Matt and Holly have been working alongside children in schools across Wokingham to co-create imaginative responses to themes of nature connection, biodiversity, and art. Each workshop has been a unique journey shaped by the students ideas, curiosity, and sense of wonder. Their collaborative artworks will be exhibited at the Forest of Imagination festival, where we’ll reunite to explore the event together and continue our shared creative journey. This evolving project celebrates children as artists and thinkers, honouring their voices and visions while fostering deep connections with the natural world through playful, meaningful, and expressive experiences.

At South Lake Primary School, Matt and Holly began the sessions with an exploration into “What is the Forest of Imagination,” letting the children lead the way. Inspired by Matt’s “insect vision” structures in the Forest Sketchbook, the children wanted to explore how we view the world around us through our eyes. We used UV pens and a UV camera to create invisible drawings, and made vision goggles which encouraged them to imagine a mythical creature’s world. We went on various meditation journeys to imagine how the rest of it might look, act, feel, and where it might live. The children were keen to become these things, which led us to making costumes, sets and props for a colour-filled shadow puppet show behind a white sheet screen. We encouraged them to use the OHP as a place to consider their setting; colours, shapes, and atmosphere, and used it as a backlight to frame the scenes. They instructed Matt behind the curtain, and drew their own textured sets on acetate, sometimes with cut out shapes layered on top, with requests for “rain” and “bobbing sea”. We ended up with a series of “freeze frames” and thoughtful self-led choreographed 30 second stories, totally written and performed by the children.