# data[].attributes.body
Creative Unions 2026 Student Survey is now available and will take you around 5 minutes to complete. Please make sure to submit it by 19 June 2026. Thank you for your feedback!

NB: if the form doesn't open and you are using Safari as your internet browser, please try using a different browser (e.g. Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge).

# data[].attributes.body
Individual Assignment: Reflective Journal

Deadline: 1 September 2026, before 12:00 (UK time) to Moodle

Reflective Journal requirements

As outlined in the brief, as you prepare the final submission, double check:

Any original footage was filmed using a camera phone

Harvard Referencing is used if existing work has been included in the film (e.g. archival or stock footage, quotations, library images etc)

Content warnings. If the final film includes flashing lights, nudity, sex, violence, or any other explicit or discriminatory content that viewers might find distressing, a warning should be included at the start of the film.

The video essay must have an audio track (a scripted essay presented either as spoken narration or as on-screen text) and a video track which illustrates the essay.

Captions and subtitles. Any spoken language must be captioned. If languages other than English are used, these must be translated using English subtitles.

Duration. Make sure your film is between 3-5 minutes in length (including end credits). Anything more than 10% +/- of this duration may lose marks under LO3.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
CU26 Assessment Matrix Team Assignment_Stage 1

# data[].attributes.headline
Final presentation - note taking sheet (Stage 1)

# data[].attributes.subject
Final presentation - note taking sheet (Stage 1)

# data[].attributes.headline
Final presentation - note taking sheet (Stage 2)

# data[].attributes.subject
Final presentation - note taking sheet (Stage 2)

# data[].attributes.headline
Are we ready to hand-in and present our video essay? (June Submission)

# data[].attributes.subject
Are we ready to hand-in and present our video essay? (June Submission)

# data[].attributes.body
In this final session you will be able to have a final tutorial with your staff facilitator so you are confident about submitting the work. You will also be able to complete a survey and give feedback on your experience of the unit.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
F for Fake (1973) - How to Structure a Video Essay

# data[].attributes.body
VIDEO TREATMENT: a detailed proposal for your video essay. It should contain all the key elements, like the logline (summary), themes, target audience, and filming locations.

INSTRUCTIONS

Download the video treatment template

Read and discuss the treatment as a team

Complete with text and images to give your video essay project more focus

Once you have completed the video treatment upload a copy to your Collaborative Workspace Padlet

# data[].attributes.body
See 'Introduction' (pp.12-20) in Thomas, L. (2022) The Intersectional Environmentalist: How to dismantle systems of oppression to protect people + planet. London: Profile. Available at: https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/ual/reader.action?docID=7174728 (Accessed: 12 May 2026).

See 'Collaboration' (pp.49-51) in Tiller, C. (2017) Power Up. London: Creative People and Places. Available at: https://culturehive.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/PowerUp-Final-1.pdf (Accessed: 12 May 2026).

# data[].attributes.headline
Video essays submitted for Creative Unions

# data[].attributes.subject
Video essays submitted for Creative Unions

# data[].attributes.body
A selection of high passing video essays (A-B grades) submitted for Creative Unions in previous years, grouped under the four keywords.

# data[].attributes.body
A video essay is a particular type of film production. Review these resources, along with consulting the project brief, to help you meet the criteria of producing a creative film which incorporates a written script and visual track.

# data[].attributes.body
In this session, you will be asked to assess three examples of student work. To do this, you will need to refer to this year's project brief, as well as use the relevant assessment matrix below (depending on which stage you are studying at).

Once you have graded each of the projects, and justified your decision, you will discuss with your peers to see if you can find consensus on which video essay should be awarded the highest, middle and lowest grade.

# data[].attributes.body
In this group session, we will review your work in progress, explore approaches to filmmaking and ask what makes a good story.

# data[].attributes.body
In this session you will share a 90sec clip and receive feedback from your peers and facilitator. There will be some time for tutorial support to discuss the comments so you understand what to do next.

# data[].attributes.body
In Creative Unions we explore ethics and empathy, and ask you to consider how creative practices might benefit or harm people and planet. Following this task, you may want to revisit your team agreement to acknowledge this area.

# data[].attributes.headline
11 Films for Environmental and Social Justice

# data[].attributes.subject
11 Films for Environmental and Social Justice

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The indigenous people of Colombia just have one message… We’re running out of time to stop climate change

# data[].attributes.body
INSTRUCTIONS

A decision matrix helps you develop project focus

Once you've made a first draft, there will be an opportunity for you to discuss your ideas and talk through any questions with your academic facilitator.

Continue to work on the matrix until you have reached a decision on what to focus on.

Upload to your Collaborative Workspace Padlet once completed so you have a reference point for your original intentions.

# data[].attributes.body
REEL: a collection of short videos or film clips, especially as shown on social media

Use a film editing platform of your choice. Instagram has some fun and easy editing tools to play with, but there are other platforms.

Consider the following when putting together your reel:

Find images, text, moving images of your favourite projects you have completed at CSM or somewhere else

Include text, keywords, and images to help others understand your social/cultural identities and values

Use music, animation, still or moving images, words, emojis to create layers of expression

The reel introduces yourself to the team as well as generates footage or an approach you might end up using in the final video essay.

Share your reel with your peers by uploading it to the Collaborative Workspace padlet.

# data[].attributes.body
The first week of Creative Unions is about getting to know your team and establishing how you will work together. You will share practices and identities, and start shaping a shared line of inquiry through keywords, values and collaboration.

# data[].attributes.attachment_caption
Wellcome Collection (2022) In the air [Exhibition]. London: Wellcome Collection, 19 May–16 October. Available at: https://wellcomecollection.org/exhibitions/in-the-air (Accessed: 12 May 2026).

# data[].attributes.body
In the Air was a multidisciplinary exhibition at the Wellcome Collection that explored our relationship with the air around us. Moving freely across borders and through bodies, air is both vital to our existence and a threat to our health.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Explore our relationship with the air around us. Moving freely across borders and through our bodies, air is both vital to our existence and a threat to our health.

