Moths to a Flame - Presented by The ART and ENERGY Collective

Moths to a Flame Told through a collection of experiences, conversations, images and imaginings

Presented by The Art and Energy Collective

We invited people to help us make solar artworks about moths and energy, creating both collective pieces and individual art works. While gaining skills in the making, we had conversations about our energy systems and the Climate Emergency.

July 2021

Contents Page

5

Acknowledgements

7

Summary

8

A Challenge for Culture by Chloë Uden

11

Poem: Forewing by Chloë Uden

12

Looking at a new world through moths' eyes by Naomi Wright

14

Natural energy holds it all together by Naomi Wright

18

Poem: Moths to a Flame by Matt Harvey

21

Poem: Night Theatre by Jo Treweek

23

Poem: Night Shimmers by Stuart McFadzean

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Poem: The World of Energy by Rae Porter

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Poem: I Stand in the Dark by Caleb Parkin

28

Why make it playful? by Naomi Wright

31

Poem: Night Angel by Julie Shackman

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Poem: Luna Moth by Nicola Farrell

34

On watching moths by John Walters

37

Poem: Moths by Nicole Kravstov

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Poem: The Night Butterfly by Jo Heckett

41

Poem: A Step to Future_The Magical Journey by Eshaan Prasanna

43

45

Poem: Tales from The Cashmere Hotel by Nicola Humphreys

Artwalk

Poem: A Good Ancestor? by Giovanna Speciale

Page 00

Contents continued 47

Poem: Community Energy Fortnight by Giovanna Speciale

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Poem: A Moth's Lament by Tanya Morel

51

Messages for Moths to a Flame by Ellie White

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Poem: Moffs to a Flame by Claire Harris

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People power around the UK by Naomi Wright

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Poem: Generation Greta by Ojo Taiye

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Poem: Sparks of Hope: Devon Moths by Kate Meyer-Currey

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Poem: Mint Moth Emanates by Dr Stephen J. Burke

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Poem: Artificial Moons by Holly Peters

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Reflecting on Moths to a Flame by Jenny Ayrton

68

Poem: There's a Dead Fly by Matt Thomas

71

Hosting Moths to a Flame by Andrew Sinclair, Manager of Glasgow Botanic Gardens

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Poem: Underwing by Chloë Uden

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A message from Plymouth Energy Community by Jemma Knowles

77

Poem: There is a Meeting Place Between You and I by Chloë Uden

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Poem: The Lessons of Moths by Anna Orridge

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Poem: The Affirmation by Liv Torc

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Transcribed messages that formed part of our 'whisper' at COP26

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Reflections on COP26 by Jake Burnyeat, Trustee, Plymouth Energy Community

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A r last t w awords lk The

by Simon Bates

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Our Compass

Page 00

Acknowledgments Plymouth Energy Community, who have supported and encouraged this project from the outset.

The Crowdfunders, Arts Council England and players of The National Lottery, who generously contributed to the endeavor.

The Glasgow Botanic Gardens staff, their time and help with the Moths to a Flame installation made it magnificent.

Additional funders: meant we could take the moths to new places - Babcock International, Cockington Court, Exeter Community Energy, Greenhill Arts Centre, iMayflower, Literature Works, MAKE Southwest, Play Scotland, Plymouth City Council, Princesshay, Real Ideas Organisation, Significant Seams, Sovereign Housing.

The Scottish Mask and Puppet Centre who welcomed us to Glasgow providing making space and support.

We are also grateful to the moth makers, the whisperers, the organisers, the poets and to all the

The poets

many people across the UK and overseas who made Moths to a Flame happen - you know who you are.

Although this book is a record of the project as a whole, you will also notice a set of wonderful poetry inspired by moths and energy.

We are particularly grateful to all those who contributed to this book.

Thank you to Matt Harvey for hosting the poetry slam and selecting poems for this book from all the submissions we received.

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Art and Energy at play. From left to right, Naomi Wright, Chloë Uden and Jenny Ayrton enjoying a recycled moth moment for Moths to a Flame. Photo credit: Jim Wileman, Otter and Butterfly Sanctuary.

October 2021

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Summary The ART and ENERGY Collective is a group of

Moths to a Flame

artists, thinkers, makers and tinkerers based in

Inspired by moths, over 58,000 people

Devon.

participated in this award winning artwork

We use our skills to respond to the

climate emergency.

which explores our relationship with energy and asks us to heal rather than harm our Earth.

We design creative experiences to help people connect with energy systems and harness hope

Nearly 80,000 people joined the audience live

for a better world.

and over 350,000 people saw the project through TV and radio broadcasts.

Why Energy?

We find ourselves caught up in power systems

What's in this book?

that are harming us, harming each other and

This book is a collection of images and words

our planet.

reflecting the spirit, abundance, generosity,

Our energy systems are burning us

out.

learning and hope that flowed through the project.

Climate change is all about energy.

It is

caused by the way we live, it is the end of the

Included are poems from the poetry slam and

story that our culture is writing.

messages from participants, images selected to show the chronology of the project's

Our participatory artworks invite people to

development, a record of things learned from

reconsider the world through an energy lens

moths and thought pieces from The Art and

and discover new words that help us navigate,

Energy Collective.

to find connections that build our resilience, and to develop creative skills that help us

Then, as a culmination of all our learning from

recreate a flourishing future.

this project we have developed a Compass, a framework for anyone considering making

History tells us that culture can change, we

environmentally engaged participatory art

can all make a positive difference.

projects in these times.

You will find it

navigating its way throughout this book.

Chloë, Naomi, Jenny & Cat

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A challenge for culture

by Chloë Uden UK Gov says, we must reduce our carbon

I would like to invite you to consider what

emissions by 68% by 2030 (from 1990 levels) to

combining your PASSIONS with your own

stay on track for 1.5 degrees increase in global

response to the climate emergency might look

heating. So now, at the start of 2022; we have 8

like. How can you do BOTH?

years to make the difference and act for good.

Love, enjoyment, nature, joy, fun, friends, play, According to the Climate Change Committee;

entertainment; those things we choose to do in

over 50% of changes needed are modifications

life for pleasure are a key to unlocking our

to our behaviour - changes in our culture.

motivation and imagination to respond to life's challenges.

How we use our energy, the choices we make, will either contribute to these problems, or it will

This is not to say that it will be plain sailing.

respond. It is with this in mind that The Art and

Navigating your own journey will involve trying

Energy Collective endeavours to "be the change

and failing and then trying again. The important

we want to see in the world".

thing is to continue, to try to make sense of this mess, to learn and to move on.

