The Concept

The concept behind this project came from walking the South Downs, part of a daily commute. Particular attention was drawn to a stretch of hedgerow teeming with life forming part of a secondary road linking Glynde Village to the A27.

Issues relating to this environmental impact of litter on the countryside and creative ways to repurpose it ( and convey this through inclusive learning) became the focus of this project.

Research

Keep Britain Tidy provided a wealth of information concerning the impact of litter on the countryside and in particular wildlife. A study undertaken (2018) tragically highlighted that 2.9m small mammals are killed by litter each year. In fact, the RSPCA (2022) receives about 5,000 calls a year about animals affected by this.

Hedgehogs are particularly at risk, as they are inquisitive by nature, which often causes them to get stuck or entangled in rubbish while looking for food. Hedgehogs have been listed as vulnerable on the Red List for Britain’s native mammals (2022), which highlights species at risk of extinction in the next twenty years.

Process

During the Exploration Module the litter from the hedgerow was regularly collected and cleaned.
Using the most limited of technical resources and purely the litter itself a range of experimental samples were created. Initially these samples were created using a traditional range of basket making techniques such as ‘coiling’ and ‘twinning’ influenced by the work of Lois Walpole.

This investigation led to an enquiry into a specific range of contemporary practitioners involved in ‘repurposing’ waste into pieces of jewellery including the work of Andrew Logan and the Alternative 80’s club scene. Basketry techniques were modified and adapted into working in a small scale.
During the latter part of the module a third area was investigated –  ‘Craftivism’. A combination of ‘activism’ and ‘craft’ . Using a single drink can, sculpted into the shape of a mouse, a piece of protest art was envisaged. The aim being to highlight the devastating impact litter can have on wildlife in the hedgerow.

Results and Conclusion

Going forward to Resolution it became clear there would be two learning objectives.

1) With the clarification that littering is an anti-social ‘behavior’ that potentially can be corrected/changed/modified, an exploration of interactive anti-littering campaigns was undertaken including the work of the Hubbub Foundation and ‘Love your Forest’ (2022). This led to the creation of ‘Litter Critters’, a series of animal ‘visual resources’ comprised of the component parts that have shown in studies to cause wildlife serious injury and in some cases even death.

2) Using these ‘visual resources’ as a starting point the design and planning of a range of complimentary inclusive workshops.

This project has provided the opportunity to create a ‘model/template’ of interchangeable workshops to work in a diverse range of settings (coastal/urban) to stimulate the altruistic side of human behavior to ultimately reduce levels of littering. Those initially debased found materials have become a ‘precious’ (McGuirk 2021 p.98) new resource full of creative possibilities.