A Green Gathering Place Steeped in History
In Hønse-Lovisa’s House, old Christiania meets new Oslo. This homey, cozy dwelling just beside the rushing waters of Aker’s River (Akerselva) is a kindhearted gathering place that offers everything — from an open air café to a place for cultural arrangements and neighborhood parties. The students from the Sagene School, its nearest neighbor, built an insect hotel, refurbished an old gazebo, learned about pollinator-friendly plants and held a green opening day party.
Description of the initiative — the background
The cooperation with the Sagene School began on the basis of another initiative, Hønse-Lovisa’s House (HLH) daily leader Anne Mette Hegdal (AMH) tells us. The original project had the title New Meets Old (Nytt Møter Gammelt) and was financed by the Savings Bank Foundation DNB (Sparebankstiftelsen DNB). The genesis of this initiative was the perception that older handicraft traditions were disappearing. (AMH is a trained furniture maker and has worked as a set designer, a professional expertise that fits nicely into the many activities she has initiated.) She wanted to create a meeting between old and young through carpentry workshops, where AMH in cooperation with retired carpenters would teach young people woodworking techniques. She was also in dialogue with a group called Young Media, which is run by the Youth Department in the Sagene District. The idea for this initiative was for young people to teach the older generation how to use iPads. Several youngsters said they were interested, but they didn’t show up. The older people did show up and made good contact with each other. One of the most active is now a permanent volunteer at HLH.
I needed to connect to something closer, AMH continues. Since the Sagene School was the nearest neighbor, she contacted the school, and a teacher, Laila Karin Endresen (LKE), who among other things, teaches science, art and handicrafts. LKE actively utilized the Geitmyra School Garden in connection with her teaching. (She is also connected to the Food Culture Center at the Geitmyra farm and its cultivation team). AMH and LKE knew each other from a previous cooperative effort where former students — now retirees — met with current students and had their own day of education, where they talked about the old days at the school.
Based on the good experiences with this earlier cooperation, HLH and the Sagene School sought Green Funding in 2015, so that a 5th grade class could build an insect hotel next to HLH. CityBee (ByBi) evolved into a vital cooperative partner when the building of this insect hotel became part of the project Pollinator Passage. With CityBee advising and with the help of Trond Egil Gustavsen, a volunteer at HLH, in addition to the insect hotel, the students got to learn about pollinator friendly plantings. This was a success and inspired applying for new Green Funding in 2016. The same students who were involved in building the insect hotel once again participated, this time as 6th graders, and the group was expanded to include the entire 6th grade. Thus these students had the opportunity to study the effect of the insect hotel. They could investigate hypotheses that were posed during the first part of the project: Did insects come to the hotel? Did they show interest in the pollinator friendly plants? Or were they more interested in the jam on the waffles that were served in Hønse-Lovisa’s outdoor café? Should they make changes so that it will function better?
New activities were introduced as part of the student’s science work — relating to nutrition and health, as well as art, handicrafts and woodwork:
- Upgrading the garden and the area around HLH
2. Renovating the old lilac gazebo that was constructed during the war
3. Before doing this, the students studied various types of gazebos and constructed small models based on their research
4. Refurbishing the garden’s pergola with a variety of insect-friendly climbing plants
5. Exhibiting the student work in the form of the small gazebo models. The exhibition showcases were created from recycled windows salvaged from a building on the other side of the river (previously a textile factory)
6. The project culminated in a free green garden party where the students presented their work. Food was served that the students prepared, where among other things, wild plants from the garden were used. These recipes and the various dishes were also part of the exhibition. There was entertainment, performed by the Sagene students and others. In addition to the school’s 6th grade classes and their teachers, there was cooperation with other local actors.
Experiences that we can learn from
When we ask about her experiences with this project, AMH tells us that it was positively thought provoking and amazing to see all the people who stopped to study the insect hotel. These were both people who were visiting HLH and people who just happened to be wandering by on the path along Aker’s River. So many different people come by, from both Oslo’s east and west side, as well as tourists. Uniquely, the place is so small that we talk to everyone who comes inside. The generated conversations are pleasant; people relax and the house becomes ”cozy-homey”; dialogue with others become ”unthreatening.” These spontaneous conversations have become an important way to circulate our experiences. Many volunteers drop by; they come and sit on the benches; AMH chats with them and eventually a group of around 10 people have become regulars. It’s a conscious part of HLH’s purpose to embrace these resources and it creates a nice energy in the house.
When phase 2 of the project was expanded to include the entire 6th grade, organizing became more demanding. Teacher Laila Karin Endresen (LKE) tells us that if she knew in advance how comprehensive phase 2 would be she would have liked to have had more teachers on the team. At the same time, she emphasizes how unique it was to pedagogically cooperate with such a fine establishment so close to the school. The project was integrated into the school’s curriculum, and for the students there was a great deal of interdisciplinary work. They learned about the gazebo’s history, it’s function and architecture, especially in regard to the Sagene, Torshov and Grünerløkka neighborhoods. There was also hands-on work connected to building models, renovations of the gazebo, the pergola and the garden exhibition around Hønse-Lovisa’s House. In addition to all this, they got to experience that their work had meaning outside the classroom and school, that their knowledge and abilities were important in a larger sense
Another important aspect has been the cooperation with the district. They have been there for me from day one, AMH emphasizes. She experiences a flexibility; it’s possible to have a dialogue; they give advice as to how to apply for funding. This has imbued the work with a certain calmness and predictability.
The most important work principal has been to embrace unplanned encounters and build good contacts. I’m sort of an autocratic manager, AMH adds with a crooked smile. She sees this as a strength because processes can be streamlined. She can quickly comprehend possibilities then immediately follow them up. At the same time, she experiences this has its vulnerabilities. She is committed to securing the future regarding the way the house is managed. She is therefore working on figuring out how to organize running the house, so that it will continue to live and remain stable, and so it won’t only be dependent on her presence.
The main challenge is to obtain funding to establish an economic foundation.
Future visions — from next year through 2030
When we challenge AMH to consider the future — and tell us what she imagines for 2030, she answers she imagines that operating HLH has step by step become professionalized, but without the place losing its unique character. The unceremonious atmosphere and the house’s soul has been preserved and continues to live. Managing the house is sustainable and there is good organizational structure with a well-functioning board. In connection to the house’s ”soul,” AMH tells us that she once gave a lecture to a company that had its headquarters on the other side of the river, and which, at one time, was considering buying HLH. The contact person from that group told her after the inspirational lecture: ”It was so good that we business people didn’t buy that house!”
Regarding just a year into the future, AMH is planning an exhibition with the theme: Good Neighbors, where being ”good neighbors” has an expanded meaning. Not just HLH’s neighbors, but neighbors from other countries. The exhibition will celebrate a 10 year jubilee, and she plans to establish a “friendship union.” In addition to this, in cooperation with an architect from the neighboring area, HLH has received support from Green Funding that will allow them to investigate the possibility of building a henhouse in the garden, and through this, learn about keeping chickens in a city environment.
Questions
Are there are places in your neighborhood that might be a meeting place between old and new?
What various groups and individuals might be invited to participate?
Which places might be good for the establishment of an insect hotel?
How can the local school cooperate with organizations and volunteers in the neighborhood?
Contacts
Anne Mette Hegdahl, the daily leader of HLH
Email: honselovisa@sagenecentral.no
Laila Karin Endresen, teacher at the Sagene School:
Email: lailae0612@osloskolen.no
Trond Egil Gustavsen, volunteer and ”handyman” for HLH
