Connecting to the natural world on our doorstep

Our work with the extraordinary Tree Team at Cambridge City Council over this year as part of the River Cam Climate Action Network programme has grown our Fantastical Forest in many rich and exciting ways. Across a varied programme of workshops and events, people of all ages have been invited to notice, listen, connect and make in beautiful and extraordinary ways, all carefully crafted by our team of skilled artists, and inspired by the veteran trees in our city.

Through this programme of workshops and public events attended by over 6,000 visitors, we’ve worked directly with over 200 children and young people, 21 volunteers and almost 1000 members of our community. These have been hosted in 20 different spaces across the city, from the grand and more formal to the hidden away and often overlooked, including; the gardens of King’s College and Homerton College; the pavements beside community centres in Arbury, Chesterton and Cherry Hinton; several public parks; libraries and many small tucked away nature spaces nearby to schools and nurseries.

As a charity we are passionate about ensuring a more equitable access to nature for everyone in this city and it’s been wonderful to connect so many spaces and communities together through our Fantastical Forest. We have been endlessly intrigued and delighted by the creative responses these invitations have prompted. So often people start conversations with a sense of doubt about their own creativity or a hesitancy to be playful with the materials offered, but the generous and gentle environments created by CCI artists have enabled everyone to feel comfortable and able to settle and contribute.

Throughout August, artist Hilary Cox Condron has been working with colleagues and volunteers at a series of events across the city for families and communities organised by the City Council and culminating in their Out of the Ordinary Festival:

The veteran trees have sparked so much curiosity and creativity with all ages: from imagining giant walking woodlands and sharing memories of favourite trees to feeling an affinity - and hope - with the willow’s story of standing tall, breaking, taking time to compost then - like a phoenix - regenerating and rising again.

So often adults stand back to ‘let the kids get on with it...’, but the Fantastical Forest hangings, photographs, stories and the range of papers and the natural inks and mark making tools I made from the trees and surrounding wild plants, set an inviting scene for gentle collaborative experimentation and intrigued all ages. It has felt such a generous offer - like a community forest feast of the senses - and there were many participants who came to the workshops a number of times.

Here’s a few favourite moments from my memory bank:  groups of three generations all painting and discussing the trees together; fathers who were reluctant to get involved - then not only created, but proudly took their artwork home; sharing stories of trees and plants - from planting techniques to folklore -  from across the world; a partially sighted mother who created using the natural materials, touch and smell; a young boy who was so fed up to not be at football practice, until I showed him how burdock had inspired the invention of velcro and he happily painted - his imagination ignited -  with the burdock ink; and the teenagers and young adults inspiring the children who watched over their shoulders before setting down on the floor to paint mythical forest creatures alongside them.

We also trialled working with young researchers as part of this project, continuing our commitment as a charity to learn with and from young people. Joachim and Alec (aged 14) joined us at one of the Music in the Park events to help us gather learning from families about the value of these ways of working and we were struck by how beautifully they put people at ease and how openly and authentically they listened.

We are also looking forward to sharing the new collection of twenty hangings drawn from this work for the Fantastical Forest. The first time these can be seen all together will be on Tree Charter Day, the final event for CCI in 2024.  Alongside this collection, we’ve also put together a new soundscape resource, created for the Imaginarium event, and Rooted, our well-being walk for the Addenbrooke’s community, both free to access through our website. Read more about the work with children from Morley Primary School and how they worked with Homerton College here, and Arbury Primary School, Abbey girls and North Cambridge Academy and how they worked with King’s College here.

We have worked with communities from: Abbey people, Akeman Street Community Centre, Addenbrooke’s Hospital, Arbury Primary School, Brownsfield Community Centre, Clay Farm Community Centre, North Cambridge Academy, Morley Primary School, Colleges Nursery, Brunswick Nursery, and Libraries in Arbury and Wisbech.

This work is only possible because of the skill and passion of the artists we work with: Hilary Cox Condron, Dea Fischer, Kaye Goodridge, Filipa Pereira-Stubbs, Jenny Seabrook, Holly Shirra, Sally Todd, Tonka Uzu, Caroline Wendling with design work from Susanne Jasilek and Sebastian Burr.

Thanks also to these volunteers who have given their time so generously: Chiara, Tatiana, Sue, Rosie, Amanda, Gladys, Jerry, Lucy, Tom, Paul, Neil, Martha, Emily, Jenny, Holly, Kaye, and Dea.

And thanks to these colleagues who have so inspired us with their knowledge and passion for the natural world around us: Guy Belcher, Natalie Lambert, Matt McGrath, and Kenny McGregor from Cambridge City Council, Jen McGaley from Crop Science Centre, Steve Coghill from King’s College.

The work has drawn together many different partners, in particular: Cambridge Acorn Project, Cambridge Carbon Footprint, Crop Science Centre, King’s College, Homerton College, Cambridge City Council, Cambridgeshire County Council, Cambridge Nature Festival, Cambridge Past Present and Future, Cambridge University Hospital Arts.

Thanks also to the Cambridge Silent Disco Collective for sharing their wonderful kit and helping us enhance our events.