. Among the cast is the celebrated performance artist aka &lsquo;living sculpture&rsquo; Daniel Lismore.
<h5>PROGRAMME HIGHLIGHTS</h5>
The PoliNations programme will unfurl across two main stages including the Main Stage and Mother Tree Stage, as well as a workshop dome, Wondersphere. Highlights include two extraordinary weekend festivals, a daily programme of diverse and inspiring activities and a community Plant Up! project open to the public.
<h5>BALLISTIC SEED PARTY Thursday 15 - Sunday 18 September, 2022</h5>
The Ballistic Seed Party will be a four-day weekend finale celebrating self-expression with queer, South Asian, African and Caribbean artists from the West Midlands and beyond leading the programme. Thursday offers a day of glitz and glam for all the family. Friday evening offers an Indian summer&rsquo;s evening of dance and music curated in partnership with Sandwell &amp; Birmingham Mela, the biggest Asian music festival in Europe. Saturday will host an all day - all night party in the spirit of Carnival, Holi, and Mardi Gras brought to life thanks to collaborations with ACE Dance and Music, the national touring company based in Birmingham, Sandwell &amp; Birmingham Mela and Symon&eacute;&rsquo;s cast of Walkabout Performers. On Saturday festival goers will also get to see the tree canopies bursting in a cloud of colour and confetti. Sunday will present local live music from Birmingham and the West Midlands, including Kofi Stone, TrueMendous, and Rosie Tee.
Across this four-day festival, unmissable events celebrating self-expression and queer culture at the Main Stage include The Catwalk Extravaganza hosted by the formidable performer, writer and director Rikki Beadle Blair, which will present queer collectives and individual performers for stunning fashion, lip-sync, make-up and dance battles produced in partnership with Darren Pritchard. Meanwhile the Family Catwalk Extravaganza - part theatre, part competition - ensures all the family can join in. Yshee&rsquo;s Drag Party hosted by Drag artist Yshee Black will also unite an extraordinary group of talent for a showcase of drag, dance and cabaret to reflect on the theme of &lsquo;growth.&rsquo; At the Mother Tree Stage, Drag Queen Storytime, a children&rsquo;s story hour capturing the imagination and play of the gender fluidity in childhood, will give kids unabashedly queer role models. While at Chamberlain Square, visitors can attend free costume-making workshops at the WonderSphere with esteemed designers Clary Salandy and Bourgeoisie aka Joey A. Frenette in preparation for the final party on Saturday.
Elsewhere in the Ballistic Seed Party, music will feature renowned disco collective Horse Meat Disco, playing alongside the UK&rsquo;s most exciting new talent including rapper and hip hop artist Kofi Stone and leading Afro fusion collective Balimaya Project, world music group The Turbans, and many more. Visitors will discover vibrant Rangoli street art by Ranbir Kaur unfolding across Chamberlain Square and Victoria Square and will be able to have their hands decorated by henna artists.
<h5>Poetry &amp; Performance Festival in partnership with&nbsp; BBC Contains Strong Language Friday 9 - Sunday 11 September, 2022</h5>
The Poetry &amp; Performance Festival in partnership with BBC&rsquo;s Contains Strong Language festival will highlight 22 poets from across the Commonwealth including both regional and UK poetry talents. Special performances will include &lsquo;White Juju&rsquo; a live musical performance written in response to the Black Lives Matter movement, Black British History and lockdown by saxophonist and rapper Soweto Kinch (Mercury Prize Nominated). Jasmine Gardosi (Birmingham Poet Laureate Finalist) will present &lsquo;Dancing to Music You Hate&rsquo; a genre-defying performance by the poet, slam champion and beatboxer whose poems explore sex education, LGBTQ+ issues and mental health. Further programming includes screenings of animated films created as part of BBC Words First, Contains Strong Language Radio Club workshop sessions with local schoolchildren and more artists to be announced.
