Creative engagement - 'The Ecologies of Hilbre Island - A Creative Expedition'

Can you tell us a bit about your event? 

Our event was a creative expedition to Hilbre island, a landmark in the river Dee estuary and our ‘Galapagos’ in the North West of England. We wanted people to develop deeper relationships with nature by looking closely at how the land, sea and humans interconnect. We were guided by ‘The Three Ecologies’ described by Félix Guattari and chose Hilbre as our site of inquiry as it provided an opportunity to bring people together to explore three ecologies in one location, and could help facilitate contemplation on our symbiotic relationship with nature.  

On a chilly but dry Saturday morning in November, we embarked on our creative journey. During the 1 hour walk to the island we listened to an audio guide that included a history of the island and oral histories from local residents.  

Arriving on the island, attendees chose to take part in one of two workshops that observed and documented the island. We wanted participants to spend time with the island and the species it is home to, whether it be for the first or hundredth time.

After a picnic (indoors due to the wind), we gathered together for a poetry performance of ‘Rock, Sea’ written by poet Dr Yvonne Reddick, which even included a sea shanty verse! The performers wore costumes that embodied the sandstone that form the islands, and rock-sea lavender and sea spleenwort (native plants of Hilbre island). We then returned to the mainland before high tide, listening to the final stops on the audio-guided tour on the way. 

The event was made possible through collaboration with our cultural partners who have been developing the Hilbre Centre for Art, Science and Sustainability; a collaborative effort between universities, local councils and cultural organisations. They were able to introduce us to local contacts including the Wirral council rangers that ensured we were safe on the journey to and on the island, and BADA and the Hilbre Community Land Trust provided access to once derelict buildings for the workshops to take place, and the picnic on the day. 

What was the importance of the location to the event, and how did that inform the creative formats you chose?

Hilbre islands have a long history that includes being used as a telegraph station and bird observatory. They are internationally important sites for wading birds and a safe haven for migrating birds and Atlantic grey seals. They are also home to species of protected flora native to the island, and attract a range of local and national visitors who enjoy the leisurely walk to the island (mostly during the warmer months!). However, the islands are noted to succumb to coastal erosion in approximately 150 years, making them important yet transient landmarks.  

As part of our Being Human Festival activities we wanted to help attendees situate themselves geographically and historically. During the audio-guided tour they were prompted to ‘stop and look’, and ‘stop and think’ throughout the journey, encouraging slow observation and reflection with the aim to deepen their connection to the landscape. During the creative workshops we focused on place-based, creative activities to give people the tools to document the world around them, share stories and empower them to take this approach to other sites. The old buoy master’s house was our base of operations from which we went to explore the island (and shelter from the wind). Half the group took part in mapping the island’s geological history using charcoal rubbings and word association, and the other group undertook a field drawing workshop identifying and recording species of birds visiting the island.

Artist and current MA Art in Science student, Luciana Hermida, led the geological mapping workshop, ‘Impressions’, which is an extension of her on-going research project ‘Re-imagining Ecosystems’. Following a short introduction using Luciana’s own artworks to show the possibilities for mapping the island, those taking part in this workshop went out to closely observe the rock formations. They were looking for evidence of weathering, flash floods and cross-bedding. They even spotted some ‘gargoyles’ (weathering can create unusual features on the rocks such as figures which resemble gargoyles). The group documented these through observational drawing and charcoal/pastel rubbings in sketchbooks. Upon returning to the buoy master’s house, the group were asked think about words that connect the land with us. Afterwards, with all the material created shared on the central workstation, we had generated a mapping of the island at this current time, while also considering its long life, and shared ideas about what the drawings communicate and how we relate to them. 

For the keen bird watchers in the group, local nature artist Jay Hampton, led a workshop titled ‘Bird taxonomies’ that aimed to use observational drawings of birds spotted during our expedition to generate a speculative evolutionary tree of the birds that  visit the island. After a brief introduction to the birds that we could encounter - using an infographic created by Jay that included illustrations of birds spotted by the Hilbre Bird Observatory in the weeks leading up to our event - we set off with binoculars, sketchbooks and marker pens for some bird watching. We were not short of feathered friends to observe, even spotting a Kestrel hovering over some bracken looking for food. In addition to drawings, participants were encouraged to make written notes about distinguishing features, sounds, behaviours, and their own feelings about being close to these animals in a shared geographic space and moment on Hilbre. Returning to the workshop, we were able to develop our drawings further, and began to use the scientific classification system to organise our drawings into the taxonomy, which Jay would further develop into a final artwork after the event was completed.  

