The history of Botanical garden behind the building of The Slovak National Museum (SNM) begins in the year 1934. It functioned as both educational and leisure facility. Being a part of the National museum it was meant to represent the most important speciei of the flora of Slovakia. The most common trees, bushes and herbs were planted here always precisely labelled by name. Even a water system with ponds and a small fountain was part of it. And it was common for people to spend their Sundays here walking or just sitting on the bench among bushes and flowers.
But through the years it became more and more forgotten and abandoned. Mainly in the 90's the institution of the museum didn't have much money left to take care of it leading to even locking it out for the public. The benches rotten, the ponds dry and all the blooming flowers left to be overgrown by grass.
In 2016 a group of young people from the organisation "Premena" came up with a plan to restore the garden and open it for the public. They organised an event called "Hybaj Hrabať!" (Let's rake!) - a volunteer gathering three weekends in spring. Many people came and with their help a lot of work was done. The benches got reconstructed to be used once more, the pathways cleaned and the grass cut. It was truly a great beginning of the restoration and since then the spring brigades with the same name - Hybaj Hrabať! - are organised every spring.
Also a public collection started in 2016 for the renewal of the water system and ponds and the project is still continuing. People once more found a way to the garden, having picnics in summer and even having the wedding ceremonies held in the garden.
For the poster I am using the main motive of the brigade - raking leaves. As there were three brigade weekends all three were advertised by poster in three following weeks. Not all the posters are the same. Each one has less and less leaves drawn on the ground reminding that much work had been done but is it still continuing.
Photo by Jana Jedináková
Photo by Jana Jedináková
