We reached out to people using the I Remember prompt, an idea that came from American author Joe Brainard. While some will be incorporated into the memorial and published in a dedicated book, others will be buried in a kist at one of the main focal points of the park.

Read more: Sir Tom Hunter and Lord Haughey Help Covid Memorial Campaign Fund Reach Half Target with Generous Donations

They will also be accessible via an audio link to a QR code.

However, today we can reveal that they will all be archived and kept for years by the National Library of Scotland, which will become the repository for the I Remember forms on behalf of the Herald and the Covid Memorial Project.

The Herald campaigned to create a memorial to those lost during the pandemic.

Just days ago we revealed how Sir Tom Hunter and Lord Willie Haughey are supporting our campaign and have donated £ 25,000 each.

The large £ 50,000 donation has brought our funds raised so far halfway and we have now raised over £ 136,000 to reach our goal of £ 233,500.

We also received backing from Prime Minister Nicola Sturgeon and a pledge of an additional £ 25,000 from the Scottish Government after their initial donation of just over £ 16,000 last year.

Read more: Nicola Sturgeon supports Covid memorial campaign in Scotland and announces £ 25,000 boost to fund

The Pollok Country Park Memorial is created by artist and poet Alec Finlay and his colleagues Ken Cockburn and Lucy Richards.

I remember: The Scottish Covid Memorial is a concept that would involve important memorial sites in the park – Riverside Grove, Beech Grove, Hillside Grove and Birch Grove.

The key message of the memorial – I remember it – will be displayed in several languages. And the link with the National Library of Scotland gives the project longevity and is a way to record the pandemic. The NLS is Scotland’s largest library and one of the leading research libraries in Europe and its collections range from rare historical documents to online journals, covering all subjects.

Prime Minister Nicola Sturgeon supports the campaign

Dr Heidi Egginton, curator of political collections at the National Library of Scotland, said: Very useful to historians.

“It’s about retracing people’s experiences and also a bit of how life was in 2019 before the pandemic. They will form a memorial inside the lock.

“From what I’ve read so far, there is real power in them, especially since they are anonymous. It is also important to think of these experiences as shared.

‘It is very important that we have these national public archives in Scotland and I don’t think there is anything comparable to collecting these memorabilia and a record of the pandemic in Scotland. ”

Glasgow City Council has generously stepped in to offer the park as a location for the proposed Covid Memorial.

The figures in the memorial represent supports and are formed by people conveying emotions and feelings at a given time.

A passage that I remember

Julie Procter, Managing Director of Greenspace Scotland, one of our partners, said working on the project has been a privilege.

Ms. Procter, a member of our steering group and our advisory group, said: “All of us have been affected by the pandemic. Many of us mourn the family and friends we have lost and reflect on lives that have changed in so many ways. Being involved in the development of the Covid Memorial in Scotland has been an honor and a privilege. It has also brought a weight of responsibility to ensure that together we create an appropriate memorial that reflects the voices and experience of people and communities across Scotland.

“Parks and green spaces have been so important to many of us over the past two years: providing places of solace and sanctuary, a place to meet friends and family, connect with nature and find breathing spaces in these difficult times. It just seems like the Covid Memorial in Scotland continues this connection to the restorative and healing power of nature and green spaces through the creation of I Remember in Pollok Country Park. ”

Another member of the steering group and Herald gardening writer, Dave Allen, said: “When we first launched the Herald initiative, I saw the memorial as a commemoration of all the victims of this. terrible disease. There was no better place for friends and relatives to celebrate their lives than in a living and peaceful garden because, like all life, it would bring hope and comfort.

“Our project, like the concept of the garden, has developed in a positive and exciting way and will be present throughout the Pollok Country Park and now serve as the inspiration for similar commemorations all over the country. ”

I Remember will be collected throughout 2022. To submit one, please visit [email protected]

The only rule is that it begins with “I remember” and consists of a single sentence.