Urban Wildlife

In modern cities, it's easy to feel cut off from the natural world. Forming a connection with nature, especially at a formative age, has been shown to have a wide range of emotional and social benefits. Luckily, London boasts an amazing wealth of wildlife and nature to be discovered and is often ranked as one of the top cities globally for most green space.

The aim of this project was to therefore take advantage of this abundance in nature and get the public, especially children, more enthusiastic about the diversity in their local environment. In liaison with ZSL and the White City Outreach team we carried out three sessions with two schools. These included artwork, booklet excercises including a simplified food web and time for children to reflect on their experiences with nature. We also ran a stall at the Great Exhibition Road Festival, where we engaged the public with some of London's interesting natural curiosities, a wildlife quiz, mini soil invertebrates, mini wildlife gallery, leaf and bark rubbings, mosses and microscopes. This work was greatly assisted by a team of student volunteers from Imperial. Through these activities, we hope to have increased awareness, enthusiasm, and concern for nature, and instilled a sense of how important urban wildlife and green spaces can be for people's mental health. 

Team Members

Oliver Kippax-Chu (Cohort 10)
Isabelle Thomson (Cohort 10)
Anna Tippett (Cohort 9)
Jérémie Morel cohort (Cohort 9)
Paransa Alimard (Cohort 9)
Sebastian Pipins (Cohort 9)
Tsvetoslav Georgiev (Cohort 9)