Here at Wild City we like to learn, think and grow! Everything we do is backed up by substantial research that inspires and drives our project ideas. 

 

Having grown up in a deprived household and experiencing complex trauma during childhood, including surviving a major house fire and a series of difficult family bereavements, I was forced to grow up emotionally very quickly. It was really hard to find my place in the world or relate to other people in school and beyond, children or adults, because of the things that I experienced at such a young age with little support. I was fortunate however, to be surrounded by nature, and although that felt isolating at times, it provided me with a sense of freedom and home. I learned to understand the benefits of being outside and how it provided comfort from stressful situations. Where I grew up in the middle of the South Downs, you could walk for hours and not see a single person which made city life quite the culture shock! 

​

I thought about the amount of people who go through challenging situations in cities, where mental health difficulties are drastically rising across all age groups, along with poverty, deprivation and many many other issues. How could I put my experiences to good use and make an impact, however small? I researched into the proven scientific benefits of nature and thought that if I could just encourage one person to step outside, recognise their connection to nature and feel a bit better in themselves then that would be a success. The action of empathy in practice.

 

With this project in particular, I began looking into feelings of insignificance. Everyone experiences self-doubt to some degree, where they feel small, unaccomplished or not good enough. In today's society, it's too easy to compare yourself to others or measure your personal success against the virtual mass of filtered lifestyles. So, how can we turn those feelings of insignificance into a positive?

 

Let's start by thinking about how we feel when we're surrounded by nature, or just one large tree! When you're immersed by nature, it makes you feel small - not through negativity, but in a reflective, humbling sense. It forces you to recognise that there is more to life than your immediate stresses or the things you're constantly exposed to online. It makes you realise that nature is alive - it goes through cycles and keeps on growing, reaching for sunlight regardless of its surroundings, just like you. 

​

This is the feeling we wanted to create through the Draw Me A Tree initiative. For everyone who enters the final exhibition to feel part of something positive, expansive and magical! The quote below is by Sandra Shapshay, a philosophy professor who's research focuses on environmental aesthetics, especially theories of the sublime. It explains in a bit more depth what we're talking about, and explores the relationship between humans and nature.

​

​