<h5>Plant Up! Friday 2 - Sunday 4 September</h5>
During the opening weekend of PoliNations, the public are invited to attend the Plant Up! which will see diverse local community groups and schools planting flowers in the super garden accompanied by Head Gardeners from The Birmingham Botanical Gardens.
In preparation for the Plant Up! weekend, over 1000 local people have been growing marigolds around Birmingham. The groups involved in the city-wide growing project reflect the diversity of Birmingham&rsquo;s communities, ranging from youth to elderly groups, from expert gardeners to total beginners, including refugee groups, women&rsquo;s groups, and disability action groups.
<h5>DAILY PROGRAMME Wellbeing &amp; Relaxation</h5>
Unfolding beneath the giant and otherworldly tree installations, daily events to relax the body and mind will span the PoliNations site. Each day begins the Awakening, a soundscape (by internationally renowned composer Max Perryment and co-created by Tom Gibbons, PoliNations&rsquo; award-winning Sound Designer) and closes with the Sunset Shift, a light and soundscape (created by Lighting Designer Matt Daw, Sound Designer Tom Gibbons and Composer Max Perryment, in partnership with Royal Birmingham Conservatoire, part of Birmingham City University) inspired by the sound of the bullroarer and transitioning the super garden from day to night time.
Daytime offerings also include Yoga, Pilates and Tai-Chi provided by local groups, Into the Garden: horticultural tours led by experts from The Birmingham Botanical Gardens.
<h5>ICONIC LUNCHTIME TALKS</h5>
A series of Iconic Lunchtime Talks hosted by drag artist Yshee Black will delve into topics including freedom of expression, protest, decolonisation, sustainability and wellbeing, including a special series curated by organic food grower and author Claire Ratinon with artist and educator Sam Ayre. Talks include:&nbsp; &lsquo;Horticultural Appropriation&rsquo; by Claire Ratinon and Sam Ayre, Sui Searle and Dr. Ros Gray on &lsquo;Decolonising the garden&rsquo;, Jon Drori on &lsquo;the histories and roles of plants in our lives,&rsquo; and Sue Stuart Smith and Chris Marchant on &lsquo;The Well Gardened Mind.&rsquo;&nbsp;
<h5>SEE, TASTE, TOUCH</h5>
Tea Tuk Tuk Chai Wallah in partnership with Dishoom Restaurants will be a place to enjoy a cup of tea every day, whilst exploring the history of the beverage and its journey to the UK. From Soil to Sip will invite participants to discover fragrant seeds and plants and brew the perfect mix of herbs and spices. &nbsp;This sensory experience is presented by performance company, Spectra, who hold neurodiversity at the heart of their work. At the TukTuk visitors will also encounter dance performances led by renowned&nbsp; dancemaker, choreographer and cultural producer Jaivant Patel Dance, and performers dressed in specially designed costumes as part of a partnership with British Council - Pakistan/UK: New Perspectives 2022, PoliNations.
Touch Tours of the super garden will also be offered across on selected days for the site for those who are blind, partially sighted or would benefit from a tour of the site exploring textures and sounds.
<h5>VIRTUAL SUPER GARDEN</h5>
For those who cannot access the festival, as well as those who can, the PoliNations app&nbsp; launching in July, will invite audiences to step into a virtual super garden, create flowers and watch them come to life in augmented reality.
<h5>Don't forget, all of our events are free and open to everyone!</h5>
Check back here for the latest udpates or sign up to our email to be one of the first to hear about all thinsg PoliNations!&nbsp;
&nbsp;
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An Artist Render of Poli Nations, Courtesy of Trigger Collective. Credit Thiss, Carl Robertshaw, Trigger (2)

