I have lived in Croydon all my life and I have yet to visit Hutchinson’s Bank Nature Reserve, in New Addington. I have heard its name mentioned before, but I didn’t quite realise how extensive it is or ecologically significant. Managed by London Wildlife Trust, it’s home to a wide variety of flora and fauna. Two types of wild orchid and a rare plant called the greater yellow-rattle grow there, not to mention the 100 species of moth and 36 species of butterfly spotted there. Oh and there are grazing sheep (one of my favourite animals).

I can even take the 64 bus right there, which stops at the end of my road (as well as East Croydon station).

Why am I telling you this? Well, if the above isn’t reason enough to visit, there is an exciting new interactive art project that launches on Saturday 10 May at this New Addington nature reserve by artists David Blandy and Daniel Locke, as part of a national arts project called Nature Calling.

The artists Blandy and Locke studied together at the Slade School of Fine Art and have been collaborating on various projects for the past decade, as they share an interest in making art that addresses environmental issues and climate change. For this project they have created two free ‘Choose your own adventure’ game trails – one for Hutchinson’s Bank and the other for Box Hill. In New Addington you can walk into a fantasy adventure, whereas on Box Hill you can be an observer from another world.

The purpose of the Nature Calling project is to encourage new audiences to better understand and connect with their local natural landscapes. (There are five other art projects in green spaces across England). Blandy and Locke have been working with the community in New Addington to create the two adventure games.

The artists explain further about the games:

“With the game trail at Hutchinson’s Bank we pose the questions – Has the world become enchanted or does a great Danger threaten all? Do you seek a loved one, or are you trying to return home? By the end of the trail, you will have created your own unique story, a story intimately connected to the landscape you’ve just (re-)discovered.”

“The second game trail at Box Hill asks you to imagine yourself as an observer from another world, surveying the wonders of this place. The game will get people to imagine what they would think of trees and moss and butterflies as if they’d never encountered anything like this before, as if everything was new. We hope they’ll experience the intensity of that novelty and feel the precious fragility of these green spaces that we take for granted.”

Now if all of the above alone doesn’t tempt you to visit Hutchinson’s Bank, to launch the release of the games there are two free walks taking place on the morning of Saturday 10 May – one guided by the artists themselves and the other for those who use British Sign Language guided by BSL art guide Martin Glover. (Booking details at the end of this post – be quick!)

And there’s yet more… To accompany the project, award-winning New Addington rap artist Still Shadey was commissioned to create ‘Nature’s Anthem – A Journey through the Surrey Hills’ where he was inspired by local residents on their experiences of nature as well as visits to the Surrey Hills.

I’ll be jumping on the 64 bus this May to visit Hutchinson’s Bank and to immerse myself in both nature and a fantasy adventure (whilst trying not to bump into the grazing sheep…).

Find out more about Nature Calling and book tickets to the free guided walks at Hutchinson’s Bank on Saturday 10 May on the Surrey Hills Arts website. Book the artist guided walk here or the BSL walk here. You can follow Surrey Hills Arts and Nature Calling on Instagram.

The game trails are available from 10 May until 31 October this year. They can be picked up on site at both Hutchinson’s Bank and Box Hill, downloaded or accessed via smartphones.

Images courtesy of Nature Calling

Posted by Julia