The Monument
A memorial for the future
The Woodbridge Trees for Peace are a 21st century monument that is a memorial for the future.
The Trees invite each of us to play a part in creating a better future, for ourselves, for our children and friends, and for theirs.
Our parts are simple – to “think peace” more often, and to act in small ways that spread understanding and begin to make peace stronger.
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How the Woodbridge Monument for Peace came about
The idea of a local monument for peace came in 2016,
amid centenary commemorations of the 1914-1918 World War 1.
In almost every year since that war…
….respectful commemoration, notably at war memorials,
had been accompanied by a renewal of hope for a more peaceful world.
Woodbridge War memorial, tended with deep respect at a central location in the town
Image Source
For much of the 20th century . . .
. . . those hopes rested on international co-operation through the League of Nations, its successor the United Nations Organisation and new international treaties, and on regional and international humanitarian work by those and many other organisations.
Across that century . . .
. . . hope was further prompted by emotive works in literature, musical theatre and cinema, by increasingly graphic media coverage of war and by the advancing study, research and practical application of knowledge about peace; and reason for hope was supported by international collaboration.
Even so hope was frustrated . . .
. . . by World War 2; by the creation of nuclear weapons; by ‘cold’ war; and by continuing escalation of local tensions into aggression and armed violence.
In 2016 . . .
. . . it occurred to the Founder[1] of this monument that, after a century of frustrated hopes, something more is needed to harness the aspirations and the peace-making capacities of individuals and their communities.
By 2021 . . .
. . . the Woodbridge Town Council had agreed to proposals for two of the town’s trees to be named and dedicated as Trees for Peace, with a view to creating a town Monument for Peace
Image by author
Image by author
In 2022 . . .
. . . as this website emerges much of the world remains afflicted by the social, economic, welfare and other effects of aggression and armed violence.
For the future . . .
. . . this monument provides a framework for sharing our individual hopes, and for conceiving local activities that attract other communities to join us, with a view to influencing decisions that affect the quality of our peace.
Inventing the future . . .
. . . there is unlikely to be ‘world peace tomorrow’, but there are many simple things we can do today, and tomorrow, to bring peace closer and to make it stronger.
For examples, browse the Action and Learning sections of this website.
[1] Michael Madden
The Woodbridge Monument for Peace
In 2017, Woodbridge Town Council in Suffolk, UK, approved a proposal for one of its trees to become a monument for peace, to be called the Woodbridge Tree for Peace 2017.
Tree for Peace in autumn
Image by author
The tree’s Spring flowers
Image by author
As a community amenity that tree provides:
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a visible representation of the invisible, peace
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a reminder of the community’s commitment to peace
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a special place for well-being, for meeting and for celebrating peace
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a starting point for learning more about peace
Peace at Christmas 2020
Christmas card produced by Woodbridge Town Council
Image by the author
The Tree and the idea attracted support for making the monument larger.
In 2021 a second tree was agreed and a formal ceremony of dedication was held.
Woodbridge Tree for Peace 2021
Image by author
Ceremony of dedication 21 September 2021
Image by author
Walking trails between the two trees provide activities to promote well-being and learning about peace.
There is information throughout this website to help all benefit in those ways.
To see first a little more about the Woodbridge Monument for Peace,
How this Monument came about,
Memorials for the Future,
Reasons for having a local monument for Peace,
Where the Woodbridge Monument is,
What the trees are, or
Action for Learning and Peace
return to the Green Tabs at the top of this page.
Memorials for the future
In 2016 an international competition invited designers to invent ‘Memorials for the Future’.
These have become a new form of memorialisation, to help us be mindful of ‘the aftermath of the present’, what is likely to happen if no action is taken to prevent it.
Typically, the competition entries:
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highlighted universal worries – matters that increasingly concern everyone, globally
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helped visitors to understand ideas or circumstances that are abstract or still not fully formed
– the winning entry highlighted global warming.
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allowed visitors to shape and become parts of the monument
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suggested simple things that visitors can do to change the future in the best interest of personal and community welfare
The Woodbridge Monument for Peace is such a monument.
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it’s about peace – a matter of almost universal concern
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it offers visitors experiences that can make peace less abstract
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its visitors can become part of the monument by walking its Trails
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its visitors can shape the monument by contributing further information and ideas to this website
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its action pages suggest many simple things that visitors can do to change the future in the best interest of well-being.
The Woodbridge Monument for Peace is a memorial for the future.
It is given to the town of Woodbridge in trust that its citizens and visitors will take interest and action for a future in which peace is more secure.
Simple actions that we can all take can be found in the Action page of this website.
To see first a little more about the Woodbridge Monument for Peace,
How this Monument came about,
Reasons for having a local monument for Peace,
Where the Woodbridge Monument is,
What the trees are, or
Action for Learning and Peace
return to the Green Tabs at the top of this page.
Six reasons for having a local Monument for Peace
Peace is important for well-being
A monument can be a special place for our well-being; a place to meet with friends and neighbours, or to gather in larger numbers – in support at times of concern, or in celebration at times of joy.
Peace is fragile.
Peace can be broken. So peace is a matter of concern for its fragility and for the deep and pervasive impact of its absence, failure or destruction. A monument can remind us that even when damaged, broken or lost, peace can be mended or remade, and also that peace merits our careful protection.
