What does nature mean to me? Co-led research with University of Bristol
“The driving forces we witnessed were curiosity, children having fun, moving around and exploring. There was real excitement triggered by all the different nature encounters. And these in turn fired children’s imagination, inventiveness and initiative. Like when we forgot our pencils, children found sticks and just made marks that way…”
In Autumn 2022, 10 children from the Room 13 Management Team were invited to be co-researchers with academics from the Brigstow Institute at the University of Bristol. Professor Debbie Watson (who we’ve collaborated with on several great projects before) and researcher Lois Peach were looking at the benefits of children being in nature, particularly following the pandemic. They wanted to include action research by children and creative methodologies too – both Room 13 areas of expertise. They funded all groups to take part. You can read what we did below: our creative research activities, our Room 13 findings, and the academic findings and papers. This project was also a brilliant start to our bigger Arts Council England funded Nature Project, 2022-2024.
Research activities
Two communities of children took part: Room 13ers aged 9-11 from Hartcliffe, and children of the same age from Barton Hill Activity Club in east central Bristol. Room 13 artist co-founders/educators Shani and Paul helped to devise the creative research sessions and the trips. Before each session started, Shani asked questions to open us up to an inquiring approach: what will you see, hear, sense, discover in the next hour?
On a late summer’s day, our group walked from our school grounds up to Dundry Slopes and the Roundhouse, green spaces local to us. On another day, we went to Ashton Court Estate, an iconic city green space which most children had never seen. On both trips, children explored, noticed, observed and discovered. They collected, took photos and made and created with different art materials. Afterwards they made ‘brain boxes’ of their experiences – boxes containing their drawings, collections, ideas and responses.
Shani and Paul also worked with Barton Hill children and facilitated their creative nature trips to Netham Park, a local green space, and to Ashton Court estate. At the end of all our combined research activities, we came together for an outdoor celebration event at the University of Bristol with a free pizza van! Children spoke about their experiences and what mattered to them and some parents from both groups came too.
Our Room 13 findings
‘What does nature mean to me?’ This is a question we asked Hareclive children of all ages using the studio. Before going on the local trips, or starting our bigger Nature Project, many children’s answers were about big or exotic animals they’d heard of, many of which do not live in the UK. Or about creatures and animals seen around the estate which borders countryside, like foxes and birds. After the trips, here are some of our adult team observations summarised as notes, with children’s reflections after:
Seeing with new eyes – up close to small things on the ground, up high in the sky and out to big views. Outside = spacious, wider boundaries. Children move, skip, run, jump and even dance. Exploration, freedom, discovery, joy. Also: quiet, slow, looking close in.
Free from school structure, peer pressure, stress, ‘gang’ aggression or the need to be tough. Children include litter in explorations (where an adult might avoid). Not much fear of dogs/wildlife, as pets are common. Police helicopter presence is quite normal. Nature / walking encourages opening up, sharing about lives. Making and taking photographs opens new windows and agency. Children are relaxed, creative. Making slows down the pace and focusses children to really look. Room 13ers take pride in being official co-researchers.
Our own conclusion reflects our 20 years of Room 13 arts practice, involvement in education and school trips, and the pandemic lockdowns and their impact on children. Children desperately need more time outside – in urban, parkland or rural space. It has a very positive impact on children’s learning, their physical and mental health, and sense of belonging.
“Whoa look at that tree!” (a weeping willow). “Like Hair”. “We could plait it.” (they try to)
“That tree looks a good place for reading a book”
“Look I’m doing The Nature Dance!”
“Look at this/ that!” (trees, apples, views, leaves, flowers, patterns, litter, deer at Ashton Court, a balloon taking off…)
“Some people hug trees” (hugging a tree). “It feels nice. Old.”
“We can see all of Bristol from here.”
“Climate change. It’s happening.”
Academic research
Professor Debbie Watson and Lois Peach have produced their first academic paper from the research, submitted to the journal ‘Children’s Geographies’, entitled: ‘Multi-species encounters in the city: a more than human perspective on children’s art-based exploration of urban natural spaces’.