Creative workshops to encourage connections with nature

A pilot study has been part funded by Natural England helping to connect people with nature as they work to deliver England’s Nature Recovery Network (NRN).

The Natural Futures workshops have been developed by a collective of organisations led by Professor Sarah Perks, of Teesside University’s MIMA School of Art & Design, Shahda Khan, of Borderlands Creative People and Places and Rachel Murtagh, of Tees Valley Nature Partnership.

Community groups, school children and students have been taking part in the Natural Futures workshops, which encourage participants to immerse themselves in nature.

The workshops which have included making nature inspired masks and headdresses and encouraging participants to imagine themselves as a different part of nature, such as an animal, river or tree, to think about what they can learn from that perspective.

The workshops have been facilitated by Tees Valley Young Creatives network which was established to create opportunities for graduating during the pandemic. They are taking place as part of a pilot study part funded by Natural England, helping to connect people with nature as they work to deliver England’s Nature Recovery Network (NRN).

The NRN seeks to recover, enhance, grow and connect wildlife-rich places to sustain our vital ecosystems, ensuring they meet the needs of people and wildlife as we address the three challenges of climate change, biodiversity loss, and public health.

Together they have been working on how to build new inclusive participation and engagement with environmental issues using arts and creativity to communicate complex and sometimes overwhelming messages about our natural world.

The first workshop took place recently with a group who had been attending Ageing Better Middlesbrough sessions. Participants were invited to speak about the struggles of nature, from deforestation to the endangerment of pandas and ocean pollution.

“It was great to see the group taking part in a fun and creative activity that connected them to nature, the habitat of animals, and the environment we all share. The session certainly opened up a discussion on climate change and its effects around the world,” said Linda Ford, Community Projects Officer, Ageing Better Middlesbrough

Jamie Lock, Natural England Lead Adviser for the NRN Delivery Partnership, said: “It’s wonderful to see this creative pilot project come to life. Nature restoration efforts depend on people feeling connected to the natural world. The Natural Futures workshops offer a brilliant and innovative way to achieve that, demonstrating the enormous potential for the arts to support nature’s recovery.”

---