A sustainability project is using sketching as a tool to encourage students and staff at Leeds University Business School (LUBS) to appreciate the power of walking.
‘Walking to Zero’ brought together groups of students and staff with Yorkshire artist Jake Attree for a training session to transform their regular walks into opportunities to create art.
Artistic practices like sketching and poetry can give us a reason to slow down and immerse ourselves in our surroundings, so I’d encourage anyone to take a walk with a pen and paper.
The group’s sketches are being displayed in a new exhibit at LUBS, which was opened by poet, author and broadcaster Lemn Sissay OBE FRSL this week.
Image caption: Lemn Sissay OBE FRSL speaking at the exhibit opening. Credit: Dustin Smith.
Supported by the University’s Sustainability team, the ‘Walking to Zero’ initiative aims to transform people’s perceptions of walking, from a mundane chore into a chance to slow down and appreciate how climate change is affecting the environment.
Lemn said: “As we face the threat of climate change, it’s so important for us to respect and be grateful for the natural world. Artistic practices like sketching and poetry can give us a reason to slow down and immerse ourselves in our surroundings, so I’d encourage anyone to take a walk with a pen and paper. Like those who took part in the Walking to Zero project, you’ll be amazed at what you notice when you look with purpose.”
Denise’s story
Image caption: Denise Webber with her sketches and poetry at the exhibition.
Denise Webber, a Personal Assistant in the Communications and Engagement team at the University of Leeds, rediscovered her lifelong love of sketching while taking part in the project. She inherited her love of art from her grandad, an oil painter, and her dad, who carried a sketchbook everywhere.
Denise said: “I walk my dog every day and it can become a chore, especially when the weather’s rainy, but the project has helped me to revive my passion for sketching and notice all the beautiful things I pass every day.
“Combining creativity and exercise has been really beneficial for my own wellbeing, so I’d encourage everyone to give sketching and walking a go.”
While taking part in the project, Denise was inspired to write poems to go alongside her sketches.
Extract from Walking to Zero Narrative by Denise Webber:
Sun is shy today.
Still, she plucks up the courage to peek from behind cloud, sending her rays in greeting to the pond.
The pond replies happily with mirror ball reflections after his sad and lonely winter,
Iris grow proudly and insects dance on the water’s surface.
Nearby the road hums, engines battling with birdsong.
Wellbeing and environmental benefits
Led by Sally Chan, Lecturer in Marketing and University Sustainability Architect at LUBS, the project is delivered in partnership with ‘To Walk’, an initiative led by Steve Hoffman that aims to transform walking into an engaging experience.
[The project] had benefits for wellbeing, as well as igniting a passion for preserving the natural world.
Sally said: “Walking is an important mode of transport that we can use to reduce our carbon footprint, but it is often seen as mundane, unsafe or inconvenient.
“The training encouraged participants to take intentional strolls by themselves to connect with nature and create artwork, encouraging them to appreciate the here and now. This had benefits for wellbeing, as well as igniting a passion for preserving the natural world.
“Because the project had such a huge impact for our students and staff, we hope to expand Walking to Zero to work with local walking groups and national arts organisations in the future.”
Further information
Images by Dustin Smith (Skywall Photography). Top image caption: Left to right, Prof Vera Trappmann (Sustainability Director), Zoha Tariq Perveen, Denise Webber (Sketchers), Lemn Sissay OBE FRSL, Felicia Natalie (Walking to Zero Student Sustainability Architect), Mengtian Zhang (Sketcher) and friend Lerong Liu, Andrea Denny (Sketcher), Fathimath Rishmee (Sketcher), Steve Hoffman (To Walk Director), Sally Chan (Walking to Zero Project Lead), Jake Attree (Landscape Artist).
Yash Prakash, Sinead D'Silva and Xin Ci Wong also had their sketches featured in the exhibition, but are not pictured.
The exhibition is open to the public from Monday 10 June – Thursday 13 June in the foyer of the Maurice Keyworth building at Leeds University Business School.
For further information, please email Mia Saunders in the University of Leeds Press Office via m.saunders@leeds.ac.uk