I used to be a puppeteer, a maker, an illustrator.

AND I worked in the sustainable energy sector. It

We can be sure, that a sustainable future doesn't

was a full and busy life. Then, my twins were

look like the past or the present. Similarly, it's

born, and I realised I only had 21 hours a week in

likely that art in the future won't look like it does

which to 'work'. I didn't feel I could sacrifice

now. So don't be worried if you find yourself

either of my passions. The only choice was to

doing something that feels totally new.

combine the two, the ART and the ENERGY. There are lots of people in our area already Contemplating this conundrum, making work in

doing amazing new things to respond to this

the space between, is probably my first genuinely

challenge: People setting up recycling projects,

creative act. I acted out of necessity to bring

'borrow don't buy' clubs, community energy

balance to my life and it opened a door in my

groups, sustainable transport teams, researchers

imagination for something new to arrive.

in local institutions, campaigners trying to call for a difference to be made.

Finding companions on the journey, particularly Naomi and Jenny who want to explore this too,

Art and Energy works with lots of groups,

creates dialogue which enriches all of us. It

because art is not separate from life, and we all

makes it more tangible.

need each other's skills, knowledge, networks, support, recognition and encouragement. It's

Together we don't necessarily feel like we have a

good to break down barriers and to collaborate.

clear vision of what a sustainable future will look like, but we have a clear set of values with which

Our culture has to change, and a new culture is a

to chart our course.

story that we must imagine and write together.

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Many of the moths sent to us for the installation in Glasgow had messages written on them.

Photo credit: Jim Wileman at the Otter and Butterfly Sanctuary in Buckfastleigh.

9

October 2021

"Standing at the bathroom window, brushing my teeth I wonder what to make for an Illumination Festival.

A moth thumps on the window and I let it in to my imagination." Chloë Uden.

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July 2019

Forewing It was the end of the world, and the family lit 2000 candles for hope: We nearly burned down the house...

When we felt the danger, we threw the candles onto the bonfire and huddled in the dark underneath cold stars wondering what on earth we had done.

We didn’t notice the whisper of moths.

It’s 2020 and I pause at the dark window: A moth flies persistently at the glass, phut, flup, thub.

It is the valiant yellow underwing.

They tell me moths are in decline...

Should I turn out the light? Could I?

In 2021, the UK hosts the UN Conference on Climate Change - COP26.

Through glass, we will see our leaders navigating the conundrum at our core.

What will we do with our power?

As we emerge from our Covid Cocoons to greet the world again, I invite you to consider the moth emerging from its unseen place.

Precious little life.

As butterfly doth thrum the storm, might the moth then summon dawn.

Chloë Uden

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Looking at a new world through moths’ eyes by Naomi Wright Out of our darkness came moths.

We were introduced to the idea of imaginal cells, a bit like stem cells that fix themselves to

Moths revealed their beauty to us out of the dark.

the inner side of a cocoon and hold a blueprint

Their magic took hold of us, we started noticing

for the moth yet to be formed. If only the world

them, we learnt how to catch them and observe

could have imaginal cells that provided that

them. Observe them carefully, respectfully, wisely.

detailed plan for regeneration.

A whole new world opened its wings to us!! The moths themselves joined the moth-ers, technicians,

The moth emerges so intricately finessed for its

scientists, artists and storytellers and together we

surroundings, often with no mouth parts,

celebrated this learning journey about the planet

designed only to find a mate and lay eggs. This

and its natural energy systems.

double life of a moth, holding energy in the lifecycle, encouraged us to think of the way all

Moths continued to reign over us when we were

living creatures use that energy for their own

invited to exhibit our first Solar Panel artworks and

survival.

run a workshop at the Environmental Sustainability Institute (ESI), Penryn, Cornwall. We hadn't realised

Experts sprung out of our own project network,

just how much research about solar panels was

volunteering their knowledge, willing to join in.

based on biomimicry. Moths’ eyes have dimples

We were told about the relationship between

that enable greater ingression of light, and may be

blue tits and Winter moths' caterpillars. One

replicated in the surface of solar panels; their

nest full of chicks can eat 18,000 caterpillars,

family relative, the Cabbage White butterfly, has a

without them the chicks starve. The conditions

cellular structure which reflects the light from the

need to be right for Winter moths to lay eggs;

sun on to their bodies to warm up. Our colleague,

no pesticides, plenty of wild places, the right

Katie Shanks, is applying this technology to her

weather. It is a very delicate matter. As is the

solar research.

camouflage of a moth throughout its lifecycle, the fluffiness of its body, scales in their wings,

Friends and colleagues arrived on the scene to help

the pheromones that attract their opposite sex.

us understand new and exciting things about moths. We hadn’t thought enough about how long

The moth taught us to seek what comes out of

caterpillars live, about their food plants, their

the dark, that there is a path to find new and

energy source and that they do literally turn to a

imagined resilient ways, to recognise the energy

chemical soup as they change into moths. Think of

that it takes to have stamina in the face of

the energy in this!

climate change.

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We held our first moth watching session at Torre Abbey in Torbay guided by local moth-er Amy Walkden. We spotted a brave lone Yellow Underwing on the cold and blustery evening. Amy joined us for the duration of the project bringing her expertise and inspiration to our regular broadcast Watch Moths series.

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September 2019

Natural Energy holds it all together

by Naomi Wright

I first thought about the sun’s energy lying on the

Once we remembered this we were on our

ground under a tree, the sunlight dappling my

mission in space – each session we would

face, my body feeling the earth and all the life

immerse ourselves in nature and experience

force around me emanating from it. I was part

closely all these things. Things that make our

of it, this living energy system, nature in and

ecology work.

around me.

Energy Years later, I worked on a nature reserve and ran

Cycles

nature clubs with local schools. We would squash everybody into the back of our Land

Diversity

Rover with all the kit we needed for the session, and off we went on an expedition of discovery

Change

and excitement. The children loved it, nowadays it would all be too risky. I was inspired by Earth

Interrelationships

Education, a 1960s/70s movement led by Steve Van Matre in America. It prescribed ways for

Communities

connecting with nature through immersion and storytelling. Earth was a Sunship, whose

Adaptation

passengers had to be kept happy and healthy, in balance, live sustainably. The children and I enjoyed playing with this idea. There was a

We always started with the sun and its energy.

mantra for this flow of life’s energy:

We would climb inside giant leaves and make atom ping-pong ball oxygen and sugar from carbon dioxide and water; we would lie on the

E. C. D. C. I. C. A

ground, listen to the living world and absorb the sun, feel the heat in the ground. We would sit around a light at night, on a white sheet and watch the moths arrive. So many of them even then. Moths to a Flame 30 years ago! We would be giants in a tiny world and ants in a giants’ world. We would sit still and just be.