Drum roll..... the PoliNations programme is here!

Our mega costume designer Joey A Frenette has landed in Pakistan embarking on a brilliant new collaboration with two acclaimed fashion designers in Karachi as part of the Pakistan/UK New Perspectives porgramme!
As part of their residency, Joey is working side by side with Pakistan based Yousuf Bashir Qureshi and Riffat Aliani to design and create a series of costumes for our live event in Birmingham this September.&nbsp; They&rsquo;ll be basing their designs on the themes of PoliNations, journeys along the Silk Road and the history of tea, as well as learning from each other&rsquo;s practices. And their pieces will be worn by dancers as part of PoliNations. We can&rsquo;t wait to showcase this amazing collaboration as part of the festival!&nbsp;
Joey, Yousuf and Riffat will also be showcasing their designs at The PoliNations Pakistan Costume showcase in Karachi on Saturday 18th June, make sure you drop by for a sneak peek of their work if you&rsquo;re in the area.&nbsp;
We&rsquo;ve also got distinguished sitar player Rakae Jamil will also be composing&nbsp; two new compositions responding to the themes surrounding tea and the tulip flower - joining forces with PoliNations&rsquo; sound designer Tom Gibbons to present this new work in Birmingham.
PoliNations Creative Director and Artistic Director of Trigger, Angie Bual said: &ldquo;We&rsquo;re so excited by the creative opportunity and collaboration this partnership provides. Exploring, celebrating and learning from the diversity and creativity across our cultures is at the heart of what PoliNations is, so bring part of this season and collaborating with such talented Pakistan based creatives through the programme is a really exciting opportunity for us. We&rsquo;ve worked with Joey on other projects too and know that their creativity knows no bounds &ndash; I can&rsquo;t wait to see how their designs are influenced by time and collaboration in Pakistan this summer.&rdquo;&nbsp;
Laila Jamil, Director Arts, British Council Pakistan said: &ldquo;We are very pleased to have enabled this cultural exchange between UK and Pakistani artists. It&rsquo;s exciting for us to also have collaborative projects for fashion and music under the PK-UK Season. This is a great programme for learning and future projects in the arts.&rdquo;
After the showcase, the costumes will be making their way back to Birmingham where they will be showcased in spectacular fashion by renowned dancers for a special series of performances around a beautifully designed Tea Tuk-Tuk that will serve free chai to visitors while telling the story of tea across history and the Silk Road. Audiences will also have the opportunity to listen to the Rakae&rsquo;s new piece, bringing PoliNations and Pakistan together once more in the garden!&nbsp;&nbsp;
The New Perspective programme showcases the cultural wealth and contemporary creativity of both countries; facilitating professional collaboration for culture, creative and education sectors; with a focus on a shared future through building lasting partnerships. Find out more <a href="https://polinations.com/whats-on/">here</a>!
Fancy a cuppa? Find out more about tea and it&rsquo;s journey to the UK <a href="https://polinations.com/taking-part/">this way...</a>

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We’re in Pakistan!

