In summer 2022, Michaela led a two-day ecological workshop with collaborator Franziska Pilling in Grizedale Forest, Cumbria. The project was initiated by Signal Film & Media and designed to introduce a group of young people to the impact climate change is having on the the forest environment. The participants were introduced to the idea of systems thinking and invited to consider the complex interconnections within nature and local and global ecosystems. Using methods of attentive observation, field studies and forest immersion the group were encouraged to quietly experience and observe themselves in relation to the forest ecosystem. They were invited to observe their impact within this environment as they gathered artefacts and samples from the forest as the basis of a series of artworks and animations. The group spent two further days in Cooke’s Studios, Barrow in Furness, where they produced a series of animations that communicated their experience of the forest and themselves as part of a complex ecosystem.
Dr Alice Goodenough and Dr Phillip Reeder from the University of Gloucestershire joined us with their Greensounds research project and worked with the young people to listen and record the subtle sounds of the forest. The project culminated with a public exhibition at the Grizedale Forest Visitors Centre in October and November 2022. In line with the principles of systems thinking and ecological responsibility the design and curation of the exhibition responded to questions around impact, consumption and sustainability and where possible the materials used in the exhibition were repurposed, recycled and/or drawn from sustainable sources.