Peace is abstract
The idea of peace is abstract. Peace itself is hard to describe. It is hard to measure and it may well be silent. A monument can make peace more tangible.
Peace is invisible.
We cannot see peace but a dedicated monument can provide peace with a friendly local face for those who live, visit or work nearby. The Woodbridge Trees for Peace offer different faces according to the annual seasons; but like peace itself, each face is shaped by the same secure and only slowly changing framework.
A friendly and shading face in summer
Image by author
A different friendly face in winter
Image by author
Peace has few substantial monuments
A well-founded website[2] lists some 4000 substantial monuments for peace worldwide, including just a few hundred in the UK. There are many other small monuments for peace. Regular respectful attention is paid in the UK to some 100,000 substantial war memorials [1] . In the UK there is just one memorial dedicated to peace for every 250 war memorials.
Peace is worthy of attentive remembrance
Monuments have been established and used by societies to maintain collective memories of individuals, events or circumstances that have affected their communities. A substantial local monument for peace can remind us about what makes peace and what we can do to make peace more resilient.
[1] The Imperial War Museum Register of UK War Memorials records some 100,000 war memorial monuments
[2] www.peace.maripo.com/p_trees.htm
Where is the Woodbridge Monument for Peace?
A monument of many parts
Like peace itself, the monument is dispersed and consists of many parts: trees, trails, sights, sounds, visitors, and not least this website.
This website
As a visitor to this website you are looking at the monument’s most informative part, with descriptions, explanations, maps, photographs, things we can do, and sources of information from what there is know to help us keep, mend, make or build peace.
The Woodbridge Trees for Peace
The Trees themselves are among the larger parts of the monument. Each is in a public open space owned and managed on behalf of all of us by Woodbridge Town Council.
Tree for Peace 2017 in winter gloom
Image by author
Tree for Peace 2021 winter evening twilight
Image by author
More pictures of the trees can be found on the ‘Gallery’ pages of this website. The trees are pleasant places to visit, to rest and reflect on convenient nearby benches, or to meet up with friends. For their exact locations see the “Visits” page of this website.
Trails
Even bigger parts of the monument are the informative walking trails that connect the trees through and round the town. An 800 metre (half-mile) trail is the direct and shortest route between the two trees. A longer trail of some 3300 metres (2 miles) includes a wider variety of relevant sights, sounds and experiences.
Each trail is described in notes that draw attention to places that may exercise or illustrate one or other of our personal capacities such as for co-operation or tolerance, for preserving peace. The trails are readily passable with appropriate seasonal care and footwear. Simple diversions are possible where flights of steps may present difficulty. The longer trail can also be walked in separate shorter sections.
Notes for the trails can be found on the Action page of this website,
Visitors
The monument’s visitors are, like no others, able to convey the monument’s messages and meanings to others – within families and among friends near and far.
In that way, those who read this or go out to enjoy the trees, can be the heart of the monument, and the life-blood of the stronger peace we’ll bequeath to our children.
The trees as individuals
Each Woodbridge Tree for Peace was chosen for its natural beauty, good health, accessibility from nearby parking and ‘presence’ within a spacious environment.
Woodbridge Tree for Peace 2017
The first Woodbridge Tree for Peace was chosen and named in 2017. It is a fine Norway Maple, native to Europe and North American, and believed to be an Acer platanoides ‘Goldsworth Purple’. It was planted on the town’s Kingston Field, probably in 1955 when the field was given to the town for a recreation ground by the owner of Kingston Farm. A bench seat nearby states the tree’s title.
This tree can be found on the field beside Kingston Farm Road and close to Westholme Close, in UK post code area IP12 4BA, and specifically at What3Words ///clock.watch.piglets
Woodbridge Tree for Peace 2021
The second Woodbridge Tree for Peace is rather younger than the first. It was chosen and named in 2021. It is believed to be a Red Oak, Quercus rubra, native to eastern North America. It occupies a popular spot on the higher ground of Fen Meadow, with a long vista down the town’s best toboggan slope and towards the tower of St Mary’s Church. There is a seat nearby. A plaque confirming the tree’s title can be found nearby on the cemetery fence.
This tree is in UK postcode area IP12 4BG, at What3Words ///cheerful.dinner.fuses
Other Woodbridge Trees for Peace
Notes will be provided in due course should any further Trees for Peace be identified and agreed.
Visits to see the Trees.
Both of the Trees are in readily accessible public open spaces. They can be visited at any time. Notes provided on the Action page of this website suggest how a visit might be made to reflect the spirit of the Monument.
To find out more, see the Action page.
Action and Learning for Peace
The intention of the Woodbridge Monument for Peace is to strengthen peace.
Peace rests on understanding.
Action
There’s more on the Action pages of this website about what makes the Woodbridge monument different from most others:
– things that can be done by individuals or groups,
– special events that start at the monument.
And there’s an invitation on that page to try out and invent ways to “think peace” more often.
Learning
On the Learning pages there’s further information:
– about peace monuments in other places,
– about the Woodbridge Monument for Peace,
– about the learning to be had for ourselves and our families, including children and young people, about peace.
Other things
The Journal page will record reports on the life and evolution of the monument.
