By Christer Berggren – Concept Creator
I carry with me many ideas that haven’t yet come to life. Projects that have taken root in my mind, waiting for the right time, place, and context. The Children’s Garden is one of them. A greenhouse for children – not just filled with plants and greenery, but with magic, fairies, mystical creatures, and living stories. A place where nature comes alive in a way children have never experienced before.
The idea came to me like a whisper – a deep desire to merge technology, stagecraft, and living nature. A space where children not only learn about nature – but feel it. Truly.
A vision among flowers and holograms
The Children’s Garden is imagined as a greenhouse where children move freely among herbs, trees, flowers, and scents – but what makes the place unique is that fairies and mythical beings appear from the greenery via 3D mapping and holograms. They tell stories about photosynthesis, pollination, underground root communication, and the role of bees – not dry and technical, but poetic and magical.
And sometimes, when the story needs to come even closer, a screen appears among the leaves – where an actor performs live via livestream, portraying a forest creature that the children can talk to, ask questions, laugh with, or just be amazed by.
For me, this is about creating an experience where technology serves emotion – not the other way around.
What I imagine
You enter through the greenhouse arch, and your senses are instantly filled with scents, light, and sound. It’s another world, yet it’s still ours. A path of living grass leads into blooming herbs. Something flickers in the corner of your eye. A fairy? A glowing insect? It lands on a lavender bloom and whispers:
"You are a friend of nature, aren’t you? Follow me – I have something to show you."
Along the path are small stations. At one, Shadowmoss tells stories of life underground. At another, The Lavender King explains how scents attract pollinators. Voices rise from the plants. Light projections move across the ground. Everything shifts with the seasons, the plant cycles – and the children’s own questions.
This is not a museum. Not a show. It is a living story you walk into.
Where children become co-creators
I don’t want children to just watch – I want them to participate. To ask questions to the trees, to the compost spirit, to the bumblebees. I want them to plant a seed at the end of the visit, along with a small written promise: “I will take care of nature.”
It’s not about education. It’s about falling in love. And that’s how change happens.
The power of theatre in a child’s world
My background is rooted in stage production, technology, and storytelling. I’ve seen how powerful theatre can be – especially for children. Through performance and experience, facts become alive. Empathy awakens. And when a child feels that a tree breathes, they’ll think twice before cutting it down.
That’s the feeling I want to bring to life in The Children’s Garden.
A European collaboration?
From the beginning, I imagined this project as a possible collaboration within EU frameworks – such as the Green Deal, Erasmus+, Creative Europe or environmental education initiatives. It could be a permanent site – maybe in a city park or botanical garden – or a mobile greenhouse that travels between regions, countries, and languages.
Each country could add its own mythical creatures and stories. Imagine meeting a Bulgarian forest guardian, a Sámi spirit drummer, or a Portuguese sea fairy – each with powerful lessons about ecosystems, plants, and respect.
A day in The Children’s Garden – as I envision it
9:30 AM. A school group arrives. Each child gets a small cloth bag with seeds and a map of the garden. They follow a path to “The Moss Realm,” where a live actor – streaming from a nearby studio – plays The Compost Guardian, dramatically and humorously explaining the cycle of soil.
At “The Path of Water,” a child lifts a leaf and triggers a holographic projection. A glowing stream begins to flow across the garden floor, showing how rain moves, carries seeds, and brings life.
At the end of the visit, each child plants their seed and places a written message beside it. The garden grows – just like the children.
Why it hasn’t happened yet
Like many ideas, this one hasn’t been realized yet. Perhaps the timing wasn’t right. Perhaps other projects took priority. But the idea still lives inside me, and today – maybe more than ever – the world is ready for it.
I’m not seeking attention, just the possibility to see this greenhouse bloom somewhere it’s needed.
The world of children needs more stories
We live in an age where so much is fast, flat, and screen-based. I believe in slow, emotional impressions that last. The smell of soil. The whisper of a mythical being. A flower that speaks with light. A story that children carry home – and maybe tell their own children one day.
The Children’s Garden is not an amusement park. It’s a greenhouse for values, emotion, and a belief in the future.
I share this idea with an open heart. Not to sell it – but to hopefully find others who want to see it grow. A municipality, a foundation, an educational institution, a visionary.
I have the seed. Who will help me plant it?
And yes – I’m open to collaborating with others to bring this idea to life. Contact: Mail
By Chris...