# data[].attributes.body
Team agreement

Practice reel

Decision matrix

Key resources

# data[].attributes.body
TASK: Create a 90sec clip for your video essay

The clip can be raw footage you have either filmed or found and are planning to edit and use.

We're not asking for a polished Hollywood-type trailer, it's more about sharing your progress and giving a sense of the direction.

Use this as an opportunity for your team to figure out how you will manage the final steps of the video essay production.

Remember to refer back to your video treatment (and complete this if unfinished).

After you share your clip, be prepared to talk about how your project is addressing the brief and meeting the three learning outcomes.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
We're in the top 5 greenest universities in the UK and are the highest-ranking arts university in People & Planet's University League.

As one of the world's biggest creative institutions, we must continue to play our part in achieving climate justice.

We've set up a Collections Action Group on Intersectional Environmentalism. We did this because curators, archivists and librarians from across the university wanted to challenge themselves to be more sustainable.

BA (Hons) Critical Practice in Fashion Media at London College of Fashion (LCF) has developed a new unit entitled 'Critical Climate'. The unit equips students with the ability to identify and respond to climate narratives and theories. Enabling experimentation with different forms of activism within the context of environmental justice.

Clare Farrell and Alice Wilby's opinion piece on how creativity is vital to activism and is like the activist's secret superpower.

Rahul Patel's opinion piece on decolonising decarbonisation within the climate justice movement.

Santenne Luyindula's opinion piece on the way we are ideologically conditioned to react to climate change creating fear and division.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Climate justice demands institutional change at every level and the creative insights that plant a better future. Learn about the key areas UAL will prioritise and what we will do to act now for the planet.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Tate glossary definition for socially engaged practice: Term used to describe socially engaged art that is collaborative, often participatory and involves people as the medium or material of the work

# data[].attributes.headline
Ten Artists on What Social Practice Means to Them

# data[].attributes.subject
Ten Artists on What Social Practice Means to Them

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
"Socially engaged art has the capacity to coax new shared understandings out of the darkness and confusion we're facing at the moment."

"Can you remember the last time you woke up and didn't think we were living through a crisis?"

R.M. Sanchez-Camus, cofounder of the UK-based social practice arts community Social Art Network (SAN), likes to ask this question at conferences and workshops. "The urgency and adrenaline [it] causes is precisely the space that socially engaged artists are inhabiting fearlessly, producing work in response to the time we are living in," he says.

Social practice art - often defined as collaborative, community-driven work that engages with social issues - has emerged as a powerful approach for artists confronting current political and social challenges, especially in the UK. "I see this as the current avant-garde of art-making today," says Sanchez-Camus, "working against what art has become in the era of late capitalism and market-driven economies."

Earlier this year, Kickstarter teamed up with SAN to mentor nine artists and artist teams as they prepared to launch projects on Kickstarter. The pairing solidifies the idea that collaboration lies at the center of art-making's future, says Sanchez-Camus. "The clear link between collaboratively made artworks and crowdfunding allows a much larger audience to participate in the making of the work and share in the incredible reward that is socially engaged art-making."

We chatted with artists mentored by SAN, whose projects are live on Kickstarter now, about the importance of social practice art at this pivotal moment in time.

My work is all about the language of social inequality, which feels more and more important in an increasingly divided world. I see social practice art as an accessible and engaging way of highlighting these issues while actually bringing people along on the journey.

The UK can be a very fragmented and tribal place. (I'm not saying this is new. I do not think we should falsely romanticise days gone by; we have been battling institutional issues and divisions throughout history.) We're navigating our way through so much information that we risk losing nuance and the space to understand each other better. I'm trying to create more space for that nuance, for that considered thought. I want to give people equal footing to stand tall and be proud of who they are. I'm fighting for a better feminism.

From S.M.I.L.E (SEND ME INSPIRING LOVING ENERGY)

Kay Rufai, S.M.I.L.E (SEND ME INSPIRING LOVING ENERGY)
A photographic journey across Europe to connect strangers through smiling.
As a marginalised group, we don't have the luxury to just create art for art's sake. There are too many challenges being faced by people who look like me and have various intersections of discriminations - the work I/we create has to be actively speaking to these biases, empowering minority groups, and creating opportunities for wider spectrums of visibility in a bid to challenge one-dimensional stereotypes, lazy, one-sided narratives, racism, xenophobia, and all forms of bigotry, which has become more rife in our society today. I hope to speak to these issues through my work, especially shattering stereotypes and misperceptions of minority groups in the wake of Brexit.

I believe there is a dire urgency for reimagining our society, particularly in the UK right now, but also further afield. Socially engaged artists are in a unique place to take such work forward in our current social and political climate. We operate in the margins, in uncertain places; at its best, socially engaged art has the capacity to coax new shared understandings out of the darkness and confusion we're facing at the moment. It operates alongside and within other networks, most obviously grassroots activism.

Socially engaged art has the capacity to coax new shared understandings out of the darkness and confusion we're facing at the moment.

-Ian Nesbitt

For me personally, at the moment, I'm looking at ways to be together. When the Brexit vote happened I knew that my work as an artist had to more directly and urgently address the upheaval in our society. At that point, I began making work that sets out to bring people together through large, collective projects focusing on what we have that we can share, rather than how we are different. Back in 2016, in the week Donald Trump was elected, I produced a text work that states, "To challenge the politics of isolation, we need tactics for togetherness." Ultimately, this Kickstarter project can be understood as an enactment of that statement.

Today's world feels as though it is constantly turning away from art, and everyone equates it with excess, snobbery, and elitism. And they're right. We need art to be more - not merely another tool in the hands of the powerful. At a time when divisions are rife within our society, we need art to be our shelter, to be a refuge.

At a time when divisions are rife within our society, we need art to be our shelter, to be a refuge.

- John Davis

The art world is a law unto itself, a home to the corrupt, the filthy rich, and the opportunist. Art has been weaponized into yet another investment to be made. It feels like a duty to be done - we need to give art back to people, to convince them that it is for them, not just for the elite, that they can own original work, and [remind them] how wonderful and special it is. Equally, beyond that, we as a society are facing huge issues - economically, environmentally, politically, and in many other ways. Social practice art has a huge role to play in helping us face, and in many cases overcome, the problems that affect our world.