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Another few decades after this time, I find myself

All of life’s energy cycling through plants,

saying this mantra again and starting with Energy;

animals, fungi and bacteria, we would

today that energy lens filters its way through the

recognise that natural energy can be used to

whole landscape. And I conclude with energy flow,

restore damage to the Earth.

the energy not disappearing but changing from from one form to another, able to harm the Earth as

I pick up my energy lens now and look at the

well as care for it. Energy has flowed from

way I live as part of nature, even more acutely

peatlands to garden soils, from the ancient sunlit oil

aware of the impact I have, and the state of the

to plastics and waste, from coal to steel in

world in climate emergency. I drift off, gently

transport and buildings. Energy has been wasted

immersed and dreaming of a new world in

on destruction rather than regeneration and

which we are sociologically and ecologically

restoration.

interconnected in our restorative regenerated richly biodiverse landscape, my home.

My own energy often feels like it is wasted on

I’m living in nature, on Sunship Earth, through

flicking through social media, on anxiety and

space – that final frontier. E.C.D.C.I.C.A.

housework.

Ever the optimist and recognising we are all biophilic, I think that if more of us understood our relationship with living energy systems then the world will be alright. We would think of biodiversity reflecting the energy in the landscape, the food chains representing the species present, the energy flow being used for positive ecological outcomes.

We would enable carbon sequestration, harnessing

Naomi found the caterpillar of an Oak Eggar

renewable energy sources, rewilding of land and

Moth during Covid Lockdown 1.0. It created

sea.

a cocoon and eventually emerged as a moth.

She made a series of cyanotype solar prints from drawings of the moth.

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June 2020

With Plymouth Energy Community, we imagined an artwork with 2,000 moths for COP26. To test the idea, we brought 300 moths to Illuminate Plymouth 2019 for visitors to decorate imagining they would last 3 days; within 3 hours hundreds of people, young and old, had made their moth. It was here that we realised that there were a lot of people who care about the climate challenge and want our leaders to do better.

Our original moths were made from laser cut tracing paper with cardboard bodies. When we decided the artwork would be displayed in the humid Botanic Gardens in Glasgow, we needed to find a way to make waterproof moths that could also be recycled.

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November 2019

The collective noun for moths is a whisper. Here is the small display of moths made for Illuminate Festival in 2019. On our own our voices are whispers, but together we can create a roar for change. Collaborating with Plymouth Energy Community and other community groups in Plymouth we started to prepare for COP26 in earnest.

November 2019

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Moths to a Flame There is a whisper in the air Invisible yet everywhere

As dormant in the quiet night A thousand million points of light

Who bask in dark, not asking much Await our need, our dark torch touch

Dark of night, the perfect frame To set the spark, the gleam, the flame

Each moth’s ultra-absorbent eyes Are trained upon the flickering prize

In crazed self-immolating flight They spiral in on heat & light

Flustered, fluttering, foolish moth We’re like you, cut from the same cloth

How easily we flick a switch, To strike a match to scratch the itch

To bring the flickering quick and close Each day a larger, stronger dose

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What drives us to this self-affliction?

Hunger, habit, deep addiction?

Careering toward the neon bloom Delirium, delight and doom

The light-crazed moth does not want saving From its kamikaze craving

While we in ours must somehow learn To change trajectory or burn

We’ve tasted power, we are in thrall We’re at the hunger’s beck and call

We apprehend it’s out of hand But transform?

Us? We don’t understand…

As grubs that inch along a leaf Can barely summon the belief

One day they’ll fly. So likewise we Scarce grasp the possibility

– Improbable, unlikely thing – That flame might yet be drawn to wing

Beyond the other side of strange That they might switch, that we might change

Matt Harvey

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Naomi's recce in Glasgow:

The right location for the artwork would embody its values of inclusivity

and accessibility, connection to the natural world, sustainability and visual impact.

After looking all over Glasgow, when most places were not ready to discuss COP26 or knew what artworks to host, I visited the Botanic Gardens. It all clicked in place, the glasshouses hosting a planet full of plants, a special ecosystem waiting for a massive whisper of moths, and staff who listened and understood the project from the start. It was already speaking of the greenhouse effect, care for the planet, of the role plants have had over the millennia with our energy system and of the invitation to everyone to come and be inspired with free and flat access.

Then, through the coming seasons of Covid and COP bureaucracy, the staff and ourselves learnt how to carry the risks and hold tight to our original vision.

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February 2020

Night Theatre Early Grey, daylight fades.

Night theatre in the Dusky Sallow, the cast assembles Under Dark Arches, Angled Shades.

Curtains lift on night breezes - Dark Crimson Underwing.

Treble Bar tuning in the pit, Burnished Brass and Common Lutestring.

Our tread hushed, We take our seats amongst the willows, Burberry Carpet, Red Carpet, pelmets and valances, velvet-plushed.

Lights! Beautiful Yellow! An age-old plot: White Ermine, a Common Footman, Maiden’s Blush, True Lover’s Knot.

Bright Wave, applause!

Worth a Small Grass Emerald, Those Brindled Beauties, beauties all.

Those were the glory days, the big stage, Casts of thousands, all their names in lights and crowds like moths to a flame, Clifden Nonpareil, beyond compare and all the rage.

Grand Oak Processionaries in the Latticed Heath, Scarlet Tiger, Ruby Tiger prowling under a dark sky And all the world their stage beneath.

Jo Treweek

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The unexpected cocooning we all experienced from March 2020 onwards during Covid lockdown 1.0 was an opportunity to 'go in' and reflect. In the quiet of bird-song, we wanted to experiment using what we had to hand to get creative.

Chloe turned oak galls, collected from her local park, into ink which she posted with blank watercolour postcards to anyone who wanted to join in with the experiment. Beautiful moth studies using an ancient recipe.

June 2020

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Night Shimmers Waves. Sit up, set up, Perfect, Strange, Bright, Smoky, Ochreous, Rosy.

Go, float away, Clearwings. Fiery, Red, Dusky in the Sallow.

Hook Tips, Hornets, or so they seem.

