Toolshed Garden
A planned garden/sanctuary space/artwork/classroom on Basilica Hudson’s Net Zero Campus.
What is it?
The Toolshed Garden at Basilica Hudson was designed to transform an acre of landfill and industrial use into an educational and demonstration garden, a living sculpture and an embodied history of landscape in the Hudson area. It currently exists only in the design phase, as soil testing revealed the presence of heavy metals and funding for its enactment has not yet materialized.
As designed the garden demonstrates various growing techniques and will invite artists to execute lasting projects in the on site that will in turn entangle with other projects. For example, we were in discussions with the artist Sam Van Aken about an orchard that would represent a history of fruit growing in the region and with artist Kamau Patton about a weed garden or a creole garden that would embody ideas about belonging and history. As with all Toolshed projects, we have consulted with the Stockbridge-Munsee band of the Mohican Nation. If implemented at Basilica Hudson or elsewhere the Toolshed Garden would forge partnerships with local organizations to develop the garden in ways that serve their constituents and has already had preliminary conversations with more than a dozen organizations.
What does it do?
Provide a space of regeneration, contemplation and interaction with ecology; a space also to learn about tools. A big challenge has cropped up in terms of some heavy metals on the site and we are considering how to proceed.
Who is it for?
Anyone living in or visiting Hudson. In documentation, for anyone interested in doing something similar.
What inspired and informed the project (books, ideas, other projects, etc.)?
Edouard Glissant; permaculture; the Stockbrdige-Munsee band of the Mohican Nation; Anna Tsing; Donna Haraway; Robin Wall Kimmerer; Fritz Haeg; Bruno Latour; Emma Maris; Emergence Magazine; Future Farmers, etc.
Who worked on it? (partners, collaborators, consultants, etc.)
The idea of a Toolshed garden was originally conceived by Josh Cohen, in collaboration with Sayler/Morris and Basilica Hudson. Xinru Liu and Yutaka Sho of GA Collaborative worked on some initial visioning and design (the drawings for which are visible on this page). Roberta Gordon was instrumental in assessing environmental risks.
What specific tools does it employ or create?
TBD.
