WildWinch, 2023

Walk through nettles and be changed: a wild invitation for a group of young people in inner-city London.

We wanted to explore the question: what would it mean to give young people the space to be leaders within their communities for a deeper relationship with the natural world? Working with artists Hannah McDowall and Rabiah Mali we partnered with The Winch youth club and co-developed a nature-based leadership programme with young people there.

We met plants, built fires, camped out, told stories and made natural perfumes. We asked what it is to be alive and in imaginative relationship with a world that you might not even notice as you scroll past it on the bus.

The young people made a zine based on their experiences and ran a workshop at the Forest of Imagination festival in Bath where they led adults through sensory rituals and foraged wisdom.

Wild Winch is Jahriah, Aya, Elijah, Younes, Nicole, Angel, Farzana, Fahid, Jake, Tanmaya, Ozlem, Hannah, Reece, Melika, Daniel, Rabiah & Alaa.