Honda Heritage Garden unveiled at opening ceremony

By Jessica Durston - 24 June 2022

BusinessCommunity
  • Ribbon cutting (L - R) Katsuhisa Okuda, CO Honda Motor Europe / Jason Smith, Director Honda of the UK Manufacturing / Cllr Abdul Amin, Mayor of Swindon

    Ribbon cutting (L - R) Katsuhisa Okuda, CO Honda Motor Europe / Jason Smith, Director Honda of the UK Manufacturing / Cllr Abdul Amin, Mayor of Swindon

Honda of the UK Manufacturing have hosted the official opening ceremony of a new green space for Swindon.

Community Gardens
The garden, which is located in South Marston, was opened by Jason Smith, Director at Honda of the UK Manufacturing, at a ribbon cutting ceremony.
 
The event was attended by the Mayor of Swindon, Cllr Abdul Amin, Swindon Borough Council officials, and representatives from the local Honda closure task force.

As part of its continued efforts to leave a positive legacy in the local community, Honda has redeveloped a section of the site not included in the main site sale, to create a 1.3-acre ‘Honda Heritage Garden.'

The garden, which provides past employees and local communities a green space to visit, includes the relocation of two Honda memorial trees, which were previously located on the main site to remember associates who passed away during service.

Jason Smith, Director at Honda of the UK Manufacturing, said: “During 35 years of operations, Honda has made a huge impact in the local area, and being here today, amongst this beautiful space, I feel like we have captured the true spirit of our company and our employees.

"There are many themes that we wanted to incorporate in the space across playing, learning, and nature, ensuring it is a park that appeals to as much of the local community as possible.”

The garden includes a play area, and spaces for schools and local groups to learn about nature. The natural play area gives a nod to Swindon’s engineering heritage, with features reflecting the aviation, rail and automotive history of the local area.

The park as a whole, is said to provide an educational space to enable schools and other community groups to interact with and learn more about nature. In addition, there is a community garden in which people in the local area are welcome to join together to grow flowers, fruits and vegetables.

Alongside this activity, Honda has also donated STEM learning kits and a number of pre-production vehicles to local schools and colleges to help inspire future generations of engineers in a bid to maintain Swindon’s engineering heritage.

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