What Lies Beneath: Remembering the deep dive into London’s lost rivers

In December 2023, Year 3 children from Edith Neville visited the Floating Garden to take part in a series of creative activities - guided imagery, art making and storytelling. It’s a creative challenge making artwork in the belly of a boat! 

After a river walk and meeting local wildlife along the way, the young explorers were invited aboard the Floating Garden and introduced to the theme of lost London rivers. They were taken on a ‘guided imagery’ exercise: a deep dive into their imagination. Closing their eyes, and sitting still, children pictured themselves travelling underwater in a submarine and meeting the underwater Guardian of the lost rivers of London.  

It was moving to see some children really concentrate and become absorbed in this guided imagery exercise. It was evident the teacher and TA valued this process, as they showed surprise at specific children’s engagement. 

Part 1 - Art-making – Making Porthole Postcards from The Deep 

Children then drew immediate responses on paper of what they imagined, using paper and pencils, to sketch the Mythical Guardian of the River and their underwater habitat. 

They then brought designs to life, using sticky back plastic as a window inside a black card porthole. Children enjoyed using a range of arts materials - tissue paper, feathers, recycled materials to create personalised designs. The teacher and TA gave feedback that sticky back plastic was an easy way for children to be creative, without glue. You can see the creative process below! 

Part 2 - Art-making – Making Porthole Postcards from The Deep 

We then gave children a selection of beads and coloured leather strips to make a ‘Story Tale or Tail’ for their mythical creature. There was a lot of excitement as children enjoyed the tactile and sensory elements of the glass and porcelain beads. There was a special feel to the beads, like ‘treasure’. Children, both boys and girls, enjoyed threading the beads and attaching these tails/tales to their portholes. Finally, children finished decorating their portholes, using metallic pens on the black frames, to add designs. Children seemed to really enjoy using different creative materials to the norm.

There was evident pride and surprise when children shared their finished creations. Most of their feedback could be seen in wide smiles, and open eyes, as they held up their portholes from the deep. One of the school groups burst into spontaneous song from The Little Mermaid, singing and miming actions. Children spoke in exclamation marks… as they verbally expressed their enthusiasm.  

“It’s so beautiful

“It’s brilliant”

“I’m an artist!”

“I’m a great artist!”
“This is the best day of my life. I had no idea I could make art like this”

To conclude our creative sessions, we shared a folktale story of the Selkie from our ‘magic’ illuminated reading book. Children really enjoyed the ‘surprise’ of different coloured lights and showed enthusiasm for the turning of the light pages. 
Children left carrying their portholes onto dry land, looking very proud. 

When reflecting on the sessions, Sarah Pimenta shared: “It was great to have 100% engagement and enthusiasm from all the children and the staff were all wonderfully supportive!” I particularly loved it when they were so excited about all the different materials we offered - who knew that some bits of tinsel and some beads would create so much joy!”

These creative sessions were designed and facilitated by Pia Jones and Sarah Pimenta, creators of the Therapeutic Fairy Tales series, books that explore how nature can support children’s wellbeing, and Rewilding Children’s Imaginations, a manual with folktale stories and creative activities to help children connect with nature. Pia and Sarah were supported by Linda, Roshni, Laura, and Lucy from Global Generation. The magical day was made possible by the kind support of our funders The Crick and the Heritage Lottery Fund.

Pia Jones is an author, workshop facilitator and integrative arts psychotherapist, having trained at The Institute for Arts in Therapy & Education. Pia has worked with children and adults in a variety of school, health, and community settings. A love for myth, art, and nature underpins her practice.

Sarah Pimenta is an artist, educator, creative facilitator, illustrator, and lecturer in creativity. She has delivered art and print-making workshops in over 250 schools, diverse communities, and public venues. Nature and social change are huge inspirations in her art and creative workshops. 

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Notes from the Garden