Dream of Frosted Green. Precious Emeralds sparkle too.

Hear them at the light, silent, Lute Strings brushing Satin or Peach.

See them at the light.

Know them in the dark.

Unseen.

Stuart McFadzean

23

Cockington Court Moths was a mini installation of moths made with milk bottles. The artwork welcomed visitors back to the Stable Yard Studios following Covid lockdown 2.0.

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December 2020

The World Of Energy There’s so many things around me, I notice when I ‘see’, The way that light presents a web or bounces off a tree.

A buzzing bee around a flower, a bird upon a wall, A wriggling worm, the sparkling sea, the sound of pigeons’ call.

The way a leaf blows on the ground, it’s skipping so alive, Propelled with all life’s energy, a natural push to thrive.

A world within a world within, a hidden life in view, And human beings, despite their masks, are part of nature too.

Our cells, our bones, our systems; all miracles in form Which sadly, we’ve forgotten in our desire to perform.

The energy that gives us strength and lights up all the Earth, Brings oaks from tiny acorns, propels a woman to give birth.

Do we stop to ‘feel’ the way a moth seeks out the light, Our navigating sailors understood this sense alright!

But we have lost our way a bit; we’re blind to what is here, Insisting on security; basing life on fear, The form of things develops shape, a bird, a cloud, a door, It’ll stay in form for a certain time and then it is no more.

The answer is all around us, we only have to look The beautiful colours of a moth, the babbling of a brook.

The blue of a sky (that isn’t a thing), the chattering of an otter, The way that water evaporates when the air gets hotter.

To slow things down, to see and hear; to take just what we need To listen to our inner voice and challenge fear and greed To take accountability for the damage that we wreak And listen to the subtle voice that to us nature speaks.

We have been blessed with will to choose - so how will you respond?

Will you be an enemy or can you see beyond – this world of stuff, of things to have, the need to gather more – to the World Of Energy, that lives within our core.

Rae Porter

25

The Moth's Whisper which was written and illustrated by Miranda Barlow, tells the story of Marny the Yellow Underwing moth who emerges from her pupa. As she looks for the moon she discovers the way humans use energy.

It became clear that participants needed a variety of ways in to join in. As well as helping readers understand more about the lives of moths, this allegorical book was “A strong and clear encouragement for young people to get involved to make a change for the better.” – Steve Voake.

August 2020

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I stand in the dark bathroom with the window wide open and hope the plume moth’s neat T releases itself from these tiles their harsh ceramic page

hope the fuggy half-moon becomes its amber compass again I blink the light back on stare at its body a cursor flashing * again I stand in the dark bathroom frozen my mouth full of toothpaste froth and the antler moth’s mass thwacks the shower screen

the full moon bathes in daylight above inky backlit scrubland but moth bathes too bubble-shrouded its wings a heavy chemical cloak * and with the slivery new moon we will stand in the dark again with all of our windows wide open and hope

Caleb Parkin

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Why make it playful?

by Naomi Wright

While being creative, we explore and investigate

Some professionals study children’s play, and

things. It doesn’t feel like work. We are not being

how we continue to play as adults. The Theory

told what to do. Is this our inner child at play? Is

of Loose Parts (by Simon Nicholson in 1972)

our creativity about playing – I say it is.

suggests that the greater the variety of play opportunities offered the more creative

Both animals and humans play, a reminder that

responses we have. It is akin to inviting people

we exist in nature’s continuum. We have evolved

to a beach – everyone, no matter background,

in play. So, play is in our blood! Our freedom to

finds a way to play on a beach. The flotsam,

play has given us an opportunity to understand

stones, water, sand, seaweed and underwater

ourselves, our choices, gain knowledge, value the

creatures, the opportunities for play seem

places we live. I think we all need this freedom.

endless in a place with loose parts.

‘Ritual grew up in play; poetry was born in play

Moths to a Flame is poetic, our project was

and nourished in play; music and dancing were

‘born in play’. From that beginning we offered

pure play...it arises in play and never leaves it.’

a wide raft of playful opportunities or loose

Johan Huizinga (Homo Ludens 1938).

parts, and with them, the range and number of people who joined in increased. We initiated a richer, much deeper and more meaningful conversation through play.

Naomi's work has always incorporated play and has connected her with various play agencies such as Play Torbay. Her research using outdoor play as art and research has been recognised as innovative.

Images from Play Scotland moth watching event.

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Artists, Helen and Norman Harrison reflect on the

Moths to a Flame has reinforced my sense that

role of creativity in conversation, they called it

play entangles us in our aesthetic, social and

Conversation Drift. ‘ … offer the opportunity to

ecological journey through life. If we make it

create new spaces, first in the mind and then in

playful there is a chance that the experience,

everyday life’ (see their manifesto of Force

the fun and the unexpected, has got us all

Majeure for 2021). We created a great variety of

thinking, and, potentially, may influence how we

spaces for people to imagine a different future

live. In the face of the climate emergency,

and then talk about it.

when behaviour change is the only way we might make enough of a difference for a future

Our playful approach in Moths to a Flame, was

healthy environment, we need to play.

guided by nature, provided those loose parts, was accessible, attracted people that think

Alan Kaprow, an artist from the ‘60s, who

themselves creative, and those that don’t. It also

created ‘happenings’ with other people, said on

included play as Conversation Drift; this

his art as play:

sometimes-synchronistic project flow is described

by Rebecca Solnit in her book, A Field Guide To

It is art but seems closer to life. I play games; if

Getting Lost:

I called them sermons then nobody would play.

Not even I.

Leave the door open for the unknown, the door into the dark. That’s where the most important things come from, where you yourself come from, and where you will go.

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We commissioned QuiverVision, a New Zealand based company, to create an augmented reality colouring sheet, an easy to access activity during Covid lockdown. People were encouraged to think about energy, then experienced a sense of wonder as their moth came to life on a smart device.

August 2020

Night Angel A beige kite, Flicking towards the bulb, Travelling with intent, Skirting the night air, Oblivious to the cracked crockery, Of the moon.

Zinging in a crazed display, Fluttering its velvet body, Shrugging off the shackles of the day, Desperate to sate itself in the lemon hollow.

Landing with the faintest chime, An aeronautical feat, Ghostly, Compared to the butterfly, This silhouette of blandness, Smudged, Yet just as graceful, A nimble pirouette, Around the seductive glow.

Night Angel

Eager to please, Seeking refuge in its optimism, Before the sun fingers through the window, Sending him into a glazed state, Waiting for the dark to spill its dangerous ink again.

