28-29 April 2018
Why do we need trees? was a science outreach workshop commissioned by the Centre for Environmental Policy at Imperial College London for the annual Great Exhibition Road Festival 2018. I worked closely with PhD candidate Susanne Raum at the Centre and fellow MA Art and Science student and artist, Olivia Bargman (Liv), to organise a series of experiential activities aimed at engaging children and young people in the wonders of trees.
The workshop, which spanned two days, included an interactive poster designed by Olivia of a tree in an urban landscape. Visitors were encouraged to in missing words and phrases about the benefits of trees in our everyday lives e.g. trees provide food and medicine, cool the air and have a spiritual importance in some cultures. One stand contained objects derived from trees that visitors could interact with including cork, paper, pinecones, acorns, ivy, fruit and bark. Furthermore, visitors had the opportunity to learn about native UK tree species such as oak, ash, sycamore, beech, birch and elm, from a beautifully illustrated old book.
Visitors were also invited to experience life from the perspective of a tree through a VR installation, ‘what trees see’, composed of 360-degree video clips from the branches of 10 different trees in a London park. We also asked visitors to make a ‘pledge to trees’, something they had learnt from the workshop or a change they hope to implement in their lives to help protect trees. They wrote these on coloured paper shaped like leaves, which were hung onto an artificial tree. One attendee quite rightly wrote 'trees are cool!'
