This past week, if you have been in the Cruickshank Botanic Garden in Aberdeen, one of the trees – the cut leaf Norway maple – has been decorated as part of a temporary art project.

During the past six months, local individuals who access Sense Scotland‘s services have been exploring outdoor and indoor spaces around Aberdeen for inspiration. It was part of a wider aim of supporting the participants physical and mental well-being.

Artist-led walking groups have visited various locations and explored the different places including the botanic garden, Aberdeen Biodiversity Centre, Seaton Park, the Maritime Museum and St Machar’s Cathedral.

The experiences were captured by the artist, Joanna Chillingworth and the participants back at the studio through creating a series of beach balls. Each beach ball reflects an image or memory. If you look closely, all the images on the balls are different.

I rather liked the transferability of this concept to schools. Generally, journey sticks, or digital story books or other approaches are used to help children remember and reflect upon visits to different places. But not beach balls. It’s a different way of mapping experiences and helps challenge traditional methods.

Hanging the beach balls outside, helps share the project more widely. It makes a lovely discussion point. The display is temporary but adds a difference reason for visiting a botanic garden. Who knows what you will find in your local one this weekend… 🙂