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Today, 10th May 2022, hundreds of children and adults across Birmingham began growing flowers in preparation for the spectacular pop-up garden festival PoliNations taking place from 2-18 September. Produced by Trigger Collective as a part of UNBOXED: Creativity in the UK, PoliNations will turn Birmingham&rsquo;s city centre into an urban oasis for a celebration of the cross-pollination that has shaped British culture.
&nbsp;
Over the next 4 months, over 1000 people from 60 diverse community groups across the city will be growing calendula flowers, commonly known as marigold using the PoliNations Grow Packs with all the resources provided. The project will culminate in the co-planting of 600 marigolds in the magical PoliNations pop-up garden. After the two-week festival, all plants will go back out into Birmingham to re-green the city.
&nbsp;
Open to all, PoliNations is part of the UK-wide UNBOXED: Creativity in the UK, and will bring the cultural programme for the Birmingham 2022 Festival to a spectacular close. Through free events, workshops, and performances including live music, dance, spoken word and drag, the festival will celebrate the beauty, colour, and diversity that makes up British horticulture and culture. Up-and-coming and renowned artists from Birmingham and beyond will perform under the shelter of giant architectural trees and surrounded by thousands of colourful plants.
&nbsp;
The groups involved in the mass growing project reflect the diversity of Birmingham&rsquo;s communities, ranging from youth to elderly groups, from expert gardeners to total beginners, including refugee groups, women&rsquo;s groups, and disability action groups. Among the local communities involved include Saheli Hub, a women and girls group focused on community wellbeing; Kinmos, a mental health charity; Women with Hope, a charity dedicated to improving the lives of women asylum-seekers, refugees and migrants; Open Theatre, working with young people with learning disabilities on non-verbal physical theatre; the Czech and Slovak Club, which promotes the welfare and culture of the Czech and Slovak community living in UK; the volunteer growing group Highbury Orchard Community; and Birmingham Cathedral.
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Amanda Clinton, a youth leader involved in the project with The Factory Young People's Centre, said:
<blockquote>
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s fantastic to be part of this PoliNations project. Gardening has helped me through difficult times and I want to teach my young people the mental health benefits of gardening, by getting outside with them and growing for PoliNations. We can&rsquo;t wait to see our marigolds flowering in the pop-up garden this autumn.&rdquo;
</blockquote>
Angie Bual, Creative Director, Trigger said,
<blockquote>
&ldquo;We are so pleased to be working with such a diverse range of community groups across Birmingham for this co-growing project, which is a key part of the festival and its ethos. PoliNations is about celebrating the beauty, colour, and diversity that make up British horticulture and culture. For this particular project, we chose Marigolds, known as Shakespeare&rsquo;s favourite plant and much-loved around the world. They are used in celebrations from Mexico to India, in food, and in medicine and have equally diverse origins.&rdquo;
</blockquote>
The idea for PoliNations grew from a simple but surprising fact: over 80% of the plants found in UK cities&rsquo; gardens originate from overseas. Across the festival programming, visitors will be invited to learn more about the incredible biodiversity of plant-life in the UK, the importance of our green spaces, and celebrate the equally colourful roots, journeys and histories of British people. In addition to live performances and talks, PoliNations will present a programme of events ranging from costume-making workshops with Joey Frenette (RuPaul&rsquo;s Drag Race) and Clary Salandy (Notting Hill Carnival) to garden tours, story-telling, light shows, and more.
&nbsp;
Trigger Collective, a multidisciplinary creative team of experts in horticulture, arts, science and architecture will be supported by local trainees to develop PoliNations across design, architecture, costume, sound, and production. The team is also collaborating with treasured local and national organisations to help bring the pop-up garden to life, including partnerships with the <a href="https://www.birminghambotanicalgardens.org.uk" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Birmingham Botanical Gardens</a>, <a href="https://www.bcu.ac.uk/conservatoire">Royal Birmingham Conservatoire, part of Birmingham City University</a>, the poetry and spoken word festival <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p058nfry">BBC Contains Strong Language</a>, <a href="https://www.paradisebirmingham.co.uk">Paradise Birmingham</a>, and the <a href="https://www.dishoom.com">Bombay-inspired restaurant group Dishoom</a>.
The festival programme, which will be announced in June, is poised to showcase a stellar mix of talent including Birmingham&rsquo;s much loved drag performer Yshee Black. As part of her role as PoliNations Associate Artist, Yshee Black said she plans to bring together &ldquo;a group of creatives from the world of Drag, dance and cabaret to celebrate the growth of the city, the people who inhabit the midlands, and personal growth to create a better lasting society for future generations&rdquo;.
&nbsp;
For those who cannot access the festival, as well as those who can, the PoliNations app, designed by agency Peter &amp; Paul, is set to launch this summer. Audiences will be able to step into a virtual super garden, create flowers that are based on your thoughts and feelings and watch them come to life in augmented reality.
&nbsp;
PoliNations is one of 10 major creative projects commissioned as part of UNBOXED: Creativity in the UK, which are the result of collaboration across science, technology, engineering, arts and maths and bringing hundreds of free events and activities across the UK in 2022. PoliNations is presented as part of Birmingham 2022 Festival in collaboration with Birmingham City Council.
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Martin Green, Chief Creative Officer at UNBOXED: Creativity in the UK and Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games, said,
<blockquote>
&ldquo;PoliNations perfectly embodies the two primary objectives of UNBOXED: to celebrate creativity and to bring people together. Their brilliant work with local communities is only the beginning of what will be a powerful celebration of the many facets of creativity and UK culture, as well as an awe-inspiring and joyous experience for diverse audiences.&rdquo;
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Hundreds of locals start growing marigolds for PoliNations

