White City children explore urban ecosystems with Imperial

School pupils discovered the flora and fauna of White City as part of an outreach programme to help them to better understand their local environment.

Open to Year 5 and 6 pupils from the local White City area, Creative Roots tasked participants to scour Hammersmith Park for plants, insects, pond life and birds.

Using investigative kit, they were challenged to identify and document what living organisms live in their local area and why, to help them understand more about urban environments like White City.

After a day of pond-dipping, butterfly-chasing and bird-watching, participants took the plant samples they had found to Imperial's Reach Out Makerspace in The Invention Rooms. There they learnt how to extract the leaf pigments through chromatography.

The next day they worked with Rachel Hill, an artist from the Royal College of Art, to create imaginative illustrations of their own fantasy plants, insects and trees based on their discoveries in the park.

On the final day, writer Laura Fava helped the participants to name their new species and create fantastical descriptions for their invented plants.

The programme culminated with an Exhibition of their creations at the neighboring Royal College of Art. 

Creative Roots was delivered in partnership with the Royal College of Art and West London Zone – an organisation who work with local school children to help them reach their potential. It was made possible by funds received from Imperial Regular Giving.