'Come on now. Get over y'self. You're just one blade of grass on the field of humanity.'
These words of wisdom were from a loving grandparent, shared when things were worrying, or someone might be thinking their wants or needs should come above someone else’s. They were last heard back in the 1970s but have been remembered and have inspired our work for the 2023 NEP Art Project on environment.
Our field of grass is a wild meadow. Wild places may be under threat from climate change, development and pollution but our town and parish councils have been planting meadows and wild areas to encourage wildlife be it birds, bees, butterflies, other insects or plants. Biodiversity is good for the environment and nature is known to improve our own mental and physical health.
The grass looks the same but each blade is unique, a handful of fingers from someone in Year 2 or Year 4 at our school. In an age of attention grabbing media and celebrity, children have less experience of just appreciating the ordinary, including our own and rather wonderful human ordinariness.
The flowers were made by recycling magazines and papers. They remind us that the world does not give us infinite resources and to have a sustainable and happy future we should be mindful of all our consumption. The children’s beautiful flowers, made at home with their loving families remind us that things are most beautiful when they’re made with love and tread lightly on the Earth.
Our field of the grass invites the viewer to ask …
What makes me similar or different to other people?
Am I any more important or special than anyone else?
Can I live more harmoniously with the natural world?
How do I affect the lives of other people and the wildlife I share my home town with?
How might I live in harmony with my human neighbours and the natural world?