Letters from the Allotment
Update June 2021: Due to the success of this blog I am now working on turning the original online class posts into a book. Please feel free to continue to use past posts for personal writing only. No part of this blog may be used in publication or for anything other than personal creative writing without permission of the author. All posts are copyrighted to Emma McKenzie and Converge at York St John University.
History:
This blog started as a partnership project between Converge and St Nicks In the beautiful city of York during the 2020 COVID pandemic. The idea was to Connect people to nature through creative writing by sharing a weekly creative writing class online that inspired interaction and observation with nature, which people could then write about and share via this blog (hence Letters from the Allotment).
The idea was born from a class that had already been running for five years at St Nicks in York, called Connect to Nature – Creative Writing. The class was developed and created by myself, Emma McKenzie and is still running today – now hosted by the lovely Griselda Goldsbrough for St Nicks, following me moving into more freelance writing work and expanding my career. Some of the later blog posts are entitled Words from the Wild. This reflects work completed at the end of the pandemic when we combined a book club and writing activities as part of our phased return back on to the St Nicks site.
The aim of Letters from the Allotment was to connect people to nature through words, ideas and imagery as part of a wider eco-therapy project at St Nicks.
Classes were posted every Wednesday via the blog pages for nature themed creative writing ideas and inspirations. They were kept open to the public to help not onIy our class in York but also wider worldwide communities. I hope that you enjoy visiting the writing tasks and art ideas on this site.
For an update on Emma’s new projects and freelance work please visit www.lifeatbasecamp.com
All work © the authors, educational materials © Emma McKenzie Converge and St Nicks.
Recent Blog Posts:
Wednesday at St Nicks…
Just a quick update from this weeks class for those who follow via email and online. This week we compared writing themes to this time last year and used the Hawthorn Tree as inspiration. We were surprised that not much blossom had arrived yet. The site was still beautiful all the same, with lots ofContinue reading “Wednesday at St Nicks…”
An update from St Nicks…
For those who weren’t able to attend the class in person today, here are some pictures of the site…spot the crow about to grab something from the pond! We had fun on our walk identifying different types of nettles and enjoyed looking at the apple blossom. During the writing tasks we thought about Swift’s andContinue reading “An update from St Nicks…”
- Find a place where you can observe nature.
- Pick up a pen and write what you see.
- It’s a bit like sketching with words!
- Make it a daily habit.
- Enjoy!
Get In Touch
- creativewritinganddrawing@stnicks.org.uk
- ecotherapy@stnicks.org.uk
Instagram posts:
Letters from the Allotment - A partnership project with Converge 