In March 2009 staff and pupils of Woolmore Primary School went on a woodland walk, which was funded by the London charity A New Direction.
Pupils gather in a woodland clearing © Jonathan Barnes
New experiences
Walking beneath the giant plain, beech and ash trees, along muddy pathways we collected thoughts, objects and observations. We came across tiny creatures, fresh buds and beautiful fungi. We drew the criss-cross patterns of the early spring branches and listened to the countryside sounds of a wild place not a mile from Canary Wharf.
Each class from Woolmore School had a different collection to make, but the lesson objective was otherwise open. Thousands of questions must have been asked and a thousand, thousand separate things seen in this wilderness flourishing in one of the most densely populated parts of Europe.
For most children this visit was the first outing to a really wild place, the first bus journey without parents, perhaps the first picnic in the wild, and the first experience of fungus, mud and decay.
A pupil investigates the woodland wildlife © Jonathan Barnes
Exploring creativity
We have been looking for creativity – and indeed creativity was everywhere on that day. Creativity was seen first and foremost in the wonders of creation all around us. Our eyes took in a wealth of biodiversity – a complex ecosystem from massive and ancient tress to tiny mites on the stonework. In the nature reserve we used all our senses to experience the circle of life from foxes, crows and woodpeckers to woodlice, centipedes and algae.
Creativity was equally evident in human relationships. Between pupil and pupil, adult and child, adult and adult, the questions, jokes, information and comments flowed – each conversation was a new creation. Friendships were deepened, experiences shared and new relationships entered into.
The nature reserve is set within Tower Hamlets Cemetery Park. © Jonathan Barnes
Fuelling the imagination
Creativity also appeared in the things that we did there. Imaginative stories passed from child to child, wonderful fresh drawings expressed the confusion of trees and saplings filling the reserve, and themed collections were made on journey sticks. In our minds creative links were being made as we gathered the sounds in different places: distant traffic, rustling trees, clacking branches, cawing crows, passing trains, roaring planes and blackbirds and finches in the undergrowth.
Finding the creative us is about the discovery that everything fresh, valued and using even the smallest bit of imagination is an example of every human being’s limitless potential for creativity. We all share one great gift – that all are creative but all create in different ways.
