The Nature Nurtures Conservation + Creative Arts Collective is a cross-sector project led by London Wildlife Trust with partners Spread the Word, Black Girls Hike CIC and London Youth. The project has a whole host of exciting opportunities for young people to connect with nature and each other.

It’s been a wonderful journey so far building up the Nature Nurtures Collective with London’s youth across our nature reserves! When designing the project, one of the key elements we wanted to provide was the space and opportunity for young people to connect with our landscapes, draw inspiration from nature and share that magic with others.

The Anthology - submit your work

For those who have signed up for Nature Nurtures, we will be publishing a collection of work created during and out of the workshops in an anthology and there’s only 2 weeks left to submit your work! If your work is selected, you’ll receive a free copy of the anthology. I’m also excited to announce that the top-voted creators of creative writing, illustrations and photos will be awarded an intimate 1-hour workshop with Theresa Lola, Woodrow Phoenix and Melissa Legarda respectively!

The final deadline to submit your work to be published in the Nature Natures Anthology is Monday 6th February.  If you have any questions contact bobby@spreadtheword.org.uk. We will contact all applicants by the end of February to let you know the outcome of your submission.

Submit your work here

Get Involved in the Collective

Haven’t taken part in a Nature Nurtures session yet?

A session is held twice a month on one of the London Wildlife Trust reserves, each session focuses on developing your creative skills, confidence and knowledge within the outdoors and provides you with the opportunity to collaborate with other young people. The sessions are led by London Wildlife Trust providing guidance for conservation and ecology-based tasks; Black Girls Hike partner with us on guided walks and wellbeing sessions and Spread the Word provide workshops on creative writing and thinking.

It’s been amazing to watch those of you who’ve never touched nature photography before to produce images like these:

And having seasoned poets join us to share impactful imagery through words such as:

Thunder Thursday

Today, cloud watching reveals only the sky’s swollen bosom 
Lactating anticipation 
Melding with the cloy of damp blazers. 

The air is alive. 

The sky cracks open like a fortune cookie - 
Prophesising water upon water 
As shards of lightning crumble to the ground. 

Books become umbrellas 
As children, with mouths open like parched roots, 
Await something they cannot name. 

Water upon water upon water. 

The sky does not weep but shrieks. 

We only listen to the voice that is loudest, 
So just wait, the earth will silence you.

By Ilisha Thiru Purcell, workshop attendee

Have your own creative work you would like published, you still time to submit your work or come along the next session and work on something new to submit.

Charlie – Youth Volunteering Coordinator

I am responsible for planning and facilitating the session and  Nature Nurtures has really shown me how important it is to get back in touch with a sense of play and curiosity. We're often overly critical about our creative outputs and it's been a wonderful experience to be part of a space where creativity is nourished and celebrated. If there are any thoughts you want to share or ideas you want to explore, let me know! My dream is for Nature Nurtures to grow as youth-led collective. We are keen to ensure that inclusion needs are met as best as possible, so please feel free to let us know if there's anything we can introduce into the sessions. You can contact me at cnwanodi@wildlondon.org.uk.

Nature Nurtures is supported by funds awarded by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media, and Sports, via the Volunteering Futures Fund distributed by Arts Council England.