C6 is all about carbon sequestration, water recycling and being wildlife friendly whilst creating a calming sophisticated space. C6 (carbon has the chemical symbol C and atomic number 6) sequesters 1200kg+ carbon as well as slowing down and storing 450L rainwater.
The garden promotes three ways to sequester carbon in gardens large or small, the first is the use of bio char, which not only improves the soil but takes carbon out of the carbon cycle for up to 1000 years. The second is the use of charred oak as the material used to make planters – this locks a further 500kg co2 up for the lifespan of the planter. Finally, the planting – choosing fast growing trees and herbaceous perennials has the potential to harvest the new growth and convert it into bio char, taking it out of the carbon cycle.
A copper tank set into one of the charred oak planters gently trickles into a rill running diagonally across the space. This rill forms part of a clever SuDS (Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems), solution – by forming the final part of the rainwater collection system and allowing a large area of overflow and percolation. Against the wall is a bronze sculpture showing the negative space inside a closed hand, this creates a focal point and links to the fact that the bio charr is only beneficial because of the negative space within the carbon.
