Arts award—Explore
It was such an incredible day of discovery, art, and nature!
By Areeb Usama
I headed out to Chessel Bay Nature Reserve with my friends from the Guardians of the River Itchen for a unique sensory mapping session with artist James Aldridge and resident artist Gemma Gore.
Before we set off, James explained how we were going to use all five senses to capture the story of the woodland and the beach.
He showed us our route, and then we were off! As we walked through the woods, I kept my ears open.
I could hear birds chirping, a speeding train in the distance, and a hidden stream flowing right underneath a wooden bridge.
There were so many bugs and plants everywhere! I started drawing on my map right away, sketching ferns, weeds, reeds, and a log marked with a plus sign.
I even found a fallen tree by the shoreline that looked exactly like a heart with pumping veins. Oh, and we found a working trampoline just abandoned in the woods, so of course we had to take a quick detour to bounce on it!
When we reached the beach, the tide was low. We used magnifiers, binoculars, and stethoscopes to explore. We were super careful to avoid the thick reeds so we didn't disturb the nesting birds on the mud beds.
With the binoculars, I could see all the way across the water towards the town, which was so cool.
Because the water was out, I got down into the sticky rock pools and found snails, crabs, and freshwater shrimp.
I also loved the texture of a giant wooden mooring cube, so I used my crayons to make a frottage rubbing of it.