The End.

Julie Shackman

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Moth-ers from all over the UK introduced participants to moths through moth trapping sessions with their communities and also through our monthly Watch Moths Zoom sessions.

August 2020

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Luna Moth In a cocoon I pupate up high Then rest till I can fly With no mouth I cannot feed But this is not my basic need Emitting chemicals, I need to mate This is it, that’s my fate My eggs are laid under leaves of flowers Now I’m done, I’ll die in hours.

Nicola Farrell

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On Watching Moths

by John Walters I have been fascinated by wildlife as far back as

Aged eleven I began running a moth trap my

I can remember. My earliest memories aged

dad had made. Our back garden backed on

three were of watching Glow-worms, House

to the park at West Town and the light attract

Sparrows and finding a Slow-worm in our garden

hundreds of moths. With a few books to guide

on the edge of the South Downs at Horndean,

me I started to identify and count them. The

Hampshire. We then moved to Hayling Island and

variety of species was bewildering at first so I

this is where I grew up. My interest in butterflies

began to sketch them in an attempt to learn

and moths started at infants school. Here I

the main identification features.

discovered the beautiful striped caterpillars of the Lackey Moth in a hedge beside the

I have been drawing and painting a wide

playground. On one occasion some of the

variety of natural history subjects ever since.

caterpillars I had caught escaped around the

Drawing and painting from life has given me

classroom providing much amusement for my

great pleasure. The close observation has

classmates.

helped me understand how each creature is adapted to its environment. In the past ten

Aged five I reared my first caterpillars. A friend

years I have also included digital cameras to

had found some Small Tortoiseshell caterpillars

help record the natural world. This information

on nettles and we kept them in jam jars with

can then be shared in books, talks and through

holes punched in the metal lids. I was amazed

social media.

when they hung themselves up on the lid and turned into beautiful pupae which looked like they had been painted with liquid gold. I have a vivid memory of the red fluid splattering my hand from a newly-emerged butterfly before we released them in the garden.

34

John Walters was one of the moth-ers who joined us each month at Watch Moths to share some of the wonderful observations and insights into the world of moths from his regular forays outside.

These are some of his drawings. He talked about the value of drawing from life in aiding us to see the world around us more clearly.

35

Plymouth Energy Community led the Crowdfunder for Moths to a Flame. This raised funds supported our application to the Arts Council.

November 2020

In 2017, Dave Neale from Lasercutz helped us to cut solar cells to make our artworks. His partner Jo Neale created these beautiful badges from upcycled acrylic waste and these were given as rewards for our Crowdfunder and to volunteers who made a big difference to the success of the project.

2020-2021 36

£43,627.

These

Moths We are undeveloped butterflies, flying to the light, Most people don’t like us, but we’re really quite alright.

Our famous brother, the silkworm helps America gain hundreds of millions a year, While our distant cousins, the butterflies, are loved for looking dear.

Us however, the moths, are shooed away with chemicals and toxins, A butterfly couple once had a moth that they put up for adoption.

We are unloved, despised, and it’s really quite unfair, We even help with pollinating but nobody actually cares.

Every day we have to be cautious, we fight to just survive, When bats, birds and others want to eat us, it’s hard to stay alive.

Just because we’re not that pretty, we immediately get hate, And some people even use us for their animals; as bait.

All we’re known for is flying to the light, And although most people don’t like us, we’re really quite alright.

Nicole Kravtsov

37

A series of simple films and printable resources made it easy for people to join in at home or to run making sessions and activities themselves.

May to October 2021 38

The Night Butterfly (or Moths See Colour in the Dark) Day has faded, taken all her measurements and surety with her

In the pitch-jet-obsidian-shadow left behind I see the colours you think have gone forever Tints and hues truer than you can imagine, all visible to me

I navigate by the stars

My wings make minuscule adjustments, micro-alter my path

I am seeking bliss The palest flower is my love I find her scent and in the living air of midnight Follow her trail, richer than rose, deeper than lavender, stronger than lilac, wilder than honeysuckle She and her sisters shine, nestled in their dark beds of green Like me, she is made for the night Her beauty competes with the moon Captures the tiniest particles of light and multiplies them, magnifies them with her glow

I know change I dissolved and was reborn, reconfigured beyond memory, turned inside out, from day to night I know what it is to surrender, to give up all, to submit and undergo, relinquish, cede, succumb I know what it is to trust the dark

My eyes perceive a rainbow world where yours see only danger

Jo Heckett

39

Regular Zoom events for partners and supporters enabled people to understand how they could run their own events.

May to October 2021 40

A STEP TO FUTURE_The Magical Journey I love to walk,walk,walk Walk through the day.

I love to run,run,run Run all the way.

I love to ride,ride,ride Ride my bike everyday.

The environment is green, green, green When we keep it clean.

More and more plants we grow, grow, grow Fresh air we breathe in every row.

More and more minibeasts can be seen, can be seen Bearing colourful sights in every scene.

This makes me fit and healthy Fit and healthy is good for you.

Clean and Green, Clean and Green Clean and Green, Earth is seen.

Sunny day, windy day, rainy day Enjoy the energy everyday.

Swim and Run, Swim and Run Beach is so much fun.

This Journey is magical It awakens every cell.

Eshaan Prasanna Avanti Court Primary School

41

.

We supported over 200 Moths to a Flame events for people across the UK and overseas

May to October 2021

42

Tales from The Cashmere Hotel I rarely thought about moths before, ‘Til their tiny eggs in my flower beds become munching machines, stripping foliage clean, and their bottomless brunch, supper, dinner and lunch, In my closet of clothes that never closes for business, I’ll admit their habit is one I want them to quit, to leave me in peace.

An attire ceasefire.

So darn it!

As the threads of my life unweave.

We still need this planet to breathe.

Do you find me smug or despair that I care?

There’s no wonder drug, that will clear this collective brain fug, the fog, the smog from the air, Am I bold enough to wear knitwear with holes?

Ah, it matters not because it’s getting hotter, year on year on year.

I rarely thought about moths before a visit to the local museum.

Pinned under glass from a long time past.

Classed en masse by an enthusiast.

Gassed and maimed in a frame with the aim to proclaim some fleeting glorious fame.

I rarely thought about moths before, or bugs and beasties, ants or bees, creepy crawlies, mosquitoes or fleas, except in summer heatwaves when I craved the night breeze.

Their fortuitous chance, a glimmer of circumstance, to fly close to their shimmering moon.

