On Earth Day, April 22, Breathe Creative has been facilitating arts workshops for young people and adults in partnership with Ty Canna Outreach Services in Cardiff.
The theme for Earth Day 2022 is “Invest In our Planet” calling for businesses to shift towards sustainable practice. The United Nations also celebrates this day as International Mother Earth Day and has marked the day with the theme “Harmony with Nature”.
We have been sharing our thoughts and ideas and creating artwork about about nature, the environment and ways to care for it. We have been talking about pollution and global warming. Some of our group members feel really connected to nature and felt this was a good way to feel grounded for their mental health. Others felt concerned about the issues but not sure what they could do to help.
One idea we had was creating an outdoor space where we could come together to be more connected to nature, a safe space for feeling calm, to grow things to eat, being more healthy and in the fresh air, and being creative together.
Our groups shared some thoughts:
“Benefits of being outside – it’s good for mental health.”
“Gardening in any form is a joy, to see plants and flowers grow and develop.”
“Harvesting produce gives a great sense of achievement (doesn’t always work, but that also joy of gardening, seeing how nature chooses to work!)”
“Using produce in a group – growing and eating it – soup of any kind using vegetables, carrot cake, choc beetroot brownies…”
“It nurtures the soul, it’s nice to work in groups and have some social interaction. Also as it’s outside, it makes it safe and can be done in a socially distant way whilst still working together.”