Overall, we hoped to use creative interventions to amplify voices and create opportunities for participants to feel that their knowledge and experiences are valued, encouraging more endemic knowledge sharing between the local community and research groups.  

Did you face any challenges holding an event outdoors?

As a tidal island, our time was restricted by the sea. The walk to and back from the island is only possible at low tide and is around 1 hour each way, and the tides in November meant we had only 4 hours on the island itself before we had to leave to ensure that we got back to the mainland safely. The Wirral council ranger, Matt Thomas, was our eyes and ears and made sure we left on time and were also safe while on the islands themselves.

With the event was primarily outdoors, the unpredictable November weather was enemy number one. If it had rained intensely, we might have needed to call off the event or adapt last minute. Plan B for us was to postpone the event to the following Saturday if needed. Plan C was to coopt a disused café on the mainland overlooking Hilbre where we could undertake some of creative activities. But luckily the weather was good on the day, and we were able to push ahead with our walked pilgrimage.  

Leading up to the event we circulated details of the weather and tidal conditions to our registered participants via Eventbrite, and provided a list of recommended clothing, guidance on bringing packed lunches, locations of toilets(!) and emergency contacts (the ranger/coastguard). For those who wanted to attend but the walk to the island wasn’t possible for them, the ranger was on hand to ferry them to and from the island in their pickup truck.  

Are there any outputs or legacies from the event? 

There is topical local debate about what should be done to protect the island and its histories without turning it into a tourist destination, with opinions shared by local residents noting the need to protect the island’s status as a nature reserve. Our event was one of the first events supported by BADA and the Hilbre Community Land Trust and they are already looking to re-run these events again in the future to bring people together for informed discussions and to raise awareness of this important island.

The Hilbre Centre for Art, Science and Sustainability being developed on the island will host artists and researchers, and in 2025 it will be one of the venues used by the Liverpool Independents Biennial, where artists will be invited to exhibit works in the buildings that are being regenerated.  

This will include two artworks that have been created from our Being Human Festival event by the artists who ran the two creative workshops: Luciana’s ‘Impressions’, a mixed media assemblage of rock rubbings in charcoal, pastels and pencils produced by the participants of our event, and Jay’s ‘Bird Taxonomies’ that features illustrations of birds observed on Hilbre island by the Hilbre Bird Observatory, plus those observed by our participants. We also mailed A3 prints of these artworks to our participants after the event, and the audio guide and a recording of the poetry performance can be found on our project website with the hopes to share this more widely through the friends of Hilbre network in the future for all to use freely.  

Do you have any top tips or advice for future activity organisers? 

• Don’t be put off from holding your event outdoors, even on a tidal island! Our participants were great and really embraced the outdoor location. Clear backup plans and communication with participants pre-event about the need to be prepared, responsive and reactive to the weather ensures that all involved are invested.
• Use an event management system such as Eventbrite to communicate with participants leading up to and after the event. This was useful for us to share health and safety information, links to the audio guide, notes on what to bring with them and weather updates.  
• Create instructional handouts. As we were outdoors, we didn’t have access to a screen to share information with the wider group so we created an event guide that summarised the activities on the day, had emergency contact details and information on who was organising the event.  It also linked to our audio guided tour, project website and other useful online information through QR codes that people could scan on the day or at a later date using their smartphones.  
• Create opportunities to extend the event and continue public engagement. For us this was the audio guided tour that anyone can access on Soundcloud, the handout with supporting information, a project website, and legacy artworks.
• As well as using the Being Human evaluation surveys, you could develop short pre and post event surveys as they allow you to gauge understanding prior to the event and impact post-event. We obtained ethical approval from our university for anonymous surveys to be completed by the participants, which left us with some wonderful feedback from our attendees.  One noted they developed a "…heightened awareness of the islands as part of the whole ecology, with the life forms and natural features all interlinked and acting on each other".
• Don’t do too much! We have no regrets in organising and running our event, but the tidal nature of the island meant restrictions on time. We would have loved to spend longer with the participants on the island, and provide opportunities for them to undertake more self-directed exploration. However, it is hoped that our legacy outputs will encourage and facilitate this beyond the event.