Such a beacon of hope in this airless vacuum of my room, Their fluttering, my muttering, then the window shut firmly, with no guarantee that they’ve fled.

Fooling myself that this pillow is cooling, Kicking the duvet off the end of the bed.

We all need a light to guide us in the dark.

Through the joy and the pain until all that remains, Is an arrow of dust, a faint ashy mark.

Nicola Humphreys

43

We encouraged people to explore the world of moths, getting up close in person and through Watch Moths broadcasts on Zoom. We helped teachers to set up moth-catchers so that children were able to observe moths for the first time, leading into conversations about energy systems.

The moths were endlessly fascinating.

May to October 2021

44

A Good Ancestor?

Butterfly specimens compressed between two sheets of glass whose rich precise colours last blurred the sky over a hundred years ago Caught in a net then suffocated then preserved Wings spread like a breath never exhaled

My Great Uncle John, who’s neat copperplate identified the species of each butterfly was himself caught in a net made of little knots of patriotism and a distended mesh of duty Preserved only as a name to explain my Grandma’s silence about the years after Passchendaele

I’m told I should feel proud of my Great Uncle John: this good ancestor, who did what he was told But, for all the poppies and smart salutes, they were a generation duped, who obediently marched into machine gun fire. Their legacy a century of war

What will they say of me and my generation?

We saw the salvo’s loaded each with neat labels such as “Climate change” “Habitat destruction”, “Overfishing” Over the top we march unblinking into hail of floods, bushfires and hurricanes. We fly like moths to a flame.

Giovanna Speciale

45

As part of the UK Tour, South East London Community Energy (SELCE) worked with The Purple Ladies to make a giant moth puppet, led a procession to leave pledges by the River Thames, and created a beautiful film of the experience.

September 2021

46

Community Energy Fortnight Like so many palms raised in prayer our panels commune with the sky Whisper incantations in the language of positive, negative, and semi-conductors A dance of electrons to the beat of the sun

And we did this. This solar array is made of persistence; a stomp through complexity.

We learned to speak the language of leases, of community shares, of kWh hours, of financial models, of grid connections, and of risk profiles. And it cost us dear

But it isn’t enough, it’s a drop in the ocean compared to what’s needed to arrest the flow of drops into the ocean from the melting icecaps.

A tiny stitch to mend a deep fissure Maybe just maybe it’s all too late

But we’re not alone. We are just one of many community groups making tiny stiches Turning churches, rivers and hills into places where magic can happen: where sun and wind becomes power and hope. We ain’t giving up

Giovanna Speciale

47

The Oak Eggar moth lives as a caterpillar in hedgerow bushes and in brambles. We found one while running some moth activities during the Play Torbay eco-holiday programme.

August 2021

Cat Andrews (Plymouth producer) and Ellie White (audio artist) joined the team.

48

Summer 2021

A Moth’s Lament ‘I see you’ whispered the moth in her fluttering urgency ‘You are the Collector, you want to hold my fragile beauty in your clumsy hands, you want to steal my magic, you think by pinning me under glass that you will own my secret.

But the secret is not mine to give, It is yours to discover You might find it (if you look), in the rust of a thousand buried

If you could stop a moment you would

spoons, in the dusty blankets of

know, it’s to be found in the lingering

long dead men, in the ink on the pages

scent of lemons on hot stones,

of every well loved book, in the gleam

and old roses, and wood smoke

of a sea jewel made by the moon

(obviously, if you would but take the time)

If you listened, you would hear it in the tiny tapping of my wings against your window I beat out clues like morse code I am compelled, I cannot stop “Don’t do as I do, do as I say!

I am the mother!

And mother knows best!”

But you cannot hear because you will not listen You are doomed, to be pinned under a Bell Jar of your own making And all that’s left for me to do is mourn your foolish life…’

Tanya Morel 49

Following many months of isolation and separation, members of The Art and Energy Collective gathered at Plymouth's Flameworks Studios to reconnect. We made ceramic vessels to hold and reverberate people's messages and whispers in the Glasgow Botanic Gardens installation.

September 2021 50

Messages for Moths to a Flame

by Ellie White As an artist and activist in this time of

As an observer at COP26 (someone who

compounding socioecological crises, I’m

observes the formal negotiations), I sought to

interested in the unique positioning of the

connect the demands for climate justice within

creative arts in communicating, and bringing

the conference, and outside its gates. I

forth, futures of environmental sustainability.

volunteered for As If Radio (AIR), a collaborative radio space created in response to COP26, and

I joined The Art and Energy team whilst I was

broadcast activist interventions, live from the

working on my undergraduate thesis - a

seemingly impenetrable and mystified space of

patchwork of audio stories charting stories of

climate negotiations.

hopeful futurity: the (usually) untold chapters of multispecies community and interconnection. My

In the midst of collective fear, grief, and anxiety

thesis was particularly inspired by T.J. Demos,

at COP26, I felt humbled by The Art and Energy

Director of the Center for Creative Ecologies at

Collective, who are dedicated––alongside their

UC Santa Cruz, who asks:

diverse network of tinkerers, thinkers, and artists–– to cultivate and harness radical hope. Through

How do we cultivate and bring into being

Moths to a Flame, we find ourselves attuning to

emancipated futures? [...] Where are the rift

moth whispers; relearning the interspecies

zones between destructive and wholly unjust if

interdependencies that enable human

not quite outmoded ways of organizing existence

continuation.

—within petrocapitalism, colonialism, anthropocentrism, sexism, and white supremacy—

Indeed, fuelled by radical attentiveness and

and alternative practices, narratives, and visions

passionate immersion in the lifeworlds of moths,

founded on social justice and radical

we experience the potentiality of rift zones: a

multispecies flourishing, glimpsing decolonized

celebratory joy, love, and grief for our

futures of environmental sustainability? (Demos,

multispecies solidarities that shake the

2020, p.g. 2)

foundations of growth-obsessed neoliberal economics.

Throughout the months I spent recording messages of hope for Moths to a Flame across the country––from the Torpoint Ferry across the River Tamar, to Deptford Market in south east London––I felt incredibly lucky to meet compassionate people with visions of futures founded on social justice and radical multispecies flourishing. These grassroots messages later echoed from the undergrowth of the Botanics, overlapping and interlacing, to form a unified call to action for negotiators and delegates at COP26.

51

We supported creative moth making activities across the UK and beyond. Mixed generations would all have a go, often supporting each other.

