Join Essex based wildcrafter, artist and author Lora Aziz for an introduction to her current project Motanafas, part of a British Council COP27 Creative Commission bringing together art, science and digital technology and offers innovative, interdisciplinary and inclusive responses to climate change.

Motanafas in Arabic means a space to breathe, a space of respite, a space to connect. Through the art of visual storytelling and citizen science Motanafas compiles a young contemporary experience with the natural world, explored through a series of nature walks and artist led workshops to gathering plant images, samples and stories to form part of an interactive comparative digital ethnobotanical collection of similar plant species found in the Al’tarfa, St Catherine (Egypt), and Colchester, Essex.

Finding ways to connect to the natural environment is a fundamental part of the necessary active movement in re-connection, re-capturing and re-narrating the stories we need to form for the future generations of the planet.

The workshop will be a two part series:

In this outdoors workshop, you will learn how to identify a range of local plants and trees around the grounds, from willow, hawthorn, walnut, wormwood, rose and yarrow. You will learn about the edible, medicinal and craft suit abilities of these plants as well as traditional uses of these species in their wider genus context. You will learn how to make observations, gather, photograph and document as well as explore your own relationship to the natural world. We will then head back to the Sociology Common Room (5A.325) for a foraged tea blend and discussion of the Motanafas project, as well as how you might want to get involved in data collection, analysis or contributing to the Motanafas archive.

Meeting point: outside the SU Store on Square 4. Please aim to be there at 13:55 for the session to begin promptly.

The second session will be in collaboration with the Art Exchange, where we will explore the art of seeing. This will take place on Sunday 27 November, 2 - 5pm: https://www.artexchange.org.uk/event/cop27-the-environment-and-foraging-in-wivenhoe-park/

These sessions are being supported by the Department of Sociology, Art Exchange and the Sustainability team, all at the University of Essex.

Motanafas project - Foraging with Lora Aziz