Sharon Bennett: Social practice is an emergent field that brings a much wider audience and society close to artists and creating work. It's a way to test out and experiment with new social paradigms and models, tapping into the genii of artists and bringing them out of the gallery ghettos. It is my belief that art is fundamental to being human; all small children draw and make things with their hands, live in their imaginations. If we can bring art into society in a bigger way - if we can "normalise" creative practice - we can do a huge amount of good and healing.

Sarah Dixon: In my work I am interested in looking at the customs and practices we take for granted or that go unexamined, and asking, "What power myths are being perpetuated here?" Becoming a mother was particularly significant, and I have some work addressing the way women get "invisibilised" when they have children, and how they have done throughout history. This is manifest in capitalism, in advertising, in the news, magazines, in the law, in our institutions... and in art galleries. This mismatch is deeply uncomfortable and can be damaging. In my work I want to reveal to people the ways in which they are following unwritten rules and ask them to reconsider - to ask, "Who made these rules, and why? Who do they serve?" and, ultimately, "Why am I doing this, and could I do something more fulfilling with my time?"

Davina Drummond: Social practice art is crucial in today's world because people want to be part of the creative process and be an audience to artworks that they can relate to.

We think there is a major shift in how we think about contemporary art and its role in society now. There have always been major shifts, from conceptualism to modernism, and this shift sees us moving away from traditional object-based work to meaning-making that happens through conversation and debate, which can lead to social change. This social and active engagement allows the public to be an integral part of meaning-making, where it becomes a collective act, making art accessible and inviting.

As the arts are being cut in education and art funding pots get smaller and smaller each year (plus the current political situation in the UK), we need other ways to educate people, especially children, who are now more than ever becoming more aware of the political, environmental, and social changes. We want [our] magazine to be a part of the ongoing movement to change the world, one art project at a time.

With global populations increasingly concentrated in cities and urban areas, there is a real need to ensure that urban environments are conducive to well-being. Cities are complex, multi-authored habitats, in need of constant renewal and care. At regular intervals we need to reevaluate how the built environment is serving the needs of its communities and enhancing vitality. Also to ensure that meanwhile use spaces [temporarily vacant spaces that can be used for meetings and events, like pop-ups] - those in-between lives - are utilised for creative and cultural purposes.

Especially in times of uncertain political or economic futures, coming together through social art is ever more important to connect with others on a human level, build trust, and forge new ways of being through understanding and unity. Through coming together to add colour - in a myriad of ways - we can spark and create new creative possibilities for a space, foster a sense of local pride, cultivate agency, and improve communication and social cohesion.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Ten Artists on What Social Practice Means to Them

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
"Can you remember the last time you woke up and didn't think we were living through a crisis?" R.M. Sanchez-Camus, cofounder of the UK-based social practice arts community Social Art Network (SAN), likes to ask this question at conferences and workshops.

# data[].attributes.headline
How can environmental films make an impact?

# data[].attributes.subject
How can environmental films make an impact?

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
How can environmental films make an impact?

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
With public interest in environmental issues higher than it has been for years, it is important to maintain the momentum and build on people's understanding and motivation to protect our natural world. Nina Seale explores how environmental films have been used to engage people to make a difference for the environment.

# data[].attributes.attachment_caption
CU25 Storyboard Template (download, edit and save)

# data[].attributes.body
STORYTELLING: The activity of writing or telling stories

NARRATIVE: A spoken, written, performed or visualised account of connected events

STORYBOARD: A sequence of drawings, typically with some directions and dialogue, representing the shots planned for a film or television production.

INSTRUCTIONS

Task (45mins)

Use the storyboard template to sketch out the narrative for your video essay and how it might be illustrated visually.

Develop simple sketches to communicate the main scenes

Use arrows to communicate movement or transitions

Write a couple of short bullet points for each frame to communicate your intention and position/argument

Upload to your collaborative workspace padlet

# data[].attributes.body
Instructions

Things to talk about before/after your tutorial

Video treatment - which sections are you clear about? Which are less clear?

Complete the Decision Matrix if you haven't yet done so (see previous session)

Have your Team Agreement and Progress tracker ready to discuss.

Remember to add your notes in collaborative workspace padlet so you can refer back to them.

# data[].attributes.headline
99 ways to tell a story : exercises in style / Matt Madden.

# data[].attributes.subject
99 ways to tell a story : exercises in style / Matt Madden.

# data[].attributes.body
This is a helpful and entertaining text that tells a very simple story in 99 different ways. Helps differentiate between form and the content.

If you still need inspiration for crafting your video essay narrative, spend time to find an engaging story (graphic novel, exhibition, journalism, or in a work of art, design or performance). You can also think about a story you've been told or even been part of. Then consider the following:

What is the overall structure of the story, i.e. what is the beginning, middle and end?

Who is telling the story and in what style?

Who are the main characters, why are they interesting?

What is the setting/context and why is this important?

Is there anything else you notice which makes the story engaging?

Upload references to your collaborative workspace padlet.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Details for: 99 ways to tell a story : exercises in style / › UAL homepage catalogue

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
A series of engrossing one page comics that tells the same story ninety nine different ways Matt Madden’s 99 Ways to Tell a Story is a series of one-page comics that tell the same story in a variety of ways

# data[].attributes.body
INSTRUCTIONS

Download the Ethical Considerations worksheet and reflect on the dilemmas of each project description.

Complete the worksheet as a team or individually. Make notes as you go along so you can refer back to these discussions as you develop your video essay project.

Upload a copy to your Collaborative Workspace Padlet.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Our values decribe what we hold to be good and right. Our deepest held beliefs, they guide how we interact in the world.