Autumn 2021

Augmented reality moths brought to life using the QuiverVision app.

52

2021

Moffs to a Flame It’s hard for me to talk about moffs I’ve been ridiculed by pedant toffs It’s hard for me I mispronounce So nocturnal butterfly I must renounce You flippy flappy flighty fing Oh how I wish to hop on your wing

So they say it’s moth like cloth Which the one does like to nibble And Some do scoff And some do quibble But Dearest Moff You’ve become an affliction Due to my derisive diction

My tongue is listless I must confess But if it were livelier I would redress This social chasm that leaves me A drift, a float, detached like you in flight My pollinator of the night

Claire Harris

53

Both locally and nationally, thousands of people joined in, interpreting Moths to a Flame to their place and community.

September 2021 54

People power around the UK

by Naomi Wright People made Moths to a Flame. Their individual

We worked with Play Scotland, who recognised

voices and creations becoming a call to power for

the play in the project, and made it their offering

change, a creative chorus that roared it’s way to

for COP26 alongside Glasgow Open House Arts

Glasgow for COP26. Success of the project can

Festival, Glasgow Community Energy and the

be counted in the people and communities who

Children’s Wood.

chose to join in of their own accord.

The UK tour produced a fantastic body of One set of communities were part of, what we

creative responses for Moths to a Flame. Many

called, a UK tour. Located across the UK, they were

of them wrote blogs, appeared on our broadcast

commissioned to interpret Moths to a Flame their

shows and produced short films of their creative

own way. Many of these were Community Energy

projects which can be found on our YouTube

groups, with their door ajar to energy conversations

channel.

and to the imagination, able to reach a new audience distanced from us in the South West.

This was a project that banished barriers wherever we could find them, so we also worked

We were amazed with the resulting imaginative

with familiar local organisations that knew where

expressions and ideas. There were market stalls for

to reach out to people. Small installations were

making moths in Green Wedmore (Somerset) and

held in libraries, theatres, community run

Knowle West Media Centre (Bristol), an event and

buildings, green and transition groups, book

display of moths on wind turbines with Westmill

shops, religious bases, museums and arts centres

Sustainable Energy Trust (Oxfordshire), nature

– we worked online and in person to make sure

education crafting willow moths with Wiltshire

that Moths to a Flame reached out and

Wildlife Community Energy, moth illustrations and

expanded the imagination of as many people as

gatherings with Hockerton Housing Project

possible. Together, making a new future.

(Nottingham), an artist working with Greater South East Energy Hub (Suffolk) experimented with electronics, sound and messages. Devon, Suffolk and Wiltshire Wildlife Trusts supported the artists with their knowledge of moths. In Oldham, we had youngsters holding a panel discussion and making a podcast of their questions about Climate Change with local leaders. In South East London people made a giant moth puppet, a performative march and resulting film. A community space, The Bowling Green in Glasgow produced moths for the installation, engaging in conversations about renewables, and making a glowing tent moth catcher.

55

The Moths to a Flame UK Tour.

2021 56

Generation Greta after Shelley Wong

this planet will again be stone. in fields that used to flower – the trees starve. there are so many ways to foretell our apocalypse –

will she be happy? that child in my future? today, we are just learning how the earth reacts to harm – our inertia – the opposite of the world on fire.

how has greed brought us here? my head is heavy from the crown – these trees have too many branches. my little sister is too famished to eat,

& too fatigued to sleep: & yet the fear of losing her childhood. i know the feeling – recurring nightmares & the ghost of moth-songs.

don’t we all long to be spring – bud & green – in this land without a silver fire, that is home, was home.

the birds sing in the tropics & i understand, too well: how you can only hear net-zero emissions so many times

before you stop believing in the future. this morning, i stood once again on a boardwalk,

lined with skunk cabbage. on my note pad, i scribbled the word, panic. when i say i watched my mother’s

lean calves turned off like the night sun, i mean i don’t know what hope is, if not an act of faith in this world.

Ojo Taiye

57

Watch Moths was a monthly Zoom broadcast which brought together moth-ers and technical experts, energy specialists and people from different backgrounds to share experiences, discuss our energy system and celebrate the moths found throughout.

2020 and 2021

To celebrate Exeter Community Energy's solar installation at Exeter Library we ran a series of moth watching and cyanotype making sessions for home-schooled children.

58

September 2021

Sparks of Hope: Devon Moths Devon is still a lighted corner of the country’s darkened room. Its moors blaze with gorse, fields and hedgerows glow with flowers in season, shady woodlands filter sun reflected in the sparkle of the sea. Moths still flit at dusk, like small warnings of nightfall in our our garden of earthly delights.

They are drifting ash that rises on the burning earth’s backdraft: their wings are the fiery embers of its afterglow, the soot-black Chimney Sweeper, the fiery red Cinnabar, the sulphur yellow of Brimstone, the neatly stacked kindling stripes of the Angle Shade, the white heat of the Garden and Jersey Tiger or the shimmer of the Vapourer.

They are sparks of hope, rays of from a guttering lamp in this small window of the world that still draw others to its light with their flickering wings of flame.

Kate Meyer-Currey

59

At the Bowling Green in Pollokshields, local artists worked with the community to make a giant glowing moth trap tent from handmade moth banners. These banners were then used to welcome Little Amal, the giant puppet girl who had walked from Syria to Glasgow, and they were also taken on the COP26 marches.

October 2021 60

Mint Moth Emanates This red velvet fur and orange shrug is shot through with bright lemon beacons.

These lush trims and fluorescent lights are warning - not for eating, catch-in-throat hairs hint of poisons. Yet

the glowing is energy, beckons with temptation, while furs are luxury, steeped in royal infusion.

Mint moth haunts overgrowing stems of herb bed, courting, not hiding, unconcerned by the toxic temptation

its rich attire extends to wanton observation.

Dr Stephen J. Burke

61

The initial Moths to a Flame collective included artists, writers, energy experts and moth-ers.

2020

First row: Jenny Ayrton, Chloe Uden, Ali Pym, Cat Ansell, Jo and Dave Neale Second row: Naomi Wright, Ian Hankey, Miranda Barlow, Katie Shanks Third row: Lauren Sawyer, Matt Harvey, Clare Mains, Nischay Gupta, Amy Walkden

Ali Pym helped us create images, funky gifs and videos that we used to promote the project, encourage champions and have a bit of a giggle.

2020 and 2021 62

Artificial Moons Can you remember darkness?

