This is the question we asked as we started Artscaping with a local primary school in spring 2023. It took everyone on a wonderful journey.
What’s happening under our feet?
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This project was remarkable in bringing the whole school on a multidisciplinary journey that supported nature connectedness for both our staff and pupils.
Staff are now embedding Artscaping methodology across our curriculum, whereby all children will spend creative time outdoors to support their wellbeing.David Aston, Headteacher, Wilburton Church of England Primary School
The case study below shared how the whole school joined in on this creative exploration.
Dr Jen Mcgaley from the Crop Science Centre created interactive powerpoints aligned to the primary curriculum. Use these to introduce your class to the world of mycorrhizal fungi – spend time thinking about the environmental impact of this underground network, and use the sample imagery found in this project as a starting point for creative conversations. KSI here and KS2 here.
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The children certainly kept me on my toes – many required me to think very carefully about my own understanding of fungi. I was impressed by how many children hit on questions currently at the forefront of research, yet articulated them so simply. There was a level of compassion too with the natural word that you encounter so rarely among adults.
Dr Jen McGaley, Plant Scientist
We met the school through our work to Amplify Artscapers – a new guide and webinar inspired by this work can be viewed here.