# data[].attributes.body
INSTRUCTIONS

Download, complete and sign the team agreement

Decide when you will revisit the agreement

Upload the agreement to your Collaborative Workspace Padlet

# data[].attributes.body
INSTRUCTIONS

Download and complete the progress tracker to discuss at your group tutorial

Upload the tracker to your collaborative workspace padlet

# data[].attributes.body
Browse this manifesto library to find inspiration in how you want to set up your team agreement. Consider how values, identities and practices are used to shape their guiding principles.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
What do licenses, phone apps, organ donation, and fashion all have in common? A little thing called ethics. Here’s how important it is in our lives.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Research Guides: Ethics in Art & Design: Introduction

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
A guide with multiple points of entry into art and design ethics

# data[].attributes.headline
"It's strangely powerful" – step inside the Empathy Museum

# data[].attributes.subject
"It's strangely powerful" – step inside the Empathy Museum

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
"It's strangely powerful" – step inside the Empathy Museum

# data[].attributes.headline
Instagram Reels: The ultimate guide for businesses

# data[].attributes.subject
Instagram Reels: The ultimate guide for businesses

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Instagram Reels: How To Make, Edit & Grow Your Audience

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Learn how to make a Reel on Instagram with this step-by-step guide for businesses. Leverage Instagram Reels to grow your audience and promote engagement with your brand.

# data[].attributes.headline
I Want You To Panic: a film about humanity's obliviousness to global warming

# data[].attributes.subject
I Want You To Panic: a film about humanity's obliviousness to global warming

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
I Want You To Panic: a film about humanity's obliviousness to global warming

# data[].attributes.headline
GREEN PORNO: Shrimp | Starring Isabella Rossellini

# data[].attributes.subject
GREEN PORNO: Shrimp | Starring Isabella Rossellini

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
GREEN PORNO: Shrimp | Starring Isabella Rossellini

# data[].attributes.headline
I Really Love This Song | Korina Emmerich | Tell us a story of survival

# data[].attributes.subject
I Really Love This Song | Korina Emmerich | Tell us a story of survival

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
I Really Love This Song | Korina Emmerich | Tell us a story of survival

# data[].attributes.headline
Top 5 Environmental Challenges in London and How the City Is Addressing Them

# data[].attributes.subject
Top 5 Environmental Challenges in London and How the City Is Addressing Them

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
London is the ninth largest emitter of CO2 in the world. While the city has come a long way in terms of the quality of its environment since the -Great Smog of 1952 - a severe air pollution event that affected London - toxic air, pollution, and biodiversity loss among others still pose major challenges to its residents. These issues are complex and interconnected and improving them requires time as well as huge political and financial efforts. Here are some of the biggest environmental problems in London and what the city is doing to address them.
Environmental Problems in London

1. Air Pollution

Air pollution is without a doubt among the most pressing environmental problems in London. The city is among the most polluted cities in the United Kingdom. The problem does not only affect central districts but rather the whole city and suburbs. In fact, 100% of its residents live in areas where pollution exceeds the recommendation of the World Health Organization (WHO) of PM2.5 particulate matter - extremely fine particles able to enter deep into the lungs.

Besides energy production, industrial processes, and construction , transportation is a significant contributor to air pollution in the city. The volume of traffic and vehicles on the road is the single largest cause, producing nearly half the nitrogen oxides and emitting rubber and metals into the air. However, road traffic is not the only culprit. A Financial Times investigation on the air quality in the carriages of the London Underground found the levels of pollution to be alarmingly high, making the Tube the most polluted part of the city. The reason behind this is that, over the years, particulate matter of dust and metal has built up in tunnels. These toxic substances are stirred up by trains and inhaled by passengers.

Inhaling such particles leads to a wide range of harmful health conditions related to heart disease, stroke, lung cancer, and other respiratory infections. Air pollution has also been linked to infertility and infant mortality. This major environmental issue contributes to an average of 9,000 premature deaths every year and costs London's healthcare system between £1.4 and £3.7 billion (US$1.6 - 4.3 billion) per year.

The government has taken significant steps to improve the air quality in the city. For example, the Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) - launched in 2019 and expanded in 2021 to cover a larger area - requires vehicles to meet specific emission standards. If these are not met, owners are subjected to a fee. Since the implementation of ULEZ, harmful pollutants found in the air in London's central districts have been cut by almost half, with nitrogen oxide alone diminishing by a staggering 44% . Other efforts include operating cleaner public buses and taxis and supporting London residents to switch to cleaner modes of transport.

2. Waste

London - the largest city in the UK with a population of more than 9 million - inevitably generates a large amount of waste on a daily basis. Every year, the capital's residents produce more than 18 million metric tonnes of waste . 9.7 million tonnes of it comes from the construction industry, 5 million tonnes from the commercial industry - which is related to business waste ranging from anything such as wrappers to food waste and cardboard - while over 3.1 million is household waste.
You might also like: The Detrimental Impacts of Plastic Pollution on Animals
The UK capital has one of the lowest rates of recycling in the country, with only 32% of all waste being recycled or composted and this makes waste one of the biggest environmental issues in London. This is by far one of the lowest rates as compared to the rest of the country. While some of London's waste is sent to other parts of the UK and abroad, over half the waste in London is incinerated, the main alternative to landfills. The amount of incinerated waste more than doubled within the last decade . Waste plants do not sort through the waste before incineration, resulting in large amounts of recyclable materials being unnecessarily incinerated . For example, since not all boroughs of the city offer separate food waste collection, food waste, which could be safely sent through environmentally friendly processes, is instead burnt.

Although burning waste can generate heat and electricity, burning some materials such as plastic creates and releases harmful heavy metals and toxic chemicals such as dioxins, causing long-term health issues. Unburned plastic litters the environment and can be ingested by animals, harming the environment.
You might also like: Sea Level Rise Projections: Top 10 Cities at Risk of Flooding
, London aims to send no biodegradable waste (including food waste) to landfills and , the city hopes to recycle 65% of its municipal waste. To achieve this, multiple steps have been taken . Minimum recycling standards for waste authorities have been set, including a requirement for separate food waste collection. Multiple schemes have been implemented to reduce packaging waste such as water refill stations to reduce single-use plastic water bottles, working with stakeholders to reduce unnecessary packaging, and spreading awareness among Londoners on how they can reduce their own waste.

