Look what’s around you was a series of workshops over 7 weeks led by creative writer Julie McKiernan, a creative writing project based on the participants’ own observations of nature. Recruited through an older person’s museum ambassador, participants took part in a number of sessions. The length of the project, and contact with the same group across the 7 weeks, meant that there were opportunities for in-depth reflection and engagement with the museum collections.

The first session was run by the Wildlife Trust, looking at local wildlife. The second session introduced some mini collection boxes brought by Julie, who encouraged the group to think about how they could fill the boxes with their own discoveries from nature. Participants were then encouraged to delve deeper into the nature that lives around them to produce a piece of mindful literature and take photographs. Their work is included in an exhibition and display case in the museum, which the participants helped to create.

In this short clip, Jemma Tynan, Volunteer and Skills Development Officer at The Atkinson, talks about how they introduced the participants to the collections in a supportive way, shaping the conversation around the participants’ interests rather than the scientific provenance of the collections:

Partners included the Lancashire Wildlife Trust, National Museums Liverpool, The Arts Society and Southport U3A.

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