Covid-19 community memorials in 12 areas across East Dunbartonshire were recently unveiled.

The specially designed arbours have opened in areas including Auchinairn, Baldernock, Bearsden, Bishopbriggs, Kirkintilloch, Lennoxtown, Lenzie, Milngavie, Milton of Campsie, Torrance, Twechar, and Waterside.

These memorials form part of the Remembering Together scheme, a national project funded by the Scottish Government and organised in collaboration with Greenspace Scotland, East Dunbartonshire Council, and the East Dunbartonshire Leisure and Culture Trust (EDLCT).

It offers each of Scotland's 32 local authorities the chance to express their unique experiences of the pandemic through the medium of art.

(Image: CherryManMedia)

Elena Mary Harris, lead participatory artist and facilitator, worked with local communities during the first phase of the project to shape ideas for creative output to reflect diverse pandemic experiences.

Engagement events like Twechar Beach Day, Milngavie Week, and Kirkintilloch Gala Day used mediums like print, video, and spoken word, enabling participants to communicate through creativity.

Three design options for covered seating areas came about from these consultations.

The community members voted online to decide upon their favourite.

Now, the project has hit success with 12 memorial seating areas installed across East Dunbartonshire.

The three elements include a covered communal reflection space, a guided walk demonstrating how residents discovered new paths during the pandemic, and unique soundscapes for each bench featuring local group stories, individual experiences, and local musicians' performances.

The project aims to bring communities and artists, commemorating residents who lost their lives, the people who experienced change and loss, and how people came together during unprecedented times.