3. Flooding

London is prone to flooding through five sources - tidal, fluvial (from rivers and tributaries), surface (from rainfall), sewer, and groundwater flooding. Most of London is at risk of flooding due to one or more of these, with the highest risk concentrated around the river Thames. D ue to climate change - which would bring about wetter winters and heavier rains that can raise the sea level - both the risk and intensity of major flash floods have increased .

People's homes and well-being are significantly affected by floods, especially those of people living in basements and inner-city areas with a high population density and little green space. Experts currently estimate that at least 80,000 properties are at risk of surface water flooding . Furthermore, without proper drainage in the city, a lack of green spaces, and an increase in the use of basements, the antiquated sewage infrastructure of the city is under significant strain.

Since 1982, the Thames barrier and other defences in place have protected the city from tidal flooding. While London is well protected against tidal flooding, it has a much lower level of protection in place against surface-level flooding . To tackle this problem, the government must invest in infrastructure and urban solutions that can increase the city's resilience to flooding.

One such solution is to invest in more Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS) . These include investing in more porous pavements and road surfaces as well as an increased number of parks and green roofs on buildings, which help prevent water from running off quickly into drains or vulnerable areas.

4. Energy Consumption

Heating makes up 40% of energy consumption in the UK. As stated by the Committee on Climate Change (CCC): "UK homes are not fit for the future". Not only can many residents not afford to heat their homes, but old and inefficient boilers also have a significant detrimental impact , emitting pollutants into the environment. Boilers burn fuel to generate steam for heating and hot water. Fuel combustion results in toxic air emissions, contributing to air pollution. Furthermore, wastewater is created as waste from non-combustion activities and is released into the water.

While this is a considerable issue throughout the country, refitting and better insulating homes to be more efficient are especially challenging for London . Currently, London is falling behind on its target to make 2.9 million homes more efficient. A quarter of London homes and 37% of non-domestic buildings in the city have been certified E, G, and F, the worst energy ratings, by the Energy Performance Certificate, meaning that an incredibly large amount of energy is wasted every year. Houses and workplace buildings account for 36% and 42% of the city's CO2 emissions respectively.

The CCC proposed that by 2025, no new homes should be connected to the gas grid. To meet the target emissions, homes must switch to low-carbon heating. There are multiple ways in which this can be achieved. London wants to introduce more local and decentralised energy sources , with the mayor wanting the city-wide deployment of air-source heat pumps , a low-carbon heating system that runs on electricity and draws warmth from the environment, by 2030. However, gas contributes to 30% of London's total emissions mostly to heat buildings, and without decarbonising gas networks and switching to greener gases such as hydrogen, London is unlikely to achieve net-zero emissions.
1. Low carbon circular economy
5. Biodiversity Loss
2. Smart digital city
Biodiversity loss is also among the most pressing environmental problems in London. While it may seem unlikely, London has a rich flora and fauna , something rare in other parts of the UK. The identification of over 1,500 Sites of Importance for Nature Conservation (SINCs) - covering 19% of Greater London - is "a recognition that the capital's ecological assets are much more widespread and are critical to the functioning of the city" - said Mathew Frith , director of the London Wildlife Trust Conservation, in an interview.
3. Green infrastructure
However, due to climate change and rising temperatures that are making habitats increasingly inhabitable, these populations are under threat. In addition to that, population growth is another big threat. By 2050, London is predicted to house 11.1 million people and this population and economic growth will pose major challenges to the city's environment and habitats.
4. Healthy streets approach
In May 2018, the mayor of London released the London Environment Strategy which details four strategic methods to ensure London's biodiversity is able to thrive:
If you enjoyed this article, you might also like: 6 Biggest Environmental Issues in Hong Kong in 2022
A low carbon circular economy is one in which resources are efficiently used by maximising reusing and recycling before turning them into waste. As London grows, it must invest in low-carbon infrastructure and services. For example, by manufacturing goods that are made to last rather than be disposed of and by creating a system that allows goods to be reused and recycled.

Smart technologies can help address environmental challenges, making environmental systems such as energy, water, and waste, more efficient. For example, smart energy metres can help reduce energy use and smart heat networks can increase efficiency in heat production.

Green infrastructure can help reduce the impact of climate change and store carbon. Promoting healthier life habits, such as reducing car dependency and encouraging more cycling, will also improve biodiversity and ecological resilience, as well as air and water quality.

The healthy streets approach provides a framework for putting the human experience at the heart of city planning. Environmental factors have a big impact on the way people interact with it. Improving the environment against healthy street indicators would ensure streets are inclusive and sustainable, helping create a better city.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
5 Environmental Problems in London in 2022 | Earth.Org

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
London is the ninth largest emitter of CO2 in the world. While the city has come a long way in terms of the quality of its environment since the - Great Smog of 1952 - a severe air pollution event that affected London - toxic air, pollution, and biodiversity loss among others still pose major challenges to its residents.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
We need a subtler, more varied portrayal of climate change in film than shown by climate disaster blockbusters, says Becca Warner

# data[].attributes.body
Have a look at this mapping from Claire Marie Blaustein (2021) to show how you can map skills and practices that lie within your team.

# data[].attributes.body
Take a look at this map from Common Cause Foundation (2023) to help identify your team values.

# data[].attributes.body
Now in its ninth year, this annual poll showcases 255 vital video essays, nominated by 72 international voters.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Now in its ninth year, our annual poll showcases 255 vital video essays, nominated by 72 international voters.

# data[].attributes.body
Resource from Monash University, Australia, to help you think about what makes a constructive and feasible research question.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
It is likely that at some point during your degree you will be required to create your own research question. The research question states the specific issue or problem that your assignment will focus on. It also outlines the task that you will need to complete.

# data[].attributes.body
Environmentally and socially engaged practice

Ethical and empathetic considerations

# data[].attributes.body
Video essay resources

Work in progress #1 (video treatment)

What's the story?

Assessment exercise

Work in progress #2 (90sec clip)

# data[].attributes.body
Final checklist

Unit survey

# data[].attributes.body
A wheel like this can help you identify and communicate different social identities. Only share what you feel comfortable with and be mindful of how privilege normalises certain identities over others.

https://www.recipesforwellbeing.org/the-wheel-of-social-identity/

# data[].attributes.body
Here's some we made earlier!

# data[].attributes.attachment_caption
D’Ignazio, C. and Klein, L.F. (2020) ‘Why data science needs feminism’, Utne, 13 March. Available at: https://www.utne.com/science-and-technology/data-feminism-ze0z2003zhoe (Accessed: 12 May 2026).

