Friday 1 August 2014

The Gardeners Go To War

The Lambeth environmental and educational charity Roots and Shoots has produced a professionally made seven minute period newsreel, The Gardeners Go To War, which was shown on their silver gilt award winning garden at this year’s Chelsea Flower Show.   

To mark the First World War centenary year, the flickering sepia newsreel tells a little known story of the black soldiers who came from the colonies to fight for the Crown in the Great War, imagining that gardeners were in the ranks.  Roots and Shoots students, all of whom have various special needs and many of whom have Afro-Caribbean heritage, played the gardeners. The project involved them in history, gardening and film-making and helped deepen their ‘roots’ in British culture and strengthen their sense of belonging.

It’s an interesting and enjoyable take on the outbreak of the war.


The Gardeners Go To War from Roots and Shoots on Vimeo.

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