Below is Our annual newsletter which has just gone out, with a recap of 2022 and our plans for 2023. Sign up to our mailing list to be the first to hear our upcoming plans
A Winter Hello
At this dark and cold time of the year we thought we'd share some Wintery magic with you; and a selection our favourite things from 2022, and our plans for 2023.
The Children's Fire is one of the guiding principles of our Positive Imaginings Creative Climate Education Project:
"No law, no decision, nothing of any kind will be agreed that will harm the children of this generation, and seven generations to come."
The Children's Fire is a mindset, culture, philosophy and design principle shared with us at Shambala Festival, informed by the teachings of Elders from indigenous communities from America, and shared by Tim 'Mac' Macartney.
- The Positive Imaginings Creative Climate Education Programme has been touring Edinburgh Primary Schools by bicycle! Our aim is to address climate anxiety and create opportunities for young people who encounter barriers to participating in climate action, to get involved, and feel inspired and empowered. The programme includes: woodland workshops; teacher training; and a promenade performance through local woodlands. Our vision is to share the programme with schools throughout Scotland and beyond, empowering teachers and other educators to take Positive Imaginings as inspiration and develop it to work within their culture and community. The children’s positive imaginings from our 2022 school programme can be listened to here: https://www.rowanbank.org.uk/news We're looking for sponsors, so please get in touch if you would like to support Positive Imaginings. For more information visit our website, where you can watch our short documentary and listen to our soundscape.
Positive Imaginings showreel
- Girls Forest Circus, Edinburgh - we’ve teamed up with our friends at Think Circus to deliver weekly outdoor sessions with P6 and P7 girls in Craigmillar. The sessions are designed to be fun, help improve self esteem, build resilience and learn new outdoor and circus skills. We are very grateful to Young Start, our funders, for believing in our project and enabling us to develop it over the next 3 years; and to the National Lottery’s Community Fund for funding our successful pilot project.
- Natural Power and Fred Olson wind farm community open days - we love designing and performing windy activities. Renewable energy is our thing, so please get in touch if you have any renewables events that you would like us to add sparkle to!
- The Burrell Collection re-opening, Glasgow - we were delighted to provide a team of 12 of our best performers for this spectacular event - aerialists, musicians, stilt walkers, fortune tellers, hula hoopers, natures sprites and more!
- We were back delivering Seasonal Celebrations with our friends at The Woodland Trust.
- Malls Mire, Tory Glen, Glasgow - we were honoured to be part of the celebrations to open this incredible community greenspace. The area has been transformed from derelict and vacant land into a woodland designed for and with the local community to support outdoor health, wellbeing and natural play activities.
- We performed and facilitated workshops as part of WILDHOOD children’s festival, Fringe by the Sea, Shambala, Kelburn Festival, Edinburgh Climate Festival and Findhorn Bay Arts Festival.
- Our Climate Circus stilt walkers joined forces with Global Justice Now to march and protest on the streets of Edinburgh. Collaboration is key to effective climate action!
- Creative outdoor learning teacher training - we continue to develop and deliver our popular teacher training programmes.
- Creative Carbon Scotland - Creatives in an era of Climate Emergency. Lucy was one of four leading experts brought together to discuss what role the creative industries play in the Climate Emergency, how to inform our practices and what should we be aiming for as a community.
- We’ve been very fortunate to be part of Outrage + Optimism’s Civic Imagination Lab, facilitated by Crossing Borders Education, the first stage of a three-year programme which is being developed in partnership with the Cisco Green Team, Outrage & Optimism, Purdue University and UNESCO-Education for Sustainable Development.
- We took part in We Make Tomorrow, led by environmental arts charity, Julie’s Bicycle, designed to mobilise and connect a creative climate movement, empowering artists and cultural professionals to take action on the climate and ecological crisis, with impact, creativity, and resilience.
- In March we’re running off to join No Fit State Circus for a week of professional development, specifically looking at performance protest in relation to climate change.
Don't forget to follow us on social media to hear more about our exciting work.
Last but not least we would like to say a huge thank you to: our very kind funders and supporters (Vegware, Creative Scotland, Sustrans, William Syson Foundation, Scottish Forestry, The Woodland Trust, NatureScot, The City of Edinburgh Council, The University of Edinburgh, Young Start, Nairns and John Lewis); our clients, board members and amazing team of artists, environmental consultants, workshop facilitators, project managers, creative communicators, photographers, filmmakers, fundraisers, administrators and volunteers.
Enjoy the snowdrops!
Best wishes,
Lucy, Arran and the Rowanbank team
Rowanbank Environmental Arts & Education is a not-for-profit Social Enterprise incorporated as a Community Interest Company. Rowanbank specialises in site-specific performances, ranging from community events in urban woodlands to shows at international festivals. We facilitate innovative workshops, run forest schools and teacher training programmes. Our aim is to make outdoor learning and creativity, with their many benefits, accessible to all, and to use the arts as a catalyst for change and climate justice.
www.rowanbank.org.uk