# data[].attributes.body
The article argues that data is not neutral but historically reinforces inequality, and it calls for data feminism - an intersectional, justice‑oriented approach - to redesign data practices so they actively challenge power imbalances rather than reproduce them.

See also: D’Ignazio, C. and Klein, L.F. (2020) Data feminism. MIT Press. Available at: https://data-feminism.mitpress.mit.edu/pub/frfa9szd/release/6(Accessed: 12 May 2026).

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.authors[].name
Catherine D’Ignazio And Lauren F. Klein, From Data Feminism

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The entanglement of data and power makes feminism a necessity for this growing field.

# data[].attributes.attachment_caption
Absalom, H. and Blundell, S. (2025) Closer to Home [Podcast]. Available at: https://closertohome.transistor.fm (Accessed: 12 May 2026).

# data[].attributes.body
Closer To Home is a podcast exploring the central importance of home to human welfare, identity and wellbeing. Home is more than just shelter. It is a physical, emotional and psychological space which often extends beyond the four walls of a dwelling. We need shelter to survive, but we need more than shelter if we are to thrive - we need a safe, dependable idea of home.

# data[].attributes.attachment_caption
Januchowski-Hartley, S., Giannoulatou, I.D. and Thomas, M. (2024) ‘Creative connections with rivers: A toolkit for learning and collaboration’, Open Rivers: Rethinking Water, Place & Community, (25). Available at: https://openrivers.lib.umn.edu/article/creative-connections-with-rivers/ (Accessed: 12 May 2026).

# data[].attributes.body
The article presents an arts‑based toolkit that uses creative practices - such as writing, collage, storytelling and performance - to help individuals and communities connect with rivers, make hidden ecological relationships visible, and foster deeper collective understanding and care for freshwater environments.

See also: Gleick, P.H. (2022) ‘Freshwater’, in Thunberg, G. (ed.) The climate book. London: Allen Lane, pp. 55–56. Available at: https://arts.idm.oclc.org/login?url=https://arts.idm.oclc.org/login?url=https://www.vlebooks.com/product/openreader?id=UALONDON&accId=9120256&isbn=9780141999050&uid=%5Eu&uid=%5Eu (Accessed: 12 May 2026).

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
By Stephanie Januchowski-Hartley, Ioanna (Daphne) Giannoulatou, and Merryn Thomas

We are three people who draw on research and practice to create arts-based learning, engagement materials, and interventions with and for diverse audiences. We purposefully integrate and apply different artistic methods in non-artistic disciplines, such as ecology and environmental conservation, physics, climate science, and human health. We came to know each other and work together through a four-year project that was awarded to the lead author and focused on rivers in a fragmented world. Our project had local and global foci on rivers, and many of the activities, including those shared in this article, were designed with and for people in the United Kingdom but with a view that the ideas could be adapted and applied in other contexts.

Below is a "creative connections with rivers" toolkit detailing three arts-based activities, providing associated prompts, and offering worked examples and reflections on the impact of the activities from our own practices. The activities in the toolkit were designed with our own acknowledgement that rivers are often unseen, unseeable, and modified (Januchowski-Hartley et al. 2020), and that artistic methods and creative practices can offer ways for people to know, make visible, and share about hidden spaces and connections (Giannoulatou et al. 2023; Antona 2019) and hard-to-communicate ecological processes (Thomas et al. 2021). With inspiration from other scholars and creators, including Eric Magrane, Madhur Anand, and Linda Barry, as well as our own creative practices, we integrated different artistic methods in each activity. The integration of methods in the activities was purposeful and aimed to make the activities flexible and accessible to different audiences and settings, to encourage collaboration where possible, and promote more entangled ways of communicating about rivers and relationships with them.

Activity 1: Our River Words and Stories

This activity is focused on surfacing and sharing river words and stories either on your own or with a group. The goal with this activity is for each person to share about a river experience. Access to rivers is highly variable depending on where you live. In many urban environments waterways are hidden underground or culverted under roads and entire city blocks, and access to rivers is often constrained by accessibility to transportation or distance. Therefore, this first activity aims to stimulate your imagination, using visual prompts as inspiration to help you surface river words and stories. You can either use the prompts that we provide or generate your own prompts depending on how you use this activity and the accompanying resources. We implemented this activity as part of a public exhibition that ran for two months in Swansea, UK in 2022.

Step One: Find River Words

You can find river words in your mind using the prompt cards we have provided from our Underwater Haiku initiative, or by coming up with your own way of finding river words such as using an online search, taking a walk along a river, or talking about a river with a friend. Once you find words make sure you can see or access them easily. You could hold the words in your mind, make a circle around the words or highlight them, or write them down. You will use the words you selected to do some creative writing about rivers.
Read prompts in PDF format.
Step Two: Create a River Sentence, Poem, or Sketch

Now you will transform your river words into a sentence, poem, sketch, or other creative piece of writing. You can include thoughts, feelings, sights, sounds, textures, smells, or other expressions you associate with rivers and the words you found. Our team implemented this step by placing large sheets of paper on the walls of the exhibition space. These sheets of paper shared words as prompts. Next to them, we placed empty sheets of paper, inviting visitors to share words, sentences, poems, drawings, or other forms of expression about rivers.

