URBAN ROAM ROCHDALE: A Nature walk with Rebecca Chesney

Local has been invited to curate creative engagement activities to support the Station Gateway development and establish a longer-term conversation with local communities on the future this and the Milkstone Road areas of Rochdale.

We have developed some artist led walks, inviting residents and commuters alike to look through the lens of artists, to discover new aspects of the community and surroundings, raise issues, share ideas and co-design the future of their place.

Rebecca Chesney’s practice examines our complex relationship with the natural world, by engaging with issues of culture, politics and power. Her artworks, which take the form of installations, videos, drawings, maps and walks, are often created in response to specific places and are underpinned by environmental research.

For this activity, join artist Rebecca Chesney in mapping the flora and fauna around the area. Where are the green spaces and nature corridors around Milkstone Road? What areas are abandoned and can be used for community gardens and picnic spaces? What role does nature play in an Urban environment like this?

Gutters, rooftops, chimneys, walls and gaps in the pavement can all harbour many different plant species, with derelict plots being host to flowers, trees, insects, birds, bats and foxes. On our evening roam, we will map the nature on your doorstep and think of ways that we can bring the natural world a little closer to home. What will we see, what will we hear?

- Meet outside Rochdale Train Station at 6pm