Well, this wouldn’t be Natural Communities without steep learning curves, and I’ve entered into one these last few weeks in the form of Child-led Play. All my work in conservation and the outdoors up to now has been with teenagers, and my only prior experience of children under the age of ten was actually being one. That, it’s fair to say, was quite a while ago.
My first experience of child-led play, then, came a few weeks ago at the Woodlands Community Garden in Glasgow. Facing stiff competition from a professional storyteller, a samba band (whose Brazilian-inspired sounds contrasted beautifully with the West Coast drizzle) and a bewildering section of cakes, TCV’s stall featured a selection of largely spider-themed activities. Children could take part in a scavenger hunt, and then add their findings to a “nature collage”. They could also look at spiders and other creepy crawlies under a microscope, then make their own spiders using egg boxes and pipe cleaners, and add them to a colourful woollen “spider’s web”, hand-crafted by our Glasgow-based volunteer Rebecca.
I’m sure there’s a huge amount of academic research into the intricacies of child-led play, and to say there’s “not much to it” would be far too simplistic. But on the surface, it really is very simple. Within the range of activities on offer, children are allowed to pursue whichever one they like, in whichever way they like. In fact, the biggest challenge for me was learning NOT to steer the session in a certain direction. This was especially so at the following weekend’s event, where the “nature collage” transcended its initial focus on leaves and twigs, morphing into a whole-table-sized explosion of glue and green paint. At least it was green, I found myself thinking…
And what a colourful and inspiring event that was, too. A celebration of the Hindu Holi festival, which welcomes the arrival of spring and its explosion of colours (a bit like that nature collage…), this event was held at the magnificent Vogrie Country Park in Midlothian, funded by Forestry Commission Scotland and hosted by Edinburgh’s Nepalese Community . TCV’s stall was a mere sideline to the dancing and “colour fight” that brought the day dramatically to a close.
Then yesterday I worked with my colleague Noelia on one of our many Discover Me sessions in Glasgow, where activities are run in combination with exploration of a local green space. In this case, the group were from Al-Meezan , a Muslim organisation focused on education for women, children and youth, and the venue was Glasgow’s expansive, daffodil-covered Bellahouston Park.
Three great days out, and I’m learning fast…