Not just stolen snippets of a dead phone battery, the dusk of a theatre before the movie starts, or the ellipsis of a closed door – but the darkness of a sky with no base, back before when the only way to navigate was by the gaze of the moon.

The tale of Icarus never changes: intoxicated by flight, the weightlessness of rising higher wind through wings glee warming cheeks the rainfall of wax out of sight too close too close melting

That lightbulb moment.

A bright idea – a candle contained,

If you touch my wings –

the night no longer defined as night once was,

the colour of broken twigs and the earth’s floor,

energy humming and drumming

the shape of healing hydrangea wings,

across a quivering filament.

my cloak of survival –

Manufactured days on demand.

your fingers will come away, not burned by wax,

I’ve seen it all – the twists and turns

but pressed with dusts.

of technology, science, and silence.

The glimmer of the moon is our red arrow

Our moon slinking away, darkness swallowed

on the map, but electric light

by billboards, or streetlights,

stole the night

or paranoid insurance policies.

and draws us in.

Their glow sending the stars home,

Artificial moons guide us to the grave

setting fire to the air and rain,

a fatal attraction that would never

blotting out our guiding light.

make front page news.

Holly Peters

63

Reflecting on Moths to a Flame

by Jenny Ayrton Brrrr, clunk, brrrr, clunk

Many of the moths have been energetically coloured-in with rainbows and vibrant patterns,

I’m sitting at my dining table with my trusty

others are black and white with secret messages

sewing machine in front of me, to my left is a

only revealed when viewed under UV lights, some

box of envelopes each containing 15 milk bottle

have been carefully embellished using subtler

moths waiting to be stitched together, and to

colours to emulate the elegant moths that I have

my right lies a large box with layer upon layer

grown to love through our Watch Moths

of strung moths nestled carefully between

broadcasts, others have bold statements and

sheets of chip paper. This is my 40th string

pleading messages such as “Find another way to

today, 40 x 15 = 600 moths, time for a cup of

light the night” and “Act Now!”.

tea! The task is huge, a little overwhelming.

Every time that I think I’m getting towards the

Some of the moths arrive with letters and notes

bottom of the pile more arrive in the post…

from their creators; we love to hear about the

whose crazy idea was this?

individuals, families, neighbours and groups who have taken the time to join in.

Emptying the next envelope I find myself

rrrr, clunk

distracted looking at each moth individually…

B

each one has been carefully drawn, cut and decorated… a humble milk bottle saved from

The primary school and neighbouring nursing

the recycling bin has been transformed into a

home who haven’t been able to share activities

thing of beauty, carrying the makers message

due to Covid restrictions, but meet by video call to

of hope.

make their separate moths, then pop them all in the same envelope to post to us.

Brrrr, clunk, brrrr, clunk

64

Brrrr, clunk, brrrr, clunk.

“So have you got a favourite?”

The grandparents, aunts and uncles who have

I chuckle and shake my head in response. I’m

sent their young relatives moth making kits as

standing in the Kibble Palace chatting to

they can’t be together at this difficult time.

Katherine the photographer as she takes picture after picture, capturing the installation

The hospital team who set up a making table

to share online with all those participants who

in their staff rest area, and find that getting

can’t make it to Glasgow. We are surrounded

crafty together levels the playfield so that

by a multitude of moths hanging in sweeps

team members who usually clash, instead find

and curtains, archways and swoops.

things in common.

20,000 moths, a crazy number… I thought I The couple who replaced all of their old bulbs

would get bored of the moths, that they would

with LEDs after reading the Moth's Whisper to

all begin to look the same, but each one is

their grandchildren.

beautiful in its own way, and together they are mesmerising.

The home-schooling families who hand-deliver their moths to us in Glasgow, every member of

Each time that I walk around my focus lands

the family having sat down to make a moth

on new moths, each representing an individual,

and talk about energy, excited to be part of

a fellow member of the Moths to a Flame

something bigger.

community. Standing amongst the moths I no longer feel so alone.

Brrrr, clunk.

Working together we can make a difference.

65

More than 300 miles of moths were sewn, almost enough to line up between the South West and Glasgow!

September and October 2021

66

We learned about electric vehicles, driving an e-van to take the installation up to Glasgow for COP26. We experienced the joys and trials of different styles of charge points.

October 2021

We needed a low tech installation method to enable us to put the moths up quickly and easily.

We discovered ridiculously long litterpickers and large paperclips did the trick!

67

October 2021

There’s A Dead Fly There’s a dead fly on the windowsill.

It’s dead fly season.

It’s hat and scarf season, It’s wet leaves everywhere and the pavement never dries completely and the washing never dries completely and the dark shines season.

In the dark are things to listen for: the stars in Orion changing colour, one goose, then many geese, a tractor grinding along the lane and a car following the tractor another car shifting down before the long pull up Pynda Hill with the hairpin at the top near the pub, the sound of the inside of my head.

Thinking about what I think about, I realise I worry about everything.

I worry about worrying, sitting in the dark listening to songs about the intersection of sadness and hope, in headphones and a hat, while you, upstairs, breathe heavily and twitch, weighed down by quilts and sleep.

There are holes in my socks, which isn’t a complaint, it’s just an observation, it’s a thing to put on the list of things to do, buy more socks.

Shopping for socks is a pain in the ass.

68

They’re too expensive or too cheap, too cottony, or not cottony enough, or impregnated with anti-fungal agent-orange for your feet that does god-knows-what to your skin and your brain over time, or boring, or pink, or stupid, or perfect except for the angry birds embroidered on them.

I know all this because I tried to buy you socks because that’s what you said you wanted. it’s an impossible task.

Or you are. here’s a question: does a moth know it was a caterpillar before it was a moth? what does it feel like to exist then not exist then exist again? here’s another question: do you ever look at me when I’m not paying attention?

I don’t want to know the answer, don’t tell me, I’m just curious.

I like the idea that it might happen, because I look at you like that all the time and it’s like having a secret.

It’s like having a key to a door in the universe that no one else knows about.

Matt Thomas

69

Ellie White deciding where to place a clay sound vessel in The Kibble Palace, Glasgow Botanic Gardens.

October 2021 70

Hosting Moths to a Flame

by Andrew Sinclair (manager of the Botanics) We were delighted to host the Moths to a Flame

The Botanic Gardens welcomed a number of

Project from The Art and Energy Collective in

conference delegates throughout the period. It

2021.

was obvious that the Moths to a Flame project captured their attention too, becoming the focal

The art installation was supported by the Glasgow

point of the climate change conