Autumn newsletter
After a long, unusually warm summer, autumn has well and truly arrived! For many people around the world, autumn marks the end of the harvest season and beginning of the new year. With children returning to school, the harvest gathered, and everyone beginning to hunker down for the colder months, the season of colours feels like both an ending and a new beginning. At Rea, we have been busy tying up summer projects which took us to Yorkshire, the Scottish Highlands and beyond, and have returned with a renewed sense of joy and appreciation to the acorn-laden woodlands of Edinburgh!
Before we share exciting news about our projects, it’s important to acknowledge that throughout this summer, many of us watched with devastation as unimaginable events unfolded worldwide, while here in the UK, thousands of families struggled to put food on the table due to an ongoing cost-of-living crisis. We also experienced the hottest summer on record, and for many of us it was difficult to reconcile an enjoyment of the warm weather with our anxiety about what these rising temperatures mean.
However, it was also a summer of activism and action, and there were many powerful displays – big and small - of people coming together to collectively imagine and demand a better world. A world that is kind, fair and honest, with leaders who understand that all life on earth is interconnected, sacred and in need of protection. Communicating the urgency of our situation has never been more important, which is why we are thrilled to be a part of a growing movement of storytellers, artists, researchers, academics, scientists and communities, who are all working together to make climate justice central to our collective vision of the future. At Rea, we have the honour of working with some fantastic partners, meeting inspiring members of diverse communities, and having creative, hopeful and empowering conversations with climate leaders, organisations, children and their families. We are so grateful for every single person who worked with us this summer, and everyone who inspired us with their presence and input at our events.
We invite you to read our Autumn newsletter with a warm mug of tea or a hot chocolate. Perhaps, like us, you can hear the patter of rain against the window, or see a yellow leaf fall from a tree. Writing this, I am reminded of Arundhati Roy, who said:
“Another world is not only possible; she is on her way. On a quiet day, I can hear her breathing.”
While swinging on a trapeze under the shade of an oak tree, listening to a child voice their ideas for the future, feeling the breeze stirring the leaves, we at Rea can hear her breathing. The question we ask everyone who follows us into the woodlands as part of our projects is… can you?
A Future for All
This summer, we were delighted to bring our award-winning climate education programme ‘Positive Imaginings’ to the magical woodlands of Yorkshire, in partnership with Hope For The Future, Parents For Future, Contact and the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) - all made possible thanks to the National Lottery Climate Action Fund. Our immersive woodland performance lies at the heart of ‘A Future for All’ - a five-year project created to support low-income families and families of disabled children to feel empowered to engage with policymakers about climate issues. As guardians of the next generation, parents have a unique investment in the future, yet they can face immense barriers to climate advocacy. ‘Positive Imaginings’ gives parents and children the opportunity to explore how the climate crisis affects them and envision a hopeful future together, with follow-up events designed to help parents effectively engage with politicians, and training offered to equip parents with the skills needed to lead advocacy efforts in their communities.
This is only the beginning of this exciting five-year project, and we look forward to supporting even more community-driven climate action next year, alongside our brilliant collaborators.
Wellbeing in a Climate Emergency
We have loved delivering our workshop ‘Wellbeing in a Climate Emergency’ to various staff teams, delving deep into what it means to work in the climate and nature emergency space, while exploring how to cultivate the resilience and support-networks needed to respond to our poly-crisis situation with the necessary energy. With wellbeing at its core, this workshop has been designed to inspire a collective approach to the climate emergency, through a variety of creative, insightful and restorative activities. Most recently, we delivered this workshop to the wonderful Woodland Trust Community Engagement Team, as well as having lots of fun leading a whole day in the forest with Rea’s own staff team! See our new 1 minute workshop film here. Previously, we have worked with staff teams from NatureScot, the Royal Botanic Gardens Edinburgh and Young Start. All profits generated from our sessions are used to subsidise our climate engagement programme - Positive Imaginings - in low income communities across Scotland. If you’d like to learn more, we’d love to hear from you!
Imagine Edinburgh
We are currently in the midst of bringing our immersive show ‘Imagine Edinburgh’ to Craigmillar’s beautiful woodland, thanks to The Regenerative Futures Fund - a ten-year community fund for Edinburgh which works to put decision-making power into the hands of those who face the most barriers. We are developing this project is in collaboration with Hope for the Future, SCORE Scotland, Refugee Action Scotland, Sandy’s Community Centre and Edinburgh Lothian Greenspace Trust. At Rea, our work is informed by the knowledge that racial inequality, poverty and climate are indivisibly interlinked, and that there can be no hope for the climate without racial, social and economic justice. Too often, people in the UK experiencing racism and economic hardship are unable to access nature spaces, or don’t feel welcome there. ‘Imagine Edinburgh’ has been designed to create an inclusive and welcoming space, where children and their families can come together to connect with the natural world and imagine a bright future for Edinburgh together. Our first pilot event took place last weekend, gathering over 90 people from diverse backgrounds in the woods to enjoy our Autumn celebration event, which included a performance, advocacy workshop and nature play session.
“An immersive experience, absolutely phenomenal…Lots of people in the audience were from Syria and Sudan and relatively new to Scotland. To have people from different parts of the world feel safe to talk about issues they are encountering takes great courage and trust…I felt inspired and in awe of the bravery of these people and of the organisations continuously welcoming people despite the rise of the far right.”
Girls Forest Circus
We are happy to announce that our Girls Forest Circus programme in Craigmillar will continue in collaboration with our friends at Think Circus, thanks to continued funding from Young Start. We deliver engaging and accessible weekly outdoor sessions with vulnerable and at-risk girls who are referred to us from their primary schools. These workshops support their wellbeing and foster nature connection - all the while learning new skills and having fun!
Creative Climate Communication
Lucy has also been doing consultancy work with the wind energy industry, delivering an engaging and thought-provoking workshop on climate communication strategy, which she has developed out of her Churchill Fellowship research. Lucy’s fellowship has taken her to Denmark, Indonesia and France researching and learning from some of the world’s leading innovators in creative climate communication and education. There has never been a more urgent time to focus our energy and creativity on making climate communication as effective as possible. Each workshop is carefully created to ignite creativity and encourage fresh perspectives. If you’d like to learn more about these workshops and Lucy’s research, feel free to get in touch!
Thanks and acknowledgements
Lastly, as ever, we would like to say a huge, heartfelt thank you to: our funders and supporters; clients; wonderful board members and amazing team of artists, environmental consultants, educators, workshop facilitators, creative communicators, fundraisers and volunteers.
For more information and inspiration, don’t forget to join our mailing list and follow us on social media @Rowan_Environmental_Arts (we are on LinkedIn, Instagram and Facebook).
We wish you luck with the gentle turn towards a new season, and all the opportunities that it brings, and we hope to see you for a warm cup of woodland tea someday soon.
Best wishes,
Lucy, Arran and the Rea Team