Step Three: Collage River Words and Stories

The goal in this step is for a group to create a work of art that is a sum of all the words or drawings shared about rivers. For this step of the activity, we propose creating a collage, which can be formed of words or drawings. Collage is an artistic method originating from the French word collé -meaning glued. Collage can accommodate multiple people's experiences and understandings by binding different media together (Giannoulatou et al. 2023). Other materials and media could also be brought into the collage to further contextualize the words and stories shared by people engaged in the activity. We used digital collage and poetry to create a video about rivers and fish migration in the UK based on what was present and absent from writings and drawings shared in the public exhibition. If you undertake this activity alone, the words and stories that you write could be brought together to create a single piece of creative writing or other art form.
Words and drawings that were present and absent from people's offerings during the public exhibition at Oriel Science, Swansea, UK were the basis for this digital story our team created. The video is about rivers and fish migration in the UK. The poetic narratives for the three fishes in the story include words that people contributed.
For us, the activity provided ways for people to share through different media what they know and feel about rivers, which some adults said they never thought about or had not been asked to consider before. When we delivered this activity at Oriel Science in Swansea, UK, we were able to observe people's impressions and expressions because someone from our team was present each day. We observed that people who engaged in the activity expressed wonder and delight at the opportunity to contribute their experiences and feelings to something bigger. People shared stories with us about rivers, lakes, or seas, sometimes as they created on the page, but more frequently before and after their engagement with the activity. Visitors also expressed disbelief that we were interested in having their creations be part of a larger artwork. Several people made return visits, bringing larger groups of friends and family to engage with the activity and the broader exhibition space.

The video we created with people's responses to the activity illuminated both what people know and have experienced, and what they might think or know less about when it comes to rivers in the UK and beyond. Our use of digital collage and creating the video was an intentional effort to go beyond disseminating information in a pleasant-to-the-eye way; it was an effort to listen, include, cultivate a culture of scientific literacy, and positively impact our local place. Through screenings of the video, we observed that the combination of discursive and nondiscursive forms of communication in the video created a bridge between science, art, and people, and made scientific concepts presented in the video relatable to broad audiences, including children ages seven and below.

Activity 2: A Creative Journey with Rivers

This activity takes you on a creative journey with rivers. The goal of this activity is to share information about a river that you are familiar with and to collaborate with others in guiding those rivers you know on a journey through creative expression. You will share about rivers through writing, creating mixed-media pieces, dressing up, and improvising. We implemented this activity with a small group outdoors in a park for Metamorfossis Festival, Bangor, UK, but you could bring it indoors and simulate a local river environment with sounds and sights.

Step One: Create a Mixed-Media River Haiku

Begin in a comfortable place and position, and then think about a river. It might be a river you have never seen but that you have read about or imagined. Maybe that river is hidden in some way, culverted under your street or city. Gather your thoughts and feelings about that river in your mind. Then write down or draw your thoughts and feelings about the river and organize those roughly into a written haiku, which is a Japanese poetic form that when written in English translates to lines of five, seven, and five syllables. You can create a mixed-media haiku by representing each word with a physical item. For example, the line, "one silver fish jumps" would be represented with four items, where a stick could represent "one," a piece of foil could represent "silver," and so on.

Step Two: Create a River Story

If you are in a group, come together to share your mixed-media haiku. Each person can take a turn to share their haiku. As a person shares, others observe and work to identify commonalities across the haiku. Once everyone has shared, work together to create a story about your rivers in the present day. The story will ideally include a beginning, middle, and end that seems to cover what is emerging from the haiku. The duration of this step will vary based on the size of the group, time available, and the detail that people want to invest in developing their story.

Step Three: Dress Up as Rivers

As a group, find items and materials to use as props and costumes to promote action and communicate the setting of your story. You can return to and repurpose the materials you prepared for your mixed-media haiku. The goal with finding and using props and making costumes is to help you move the story you have prepared about a river in the present day to a potential future with that river. The props should augment your story narration and performance in the next step. When we delivered this activity, we provided materials for people to use and tried to avoid disrupting the local environment. People also used their own clothing and personal items.

Step Four: Improvise Your River Story

Improvisation is a theatrical activity that is considered to have transformative power both for the performer and the viewer through interrogation of social, political, and ethical considerations of a story or problem (Olsen 2022). With your props and costumes prepared, perform your group's story about a river in the present day and then shift that story from the present day to an imagined future with the river. The goal here is not to practice, but to spontaneously enact the river story, moving from present day to potential future. You can guide a discussion and reflection about the creative journey with rivers to think and share about what the activities surfaced for people about rivers today and in potential futures.

When we delivered this activity at the Metamorffosis Festival, we worked with a small group of people who had varied levels of experience and confidence with the different artistic methods involved. We asked people to reflect and write in response to a few prompts before and after we facilitated this activity. Everyone who participated in this activity expressed having some connection with rivers and noted having visited one daily, a few days earlier, or some months ago. For example, Benjamin said, "In my daily walking ritual, I connect to the five elements (earth, air, fire, water, spirit) and with the water element connect to the cycle of cloud, rain, stream, river, sea. So, every day I flow with the river."

While people had identified existing connections with rivers, they also believed that the activity got them thinking differently about rivers. For example, Sarah noted, "I liked focusing on rivers in such a specific way-I guess I take the rivers for granted, that they might always be there. But our performance spontaneously brought up anxiety about climate change and what will happen in the future. An imagined apocalypse."

People also felt that the activity could be a catalyst for encouraging people to have more active engagement with rivers and awareness raising. For example, Anna said, "The activities were very energising and stimulated the imagination around rivers-the sense of anxiety and the imagery of choking and dying; the activities could work as a catalyst for more active engagement in river awareness and some kind of action following on from this."

From our perspective as facilitators of the activity, we did not anticipate the level of energy and performance that spontaneously emerged through the improvisation. We believe the activity created a safe space for all participants to freely explore their feelings about rivers and helped them strengthen their abilities to observe, think, listen, and communicate discursively and in nondiscursive ways about the challenges that riverine ecosystems face.

Activity 3: Sharing Weir-d River Experiences

This activity focuses on engaging in and sharing about weir-d river experiences with others. The goal of this activity is to collaborate with others to create mixed-media creations that communicate the feelings that different people had during a weir-d river visit. While any experience can be a weir-d one, a key part of this activity is to visit a river with others to engage with it and share how the experience makes you feel. We came up with the idea of a weir-d experience when we were invited to visit an underwater viewing gallery that is built alongside a weir in the River Severn, UK. Inside the gallery there is an underwater viewing window that makes the underwater environment of the fish pass visible to guests and scientists.

