Beyond the Trees: Community Responses to Climate Change

‘Rathdrum: Beyond the Trees’ is a project taking place in Rathdrum, a rural village in County Wicklow, Ireland, involving 90 children from three local schools. The project is focused on community-building based on creative responses to environmental and climate change. Anne-Marie Beaumont, Music Development Officer at Music Generation Wicklow, shared more details about the project with us.

‘Rathdrum: Beyond the Trees’ aimed to help children to understand and respond to their local environment using creative engagement activities in art and music. Following an immersive experience at the Tree-Top Walk in Avondale, the children engaged in music and visual art activities at school that harnessed their awareness of and creative responses to environmental issues.

Why was this project created?

Music Generation Wicklow is part of Ireland’s national music education programme whose mission is to empower children and young people to realise their full potential through access to and participation in high-quality performance music education. We provide opportunities for children and young people to create, play and perform music on their own terms and in their own communities. Music Generation Wicklow, supported by Wicklow County Arts Office, launched this project as part of our Crinniú na n-Óg celebrations in Rathdrum. This initiative is part of the Creative Ireland Youth Programme plan which aims to foster children’s creativity through a national day of free creative activities. The project started with an exploration of the Tree-Top Walk in Avondale where children recorded forest sounds and collected natural items as inspiration for their musical and art workshops and it culminated in a performance and art exhibition at the RDA Hall in Rathdrum on the 15th of June.

Music & Climate Change

The children have had weekly lessons on climate-change themed songs with our Musician Educator; they used hand-held recorders to capture environmental sounds which inspired a newly-commissioned work by composer Tom Lane. This composition and the songs they have been learning were performed as part of the Crinniú na Óg event in Rathdrum. They also participated in art workshops with Louise Shearer to create environmentally inspired artworks that will be exhibited during their performance.

Benefits & Impacts

The project provided a multidisciplinary platform (Music, Composition, Art, Performance) for children to explore the concept of climate change in a creative fashion. The performance and exhibition on the 15th of June involved children and the local community, helping to build a sense of social cohesion in a village that has experienced a lot of demographic change in recent years. Children have had the chance to engage creatively with climate change and its environmental impact whilst working alongside professionals from the Creative Industries. Working with Wicklow Arts Office, local schools, teachers, a composer, an artist and community spaces have enhanced the project’s reach and impact; such partnerships form the cornerstone of the work that Music Generation Wicklow is undertaking in the county.

Why should others run similar projects?

This project caters for different learning styles and interests as it combines art and music with environmental education. It provides a safe space for children to explore and express their environmental anxieties. It strengthens community ties through collaborative projects and encourages proactive attitudes towards environmental protection. The project highlights the potential of integrating arts and environmental education offering a model that other Music Hubs and communities can adapt to encourage engagement in children and young people in addressing climate change in a creative way.

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