Take a look at the palette of colour in the natural world — in your garden, in the park or by the side of the roads.
What to do
- Before you start, cover the squares of card with double-sided tape — prepare enough for one card per participant.
- Give each person a piece of card, and ask them to explore the area and pick up natural objects. Then get them to look for as many different colours as they can, and stick them to their piece of card.
- Ask them to come back together and share what they have found with the whole group. You could work together to identify any unusual items.
What next?
You could go on to create a display of the natural colour palette cards. Otherwise, you could make a piece of art using more materials in the different colours that you have collected. Look at the work of artists like James Brunt, Mathilde Roussel or Andy Goldsworthy for inspiration, or try the Japanese technique hapa zome.
You could begin a discussion about biodiversity and how the many different plants and animals work together to sustain a healthy ecosystem.
Tips
Agree some guidelines with the young people about what they should and shouldn’t forage. So don’t pick rare wildflowers, or those growing on their own. Nor should you pick things in other people’s gardens without permission!
Take it further
Enjoy some more colour and get involved in our Cooperative Rainbow.
