To Fly Adventurous
Our Black-tailed Godwit project is part of a partnership project between the RSPB and the Wildfowl and Wetland Trust and was set up to secure the future of breeding Black-tailed Godwits in the UK. Black-tailed Godwits have declined rapidly in the fens and Project Godwit is combining habitat management, research, and head starting ( a breeding and release program) to combat this.
With a new poem and artwork by Back From The Brink artist in residence Linden McMahon, performances from poets Elaine Ewart, Stewart Carswell, and Matt Howard; interactive activities, a talk with conservationists from Welney Wetland Centre – the event was a beautiful way to immerse and connect to the Black-tailed Godwit.
'Hold-Fast' Full Anthology
Here’s a bit more about our wonderful poets –
Matt Howard lives in Norwich, where he works for the RSPB. His first full collection, Gall, was published by The Rialto in 2018 and was winner of the 2018 East Anglian Book Award for Poetry and shortlisted for the Seamus Heaney Centre First Collection Prize in 2019. He has been Poet in Residence at the Cambridge Conservation Initiative and The Wordsworth Trust.
Stewart Carswell is from the Forest of Dean and currently lives in Cambridgeshire, where he helps to organise the Fen Speak open mic night. His poems have been published in Envoi, Ink Sweat & Tears, Algebra of Owls, and The Fenland Reed. His debut pamphlet is Knots and branches (Eyewear, 2016).
Elaine Ewart is a writer of poetry and creative non-fiction, particularly concerned with our relationship with the rest of nature at a time of ecological crisis. In 2015 she won second prize in the New Welsh Writing Awards and was shortlisted for the Resurgence Ecopoetry Prize. She held the post of Fenland Poet Laureate in 2012, and has recently completed a PhD in Creative Writing at the University of Essex. Elaine co-organises Fen Speak, an open mic spoken word event in Ely, and has also worked as a wildlife volunteer for WWT Welney and the RSPB.
Linden McMahon is a poet, currently an artist in residence with Back From The Brink, and will be debuting a new poem and artwork inspired by Project Godwit, based on a collaborative poetry workshop at WWT Welney’s Godwit Festival in June. They have performed across the UK, and their work has been published in magazines and anthologies including Gutter and Shoreline of Infinity. Their first pamphlet was published by Stewed Rhubarb, and they debuted their spoken word show, Fat Kid Running, in 2017. They aim to use writing to build a more just, more sustainable, and kinder world through community and solidarity. You can find them online at http://lindenkatherinemcmahon.org.
Jess Owen is the Engagement Officer for Project Godwit, and will be talking about the work of the project – including the successful breeding programme at WWT Welney.
Event took place at
David Attenborough Building, Pembroke Street, Cambridge
Participants joined us to celebrate the rare Black-tailed Godwit through poetry and art, and find out about the project working to save them from extinction in Cambridgeshire’s wetlands, part of the national conservation project Back from the Brink.
The Trees of Fountains Abbey
Celebrating Ancient Trees - Banner Making and parade
Ancients of the Future Event
'CELEBRATING ANCIENT TREES – BANNER MAKING AND PARADE'
Come-a-wassailing
Barberry Carpet Moth Event
'COME-A-WASSAILING '
To fly adventurous
Black-tailed Godwit Event
'TO FLY ADVENTUROUS'
Walking Art Workshops
Gems in the Dunes Event
'WALKING ART WORKSHOPS'
Buckthorn Bash Workshop
Gems in the Dunes Event
'BUCKTHORN BASH WORKSHOP '
Outdoor Porcelain Workshop
Gems in the Dunes Event
'OUTDOOR PORCELAIN WORKSHOP'
Outdoor Cyanotype Workshop
Gems in the Dunes Event
'OUTDOOR CYANOTYPE WORKSHOP'
Drawing from Nature
Colour in the Margins Event
'DRAWING FROM NATURE '
Discover, Create, Value
Colour in the Margins Event
'DISCOVER, CREATE, VALUE '
Poetry with Linden
Poetry art discussion
Wild at 'art on the heath!
Banner and wall hanging making workshop
Long ears and narrow heads
Ladybird spiders creative workshops
Poetry and drawing
The Last Ditch
Grasslands Art
Pine Marten Box Making
Fans of the Forest - guided walk
Cabinet of Curiosity
Lantern making
Victory Wood Heritage Open Day
Willow Tit Anthology of poems
Lanhydrock
Sound of the field
Meet an artist
To Fly Adventurous workshop organised by an amazing artist Linden Katherine McMahon.
Linden Katherine McMahon
Writer and Performer | From: London
I write poetry and fiction exploring connections between humans and non-human nature, re-imagining belonging and kinship, and celebrating queer joy and liberation. I aim to use poetry and stories towards building queer, feminist, decolonial, and sustainable futures through community and solidarity.
The Art of saving species
Browse all artworks.
