Next phase begins for Dundee’s Covid memorial garden with Dundonians being invited to contribute
- Andrew Batchelor
- 1 hour ago
- 2 min read
Dundee’s Covid Community Memorial Garden is moving into its next phase as UNESCO City of Design Dundee, who are overseeing the project, are now inviting people to contribute to the project as it moves towards installation.
This comes with the launch of a public Crowdfunder, following its approval earlier this year.
The permanent greenspace, planned for Caird Avenue beside Moncur Crescent Playpark, was formally approved earlier this year.
The Crowdfunder is open until Friday 30 January and gives residents the opportunity to help shape the final memorial.
The memorial has been developed through Dundee’s participation in Remembering Together, a national initiative encouraging communities across Scotland to reflect on their experiences of the Covid pandemic.
In Dundee, people from all over the city took part in months of conversations and creative workshops led by design studio Around Zero.
These sessions explored how the city should remember loved ones, acknowledge the challenges faced, and celebrate the ways communities supported one another. Their ideas formed the basis of the final design by Old School Fabrications.
Due to be installed by Autumn 2026, the memorial garden will centre around a gentle labyrinth pathway surrounded by perennial planting chosen to provide year-round colour.
At its heart will be a sculptural display of birds in flight, selected by community participants as a symbol of hope, renewal and the turning of the seasons.
The use of timber, Corten steel and sustainable planting ensures the space will be long-lasting, welcoming and low-maintenance.
The Crowdfunder offers the public a way to support the creation of the garden, with optional thank-you gifts for those who choose them.
These include wildflower seeds inspired by the memorial’s planting, a handcrafted Corten steel bird decoration, and the chance for supporters to have a bird represented within the central artwork.
The gestures are simply a way of acknowledging people who want to contribute to the project’s completion.
The garden’s location beside Moncur Crescent Playpark was chosen in response to feedback from young people and families involved in the workshops.
Many expressed the importance of recognising how the pandemic affected children and of creating a space that feels connected to everyday community life.
UNESCO City of Design Dundee hope this next step will allow residents to support the community’s vision as it becomes reality.
