Virtual workshops for schools

Give the children in your school the unique opportunity to develop their creative skills, learn about nature and work with an artist, in a way that is safe for everyone in the current situation.

Artist and founder of The Library Of Nature, Eleanor Chaney has over 15 years experience of running creative workshops in school and community environments. She has worked on long term projects with schools through Creative Partnerships programme and as Artist in Residence, on education programmes in museums and galleries, and as an education and outreach practitioner with organisations and charities across the north west. These include Lakeland Arts Trust, BBC 21CC, Cumbria Wildlife Trust, Handmade Parade, Artspace and many more. She is also trained in post 16 education and holds a Level 4 Certificate in Education and Training.

Eleanor will work with you to create a bespoke workshop suitable for the children in your school, inspired by The Library Of Nature Project and local wildlife. This could include creating illustrations inspired by scientific art, traditional or digital drawing skills, painting and ink work, paper sculpture, story writing and more. These can also incorporate themes on ecology, conservation, biodiversity, the ethics on natural history collections, and discussions around underrepresented or marginalised groups in these fields. There will also be the opportunity for your children to gain an Arts Award at the Discover and Explore level.

Workshops will be delivered with an imaginative approach, with Eleanor in the role of ‘The Librarian’ of The Library Of Nature, You will be also given one years access to the paid areas of our website to allow children to explore the activities available and for you to use in future lessons as much as you wish to.

For Eleanor the safety of the children she works with is always a key priority. As well as being DBS checked and subscribed to the update system, she is undertaking training with the NSPCC in ‘Keeping Children Safe Online’ as part of this project. With this in mind, workshops can be delivered in whatever way your school feels comfortable, whether this is using your Google Classrooms set up, Zoom, or pre-recorded content designed especially for your class. An online teaching safeguarding policy is available upon request.

We are delighted that thanks to the generosity of Arts Council England and those who donated to our crowdfunding campaign, we are able to offer free online virtual workshops to five schools in Barrow-in-Furness between May and July 2021. If you would like to express an interest in your school being selected please get in touch at librarian@thelibraryofnature.com.

Please get in touch by emailing us at thelibraryofnature@eleanorchaney.com or using the form below to inquire about workshops, fees and our upcoming availability.