Making best use of green and blue spaces for health and wellbeing is currently a key health driver and one which is well recognised and has been for many years. Extensive research has shown the benefits of being active and spending time in outdoor spaces for both physical and mental health. There is even evidence that just having a view of a green space with tree cover is beneficial to recovery of hospital patients.
Creating the right conditions and supporting people to be outdoors, and importantly enjoying being in green and blue spaces, is something which we need to consider if we want individuals to make this part of their general, everyday lives in terms of contributing to their overall health and wellbeing.
As an Arts Council England Creative People and Places programme, Flux believes that alongside being active outdoors, exploring creativity outdoors is also a key element to engagement and participation for many.
Through VAR and other health and wellbeing hubs we’re working on ways of connecting into Rotherham’s green and blue social prescribing network to join up opportunities around creating and siting arts in outdoor places, encouraging more varied and active use of Rotherham’s rich and plentiful green spaces.
We’re putting people and artists together in a variety of green spaces, from woodland to urban green space, heritage landscape to doorstep play space, combining activity and creativity with very positive responses which will feed into future Green and Growing programming as it evolves.
As a response, we’ve been developing Green and Growing projects with a variety of creative strands:
Some initial work was delivered with two partner organisations last summer to look at using outdoor space as both a place to be social but also as inspiration for experimenting with creative responses to the outdoor environment - Apna Haq based at VAR, and YAWR with two of their groups based at Mowbray Gardens.
Over a six-week period we planted, cared for and harvested a small range of herbs, soft fruit and vegetables. Alongside this we worked creatively outdoors experimenting with a range of techniques and materials, block and lino printing, drawing, water colour painting, collage etc eventually producing ‘The Mowbray Herbal’ at Mowbray Gardens, a large-scale folder containing all their work and ideas, and with Apna Haq a range of responses using multi-media on paper and finally using clay.
We could have carried on working with the groups indefinitely such was the appetite for this type of activity, every week the groups asked “what are we doing next? can we go outside if the weather is good?".
This year Green and Growing is centred around a series of Creative Walks across Rotherham in combination with a varied creative activity.
So far we’ve run 6 creative walks with over 220 people taking part, including:
At Canklow Woods and Boston Castle – A Rotherham historical gem, carpets of Bluebells and silver birch trees on a walk with Brian, Rotherham Rambler guide and Debbie a local textile artist.
“Thank you so much for today, we travelled over from Wath on Dearne to do this walk, my daughter is in recovery from a long period of depression and it’s just what we hoped it would be, a chance to be in a beautiful environment with a creative activity we can share, escape for a while for us both.”
At Ulley Country Park – a much loved Rotherham beauty spot, amazing Friends group and local support from RMBC staff, half term family fun, a circular walk around the Mordent Arm. Collecting natures treasures with artist Evelyn making clay guardians to protect Ulley and a bit of painting along the way.
“We’ve loved it today, it’s been like the olden days when we had loads of children and families in the café enjoying the park, we’ve all enjoyed it so much” Bobby, Friends of Ulley.
At Wath Woods – serious sketchers walking with Rachel in Wath Woods, a local experienced artist and guide.
Thrybergh Country Park – family walk through Ramblers Walk and the wildflower meadow with wonderful RMBC rangers, Trees and Woodland officer and artist Kayleigh. Learning about natural dyes and the plants and flowers that make them.
SRWT site Centenary Riverside – VAR walk with health and wellbeing partitioners and third sector partners to explore techniques to support and benefit clients and collegues. Read more HERE.
These quick sketches of the creative walks go someway to illustrate how ‘Green and Growing’ with Flux Rotherham can be interpreted in terms of supporting people to be active and create outdoors. The activities delivered by our team, the chosen artists and our trusted partners over a three-month period has allowed 220 plus people to do just that, be active and creative in their green and blue spaces.
We’re also running a series Mindful Movement sessions at Greasbrough Park – with dance and movement artist Hayley. Outside under the lime trees with scent drifting down doing gentle, mindful movement and breathing, walking a silent, thoughtful circular walk around the park, and learning a few easy dance moves! This has led to Impromptu earth walking with participant Michael on the bowling green. Local Park, brilliant friend’s group and local councillors supporting the sessions here, lots of enthusiasm to use the space for new things.
The Model Village Fun Day at Maltby was a vibrant creative activity held in the local green space, led by Claire Mosely, the neighbourhood coordinator and RMBC partner, as well as a forest school practitioner. Participants recycled old plastic plant pots, decorated them, and then planted them with bee-friendly bedding plants. Everyone took their creations home to care for and nurture.
Some of the Green and Growing activities coming to a green space near you –
An experimental set of sessions during august and into the autumn at what was the Silverwood Colliery site, now a valued and valuable space for nature, play and leisure. Explore the space and its industrial heritage alongside its current incarnation as a haven for wildlife with two artists, environmental artist Charlie Hill and Poet/creative writer Vic Leeson. Working with The Silverwood Colliery Heritage group.
Greasbrough Dams to Wentworth Woodhouse Walk, with Jewellery maker Laura Baxter and Winthrop Gardens, Wednesday Walkers leader Elizabeth as part of the We Wonder festival. Try doing some outdoor pewter casting and make a piece of nature inspired art to take home or wear.
Join us at Roche Abbey in partnership with local Maltby groups and English Heritage for a walk between St. Barts Church at Maltby to the Abbey with Kayleigh Davis who is here today. Identify dye plants, medicinal plants and edible plants on a walk through some lovely green and wooded spaces and enjoy experimenting with natural plant dye baths at the Abbey, along with other activities in the grounds.
Return to Thrybergh Country Park for a wider, wilder walk to Ravenfield ponds and Firsby Reservoir with the rangers and working again with Jewellery maker Laura Baxter, try some outdoor casting using found materials.
Winthrop Gardens Wednesday Walkers group walk with artist Charlotte Lui gathering autumn seedheads, grasses and twigs to make a wreath or hanging nature sculpture to take home or leave at Winthrop Gardens to decorate the space over the winter months.
