Nature and Wellbeing
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.
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.
‘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
Drawing with Charcoal on a site visit to the Charcoal Burners at Hestercombe, using sketchbooks to respond to the natural environment
Explore the Outdoors with our Creative Teaching Resources
Through our work with project partners, we have become acutely aware of the inequalities children and young people face in accessing the natural world. Even in rural areas, not all children and young people have gardens or spaces where they feel free to explore and play.
To help counter this inequality, we’ve commissioned some new resources.
These resources are subsidized for our education partners thanks to support from Hestercombe, ArtsCouncil England, Wick Farm, the Quantock Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, National Lottery Heritage Fund and the Landscape Partnership Scheme.
Cultural and Creative Learning for Schools
For our charity, home has been at Hestercombe since 2017, a beautiful base we enjoy sharing with Hestercombe’s visitors and their team of staff and volunteers.
Spaeda collaborate with Hestercombe to bring cultural and creative learning to schools. With 50 acres of gardens steeped in history and a contemporary art gallery with a changing programme of exciting exhibitions, Hestercombe, near Taunton, Somerset, offers lots of opportunities for learning outside of the classroom.
Making the most of the landscape gardens, their heritage, their natural and man-made features, we work closely with curator and creative director to we help education settings to enjoy this special place.
Land Art and Landscape Gardens for Key Stages 1-4
Outdoor Learning Resources
We have partnered up with the Quantock Landscape Partnership Scheme and the Quantock Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty to bring you resources to support learning outside the classroom.
These short films led by artist educators with useful resource sheets and kit lists are brought to you fully subsidised through the project ‘In the Footsteps of the Romantic Poets’ supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund.