For all our Futures
Playing, making and exploring beyond the classroom is vital for children’s healthy development and helps them understand and make sense of the world around them.
At Spaeda we recognise the health benefits of getting outside and engaging with nature and we are exploring ways of using art to connect with the natural world. A growing area of our work promotes recovery, resilience and a sense of belonging in children and young people through their engagement with nature and landscape.
‘Research shows that people who are more connected with nature are usually happier in life and more likely to report feeling their lives are worthwhile.
Nature can generate a multitude of positive emotions, such as calmness, joy, creativity and can facilitate concentration.
Nature connectedness is also associated with lower levels of poor mental health; in particular lower depression and anxiety levels’.
‘Nature: How connecting with nature benefits our mental health’ Report commissioned by Mental Health Foundation 2021
Upcoming Training and Events
Sat, 07 DecSWITCHBOOK - Free Taster SessionMore info07 Dec 2024, 10:00 – 12:00Rook Lane Chapel, Rook Lane Chapel, Frome BA11 1DN, UKGet to know the project SWITCHBOOK! Find out how it works, ask any questions and sign up to take part for 2025. This event features an exclusive gallery visit, courtesy of GLADE, along with an opportunity to dive into some hands-on sketchbook work.
Runs through January - December 2025SWITCHBOOK – Join our sketchbook community!More info
In the Footsteps of the Romantic Poets
'In the Footsteps of the Romantic Poets’ aims to help pupils of all ages understand and connect with their local landscape and heritage through making, playing and exploring outside.
The project takes inspiration from the Romantic Poets, Samuel Taylor Coleridge and William and Dorothy Wordsworth, who lived and wrote in Somerset’s Quantock Hills.
Artists and cultural partners collaborated with schools, over a period of 4 years, to build skills and understanding across subjects through an immersive learning experience.
‘In the Footsteps of the Romantic Poets’ was produced by SPAEDA, on behalf of the Quantock Hills National Landscape and the Quantock Landscape Partnership Scheme with funding from the National Lottery Heritage Fund.
The project will be celebrated at Hestercombe Gallery from the 20th July 2024 to the 23rd February, 2025, as part of ‘What Stories Make Worlds’, an exhibition focusing on our relationship with landscape and the environment at a time of change.
Image by Jon Barrett | QLPS
Introducing the Romantic Poets
Introducing the Romantic Poets and how they changed the way we see the world today. The story of the poets time in Somerset is told here by Tom Mayberry MBE. Film by James Price, with Tim Martin. On behalf of the Quantock Landscape Partnership Scheme and the Quantock Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, this film is made by Spaeda - arts education with funding from the National Lottery Heritage Fund.
Experince the Quantocks
Experience the Quantocks through the perspective of an artist with our selection of FREE teaching resources.
In partnership with Quantocks Hills National Landscape and the Quantock Landscape Partnership Scheme, SPAEDA have worked with local artists to create a series of short films, showcasing creative activities in various locations in the Quantocks, that can be carried out at school or on site.
These resources can be used to support well-being; develop art and design and design and technology skills. With planning they provide valuable approaches to enrich learning across the curriculum, whether it’s a particular skill, technique, topic or curriculum area.
