Folkloric Ecologies: Earth Day Adventure Trails

Monday 20th April 11- 5 pm

Tuesday 21st April  11-5 pm

Wednesday 22nd April 11- 5 pm

Thursday 23rd 11 am – 4 pm

Celebrate Earth Day by stepping into Chelsea Physic Garden as you’ve never experienced it before. Four brand new story trails wind through ancient paths, each one offering an unexpected gateway into the Garden’s living collections. Created by students and graduates of London College of Communication’s Diploma of Professional Studies, there is a wondrous discovery here for everyone.

Drawing on botanical collections, witchy histories, ancestral plant wisdom and ecological wonder, these trails weave centuries of folkloric knowledge into something you can wander through and tangibly explore.

Choose your own adventure — pick one, or muster the courage to track all four:

Step into The Enchanted Garden, where a wise witch beckons her apprentices to craft their very first spells.

Discover Chinese medicinal herbs through calligraphy, botanical illustration and a multi-sensory encounter in Yao: A Herbal Archive.

Set off on a globe-trotting quest for plants that double as heart medicines and love symbols in Nature’s Prescription for Joy.

Or search for the fairy queen’s lost companions and help coax them back from the brink of modern despair in Faith in the Fae.

Grab a trail map or zine from the Garden’s reception and let the plants tell you their stories — all four trails are free with Garden’s entry ticket. This is a folkloric adventure primarily aimed at curious adults seeking enchantment, although older children accompanied by adults might find enjoyment in them as well.

To further adventure with the trail’s creators and folklore explored in each trail, join in for these workshops:

• Flourishing Connections: Personalised Collaged Bouquet Tuesday 21 April – 12-2:30 pm
• Earthly Trinkets: Herbal Amulet Making on Tuesday 21 April –  2:20 – 4.30pm
• Felting Folkloric Botanicals on Thursday 23 April 12:30 – 3 pm

Created as part of University of the Arts London’s Earth week.

Trail designers:  Costanza Thom and Olivia Leung (Nature’s Prescription for Joy), Jingying Tan and Flora Lu (Yao: A Herbal Archive), Hannah Murray and Ollie Almeida (The Enchanted Garden), Ruby Heart  with Sophia Phillips (Faith in the Fae). Mentored by Alisa Ruzavina.