© Kate Raggett

We teamed up with Meadow Arts, Wychavon District Council and Friends of Avon Meadows (FoAM) to develop an arts project based around Avon Meadows in Pershore, a site that is managed by FoAM and is undergoing restoration to a more flowery meadow. Meadow Arts commissioned four Creative Practitioners from their network to develop a series of projects that engage with the community, reflect the seasons and capture the changing environmental conditions and biodiversity of Avon Meadows. The project ran between 2020-21. The artworks were intended to be a love letter to the site and the wider notions of beauty and utility associated with the ancient use of floodplain meadows in managing flood water, providing sustainable land management and community benefit.

The first Creative Practitioner to work at the site over the winter period was Andrew Howe whose finished piece: The River’s Breathing, Avon Meadows are botanical-dyed handmade paper panel reliefs. His artwork depicts two river hydrographs and the beneficial impact of the floodplain meadows on flood protection and biodiversity.  He made site visits during December 2020 in order to gather plant materials such as sloes, ivy and hawthorn berries, rosehips, ivy leaves, alder cones, silver birch twigs/bark, and acorns to make natural inks for the work. He also made paper using reeds, birch twigs and recycled scrap paper. 

Alongside the artwork, Andrew delivered two online workshops: the first demonstrating ecoprinting and mark making with natural inks/dyes broadcast on Meadow Arts’ Instagram. The second was delivered via Zoom to members of the Friends of Avon Meadows. Visit Andrew's blog to read the full piece and see more images photographed on-site.

The second Creative Practitioner artist was Melanie Woodhead and you can read more about her work in her blog. Between March and May 2021, Melanie Woodhead made regular visits to Avon Meadows to document Spring unfolding. Walking and photography were explored as meaningful ways to notice and connect with the environment. She created a series of trans-aquatypes reflecting on the important role floodplains play in slowing, storing, and filtering water off the land. The trans-aquatype process involves soaking a photographic print in water, causing colours to bleed and change unpredictably. The approach echoes the transformative power of water on the site, and the emergent nature of walking through the floodplain meadows in Spring. 

The third Creative Practitioner is Kate Raggett. She worked in June/July 2021 to create a mandala made of sheeps wool after the hay had been cut. Her Land Drawing, 2021 was made using fleece from the sheep that graze on Avon Meadows, kindly donated by local farmer, Ed Dunne. The fleece was laid over several days. Its form and shape was not pre-designed, but made through the process of observing and sensing the meadows and its wildlife, the river and trees, then laying the fleece down in small balls one at a time. The drawing aims to express the organic rhythms and patterns of the sense of being in the meadow. Kate used the Sedge Warbler, a native bird to Avon Meadows, as inspiration for her other art work The Sedge Warbler Drawing, 2021which used12ft locally sourced sheep fleece drawn out on the meadow ground for workshop participants to ‘colour-in’ using foraged grasses and leaves from their walks around the meadows.

Listen to Stories of the River, a series of sonic postcards, developed by artist Emma Plover. Recorded over digital and physical site visits to Avon Meadows, they consider the aura and area of the meadows, documenting the species and natural features, which inhabit and form part of the ecosystem ). Emma also considers access to green spaces, which became all the more important over the pandemic, as well as the integral role the meadows play in the wider natural world.

'Meadow Grasses' © Niki Kent

Funded by the Morgan Family Bursary Fund and the William Dean Countryside and Educational Trust, we ran an art competition to raise awareness and highlight the plight of the nation’s floodplain meadows in 2021. The competition had more than 100 entries from across the UK and internationally. All the judges agreed that the imagination and creativity shown by all those who entered was outstanding. Creative approaches to the brief set by the competition ranged from soundscapes to embroidery, poetry to botanical illustrations with entries coming in from as far as Russia and Bangladesh. The winning pieces of art demonstrated the diverse role of floodplain meadows for biodiversity, flood water management, agriculture, and the importance of their preservation.

We were overwhelmed with the creativity and talent shown, and the response showed towards our beautiful floodplain meadows. The winners were Alice Walker from Oxfordshire and Claire Cornish from Cumbria. There was also a special family prize for the Smith Badger family who received a ladybird house generously donated by the Wildlife Trust. All twelve winners were used in the 2022 calendar we produced and we continue to use the artwork in a myriad of ways including promotional and marketing material. 

Final Installation © Sue Kinsey

The Flourishing Floodplains project aimed to help restore the rich natural heritage of the Severn & Avon Vales by re-establishing priority wetland habitats, building capacity for floodplain restoration and management, and connecting people with the floodplain landscape. Healthy floodplain habitats support a diversity of plants and other wildlife, and provide us with a range of ecosystem services. The floodplains of the Severn & Avon Vales are particularly important for two rare and threatened species: the curlew and the European eel and the rare habitat floodplain meadows. 

Flourishing Floodplains ran from September 2021 until March 2023, with support from the Green Recovery Challenge Fund (GRCF). It was delivered by a partnership of organisations comprising the Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust (WWT); Floodplain Meadows Partnership, hosted by The Open University (FMP-OU); and Farm & Wildlife Advisory Group (FWAG-SW).

The purpose of the art project part of the work was to engage and build relationships with community groups in urban Gloucester who are traditionally under-represented in nature conservation. The city lies in the heart of the Severn Vales landscape, yet is fairly disconnected from its natural floodplain heritage.

The project employed a local artist, Ella Daniel, to work with a number of community groups to complete a community art project that was displayed in Gloucester.

© Catriona Bass

We worked with the Oxford University Museum of Natural History, the Thames Valley Wildflower Meadow Restoration Project and an Oxfordshire based Artist (Alice Walker) to run a mix of activities in May 2023 working with community groups, FMP conference delegates and families visiting the Museum to create an art work called ‘Making Meadows’. Find out more about this terrific weaving art work and the other activities we did. The Marvelous Meadow Artwork comprises of three woven panels - representing: earth (soil); meadow (plants) and water (river). A range of other resources have been developed through this work. These are now available in downloadable form and may be useful tools for family or educational workshops as well as talks and site visits.

The Marvelous Meadow Artwork was put on display for almost a year alongside other creations from sessions in Oxford’s Natural History Museum where it continued to tell the story of floodplain meadows to visitors. We continue to display it at external events, where it always receives positive revciwes including a parliamentary reception to raise awareness

© Olivia Nelson

In partnership with one of our Steering Group members The National Trust we have won one of The Open University’s Open Societal Challenges (OSC) Challenge Us! competition funding awards for 2024. 

The "Tools to Realise Socio-Economic Benefits from Floodplains Under Restoration" (TREASURE) project will include will explore how the National Trust’s historical collections can promote a broader understanding of floodplain meadows’ cultural significance. Engaging the public in creative activities and cultural heritage will enhance awareness of how these landscapes can help address both the climate and biodiversity crises. Creative activities and the use of the National Trust's collections will help interpret the ecological and historical importance of meadows, bringing the story of these landscapes to life for visitors. This artistic angle aims to deepen public appreciation for the meadows and their critical role in combating both the climate and biodiversity crises.