Authored by Groundwork
As a part of Great Big Green Week in Watford, Groundwork East hosted a series of events and sessions to engage the local community with their green spaces, and encourage outdoor learning and activity.
Our Wildplay sessions were a great success – inviting young children and their parents to take part in outdoor learning, through exploration of their natural environment using arts and crafts. Over eight families took part in these sessions, which are new to the Watford area. They were able to hunt bugs and create nature crowns using materials they found in Oxhey Park.
In Knutsford Playing Fields, young people aged 11-24 were invited to try spray painting, using canvases and canvas bags. The sessions were aimed getting them to try something new, aiding their mental health by giving them a channel to focus their creativity. Mark Tanti, a local artist, guided the six young people who took part – giving them the chance to choose colours and practice different techniques, which resulted in excellent artwork that they could take home.
One parent said “I have been trying to get my son to be more creative. It’s great to see him really engage with these sessions”. These young people will be invited back soon to take part in a mural painting at a local community space.
Overall the events were well-received and generated a lot of interest in the local community. We will be running another series of events in the first week of November, to coincide with COP26 – the UN climate change conference.