Step One: Prepare Prompts and Write About Your Weir-d Experiences

This activity requires some planning ahead to organize the weir-d experience and the creative writing that you will do before, during, and after your visit. We provide the questions we used as prompts when we implemented this activity, but if you want to create your own questions it can be good to do so well in advance of your weir-d experience. The prompts could help situate the forthcoming weir-d experience and draw connections to other experiences. Jo Bell and Jane Commane (2017) suggest that prompts can also inspire us to write unexpected things, which could be particularly interesting and revealing in relation to the planned weir-d experience. Once you have your prompts ready, decide how you will do your writing in relation to the planned experience, and determine any materials you might need to have with you. Then get started by writing in response to the prepared prompts. When you finish this step, you will have notes and drafts in response to each of the prompts from before, during, and after your weir-d experience. You could end this activity at this step if you want to keep your writing for yourself. If you choose to share your writing, you will continue by creating collectively inspired poems.
Read prompts in PDF format.
Step Two: Create Weir-d Poems

The goal of this step is to explore your memories and those of other people who shared the weir-d experience with you, and to express thoughts, feelings, and sensations from the experience. To do this, you could craft poems or other creative forms of expression. Each person doing this step of the activity can choose how they will further explore their writing. For example, when we implemented this step for the weir-d experience at the viewing gallery in the Severn River, we each used a different approach to write a poem. Some of us wrote only about our own individual experiences while others brought different voices together. With your poems drafted you are ready to decide how best to share your poems with each other and how to share your writing with broader audiences.
Read approaches in PDF format.
Step Three: Share Weir-d Poems

When we implemented this activity, we first read our poems aloud to one another and then agreed to use a common approach to move our poems into three unique audiovisual creations. Each audiovisual piece paired a still image representative of the poem, a reading of the poem, and English subtitles. We shared the three audiovisual pieces on YouTube. The goal with this step is to be creative and have fun with finding ways to make your weir-d experiences available to others and to encourage others to share their stories too.
Read poems in PDF format.
The prompts helped us to capture a range of meanings held for the viewing gallery and associated spaces and objects, such as the river, weir, fish pass, and even aquariums. We each documented our embodied experiences before, during, and after the viewing gallery, and doing so provided us inspiration and content to broaden our dialogue in the next phases of our practice. The process of writing poems also helped us to (re)discover relations between self and other. We not only recollected fragments related to our experiences in the viewing gallery when writing, but assessed and integrated feelings about places and memories. Our writing also promoted compassion, helping us to better understand how different lived experiences influence how each of us relates to humans and nonhumans. The activity helped us to better understand the perspectives of each team member in relation to different underwater environments, sparking discussions on how each of us perceives our shared research interest based on lived experiences. We learned together through the activity and began to develop a stronger sense of community and team with one another.

We hope that this "creative connections with rivers" toolkit inspires readers to explore these activities as ways to connect with rivers and other environments around us. It is our hope that the flexibility built into the activities and the reflections that we shared from our own and others' experiences with these activities, inspires others to pick them up, to explore new places alone or with others, and to be playful when implementing the activities in new spaces.
All images, PDFs, and videos, are courtesy of the authors.
References

Antona, L. 2019. "Making Hidden Spaces Visible: Using Drawing as a Method to Illuminate New Geographies." Area 51 (4): 697-705.

Bell, J. and Commane, J. 2017. How to be a poet: A Twenty-First Century Guide to Writing Well. West Midlands, UK: Nine Arches Press.

Giannoulatou, I. D., S. R. Januchowski-Hartley, A. Sahni, S. K. Pawar, J. C. White, J. Lockheart, N. Baranduin, D. Herbst, B. Whittaker, S. J. Thackeray, R. Shooter, J. Darley, and M. Thomas. 2023. "Collaging to Find River Connections and Stimulate New Meanings." Cultural Geographies 30 (4): 629-637.

Januchowski-Hartley, S. R., C. Bear, E. O'Gorman, and F. A. Januchowski-Hartley. 2020. Underwater. An A to Z of Shadow Places Concepts.

Olsen, C. S. 2022. "Imagining Transformation: Applied Theatre and the Making of Collaborative Future Scenarios." GeoHumanities 8 (2): 399-414. doi: 10.1080/2373566X.2021.2005467.

Thomas, M. J., I. D. Giannoulatou, E. Kocak, W. Tank, R. Sarnowski, P. E. Jones, and S. R. Januchowski‐Hartley. 2021. "Reflections from the Team: Co‐Creating Visual Media about Ecological Processes for Young People." People and Nature 3 (6): 1272-1283.

Acknowledgements

The first and second activities presented in this article were designed and carried out with members of the public under the approval of the Swansea University Ethics Committee (SU-Ethics-Staff-040422/458 and SU-Ethics-Staff-020320/212). All participants gave prior informed consent to participate. Sincere thanks to everyone who contributed to the exhibition at Oriel Science Swansea University and to the Metamorffosis Festival as well as to Alice Fallon and Severn Rivers Trust for inviting and hosting our visit to the underwater viewing window at Diglis Fish Pass. The activities presented in this article were made possible thanks to funding from the Welsh European Funding Office and European Regional Development Fund under Project Number 80761-SU-140 (West).

Recommended Citation

Januchowski-Hartley, Stephanie, Ioanna (Daphne) Giannoulatou, and Merryn Thomas. 2024. "Creative Connections with Rivers: A Toolkit for Learning and Collaboration." Open Rivers: Rethinking Water, Place & Community, no. 25. https://doi.org/10.24926/2471190X.11043.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.24926/2471190X.11043

Download PDF of Creative Connections with Rivers: A Toolkit for Learning and Collaboration by Stephanie Januchowski-Hartley, Ioanna (Daphne) Giannoulatou, and Merryn Thomas.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.authors[].name
Stephanie Januchowski-Hartley, Ioanna (Daphne) Giannoulatou, and Merryn Thomas

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Creative Connections with Rivers: A Toolkit for Learning and Collaboration

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
We are three people who draw on research and practice to create arts-based learning, engagement materials, and interventions with and for diverse audiences. We purposefully integrate and apply diff...

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Share your videos with friends, family, and the world