<h5>Birmingham Live get excited about our &lsquo;bold plan to create a giant forest-garden in Victoria Square&rsquo; as PoliNations heads to Birmingham in 2022!&nbsp;</h5>
&lsquo;A major cultural event to be held in Birmingham after the Commonwealth Games will show how the city's human diversity is reflected in gardens across the UK.
PoliNations will celebrate 'the extraordinary diversity of the UK's people and plants' as part of an exploration of migration.
As well as creating a forest in Victoria Square, collaborative projects and performances will include evening light shows. Educational tents will provide 'havens' for visitors to learn about people of all genders, ethnicity and religions. There will also be a Glam Dome - featuring leading Drag costume designer Bourgeoisie&nbsp;(RuPaul&rsquo;s Drag Race) for Drag makeovers.
The forest-garden will feature &lsquo;Hybrid Tea Rose&rsquo; (hybridised China and Asian forms), classic &lsquo;Weeping Willows&rsquo; (introduced from China and the Middle East), lavender (brought over from countries around the Mediterranean), productive apple trees (imported from Kazakhstan) and tulips (Central Asia). The plants will be co-grown and co-planted with local schools and community groups.
Each day there will be forest tours, audio baths, light shows, talks and performances while the towering &lsquo;supertrees&rsquo; will capture rainwater and create electricity through wind power to deliver a low carbon event.&rsquo;
<blockquote>
Organisers say the event - to be held in Victoria Square next September &ndash; &lsquo;has been inspired by the pandemic as well as 'the long-awaited reckoning of the impacts of slavery, empire and colonialism through the Black Lives Matter movement protests'.
</blockquote>
<a href="https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/whats-on/whats-on-news/victoria-square-forest-garden-40ft-22238048">Read the full article</a>.&nbsp;

Large sculpture being lifted out of Victoria Square

Victoria Square to get a forest-garden with 40ft trees and 'Drag' makeover dome

<h5>The Guardian showcase the ten UNBOXED commissions, highlighting PoliNations as a celebration of the multicultural origins of the UK&rsquo;s people and plants.</h5>
Ten projects selected from nearly 300 submitted ideas form a &ldquo;once-in-a-lifetime&rdquo; extravaganza, according to Martin Green, Unboxed&rsquo;s chief creative officer, who was the head of ceremonies for the 2012 London Olympics.
He said it was the UK&rsquo;s &ldquo;biggest and most ambitious public creative programme to date. Unboxed represents an unprecedented and timely opportunity for people to come together across the UK and beyond and take part in awe-inspiring projects that speak to who we are and explore the ideas that will define our futures.&rdquo;
Free events will take place &ldquo;from the Outer Hebrides to Dover, and from Omagh to Swansea, right across the UK&rdquo; between March and October next year, said Green. Thousands of schoolchildren will take part in competitions and educational programmes, and hundreds of jobs and &ldquo;opportunities for emerging talent&rdquo; will be created.
<blockquote>
&ldquo;As the programme unfolds, it will both entertain us and inspire us to imagine what the future might hold.&rdquo; Dame Vikki Heywood, the chair of the Unboxed board.
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<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2021/oct/21/ten-projects-chosen-for-unboxed-creativity-in-the-uk-festival">Read the full article</a>.&nbsp;

Ten projects chosen for ‘once-in-a-lifetime’ UK festival of creativity

<h5>Birmingham Live announce PoliNations as an &lsquo;ecological celebration of diversity&rsquo; with promise to ignite the senses and deepen understanding of our shared history.</h5>
&lsquo;A spectacular forest garden used to represent diversity is set to be unveiled in Birmingham city centre in 2022. The monumental pop-up, known as "PoliNations", is a celebration of multiculturalism through the biodiversity of plant life.
The immersive forest will be filled with real and architectural trees as well as plants, grasses and flowers grown in collaboration with local communities. From daisies to horse chestnut trees and dahlias to the English rose, many of the plants that we consider to be part of the UK landscape originate overseas.
PoliNations &ndash; also part of the <a href="https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/midlands-news/commonwealth-games-2022-announce-festival-21602913">Birmingham 2022 Festival</a> &ndash; will celebrate the global origins of the UK&rsquo;s plants and population. It will feature immersive installations, live music, talks and performances next summer and autumn.&nbsp;
The event will culminate in a party that brings together the spirit of the Notting Hill Carnival, Pride and Mela with the joyous anarchy of Thailand's Songkran celebrations and the Hindu festival Holi.&rsquo;
<blockquote>
"PoliNations celebrates the colour and vibrancy that plants and flowers have brought to the UK and invites us to reimagine our cities as greener and wilder places to be" Angie Bual
</blockquote>
<a href="https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/midlands-news/spectacular-forest-garden-created-birmingham-21924436">Read the full article</a>.

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