Locked up and locked out

Glasgow was a place of high security, but for one landscape architect, also a place where the public realm provided a place for discourse and connection.

Clare Hunt

Head of Landscape at ADP

Claire is ADP’s head of landscape, and a chartered member of the Landscape Institute. Claire is also a visiting tutor on the Landscape Architecture course at Birmingham City University.

Making my way to the Green Zone at COP26 – an area where the general public could engage with talks and exhibitions – I noticed how much of the event felt locked away.

We were met with security gates, guards, checkpoints for COVID passports and tickets. This was of course with good reason, given the ongoing threat of COVID and the potential for terrorism or protestors to disrupt the event. Still, it added to the sense that climate change is in some way intangible to the general public.

If not here, where can the public easily engage? In public places, of course: the streets, squares, and parks of the city. So, this is where I went – and it wasn’t long before the faint sound of music caught my attention. Drums beating. The familiar tune of “She’ll be coming round the mountain” (with the lyrics cheekily changed to “You can stick yer climate crisis up yer arse”) in a gentle, folky Scottish voice. There was a gathering of people outside the Blue Zone, where the main delegates enter the site. Bright banners reading “There’s no Dancing on a Dead Planet” brought life to the imposing security fences, creating a backdrop for what can only be described as a climate change cèilidh.

The joy I felt watching this event matched the faces of the dancers. This is what public space is all about: peaceful protest, freedom of speech, fun and chance encounters.

I spoke to some of the protestors while here – the most striking of whom was Isabella Harding. On this cold, sunny Glaswegian afternoon, she stood holding a plaque around her neck, silently making her statement. Isabella seemed guarded at first, but when I explained that I was a landscape architect, her demeanour changed. We discussed the need for habitat restoration, tree planting and buying organic. I was beaming after our chat and felt that I’d left her with some optimism.

My head turned when a flash of red passed by. A chain of people all dressed in red threaded through the crowd, as the “Red Rebel Brigade” danced their protest around us. I later learned that the red outfits signify the blood on the hands of the government due to their inaction in combating climate change.

We next encountered a group from Sustaining All Life, who provide counselling for the emotional toll of the climate crisis. “Climate guilt” is a real threat, too. The personal pressures we face – perhaps especially in our profession, as we battle to make nature a priority – can be overwhelming. I was amazed that a support network exists for people feeling this. It reinforced the need for outdoor space and contact with nature as an antidote to the stresses of society.

My final stop was the student exhibition for Architects Climate Action Network, where I met Freya Macleod. Freya studied interior and environmental design at Dundee University, and I enjoyed hearing the perspective of someone starting their career in the built environment. Our chat covered the importance of public space for protests: looking around the exhibition, I could see many examples of public realm design.

One exhibition which caught my eye was titled “Climate Confessions”. The exhibition invited people to write their climate-related “guilty pleasures” on a sticky note. “I go for drives… just for fun.” “I never switch my lights off because I’m scared of the dark.”

Even here, climate guilt seemed ever present.

My trip to COP26 was full of wonderful people, all striving towards a common goal, some personal, some professional and quite often both. It gave me a sense of pride to be working in an industry where we’re able to make a difference, particularly when I was describing what a landscape architect does to those who weren’t familiar with the profession. We’re in a role that allows us to create beautiful spaces that can respond to the current threat of the crisis. We’re part of a diverse built environment network and we’re in the right time and place to create a genuine greener future.