Finding calm and connection through nature and creativity
Karen Morecroft and Charlotte Thompson-Grant share how connecting with nature supports their wellbeing – and how creative and practical actions can help us feel more grounded in the face of environmental challenges.
Reflections from Charlotte Thompson-Grant:
Watching and listening for wildlife has always helped me to feel a part of nature (rather than separate to it) and offers me such a calming distraction from everyday stresses - I've always been an excessive worrier and that can be quite exhausting. I can get ridiculously excited if I hear a jay calling on a woodland walk and if I glimpse one flying through the tree canopies, that gives me a sense of wonder. I recognise many bird calls, but I'm no expert and I would wholeheartedly recommend the Merlin app, which helps identify any unfamiliar bird calls. I also feel so far away from my worries when I'm photographing birds, wild flowers and trees.
I am painfully aware that we're currently experiencing a biodiversity crisis. It's depressing to read that the UK is one of the most nature-depleted countries in the world, as we are in the bottom 10% of nations for biodiversity. I feel angry that the government isn't doing more, but I believe that we should all try to make a difference and shouldn't stay silent - peaceful protests are a way for ordinary people to have their voices heard.
I try to do my bit to support nature with a wildlife friendly garden and I support many nature charities. I often go on litter picks and try really hard to reduce my plastic waste, but it is a challenge when life is so busy. Every small step helps though and individuals can make a difference.
Reflections from Karen Morecroft:
Nature and being outdoors has always been an integral part of my wellbeing, and for around the last 12 years intertwined with my art practice as a photographer and printmaker. I made a shift from chasing cityscapes to landscapes when I discovered on a trip to Iceland that the vast landscapes left me both inspired and relaxed. When not on holiday in the cold far north I tend to spend a lot of my weekends in Cutteslowe park (the biggest park in Oxford) which has a semi-natural wildlife area and community woodland with my camera, I still haven’t been fast enough to capture any of the rabbits that live there! When I’m not outdoors you might find me at Oxford Printmakers Cooperative in East Oxford trying out a new print - I find that there's something very meditative in the various processes, whether carving a piece of lino or inking up at etching plate and it leans into mindfulness. Similarly, I get the same feeling when developing film and photographic prints, I did a quite a bit of black & white photography at university and loved being in the darkroom, until now I was only able to develop film at home but I am in the process of setting up my own darkroom in the garage, spurred on since learning about some new eco-friendly chemistry that has been developed (no pun intended).
Another process I’ve tried and really enjoy is cyanotype printing- a printmaking technique probably most well known these days for blueprints, it was also a technique used by Anna Atkins for botanical imagery in what is often described as the first photographically illustrated book. The process works by laying objects onto paper coated with photosensitive chemicals and exposing them using UV light (sunlight), the prints are then fixed/rinsed with water. I’ll be hosting a mini cyanotype workshop in the department on 14 May 2025 (see the April Wellbeing newsletter for sign up information).
I’m always conscious of my environmental impact and making greener choices where I can, which is not always easy (especially when chemicals are involved), but I try to encourage those around me, whether its installing a recycling bins in various rooms around the house or donating old textiles to the print studio to find new life as ‘rags’, but as Charlotte says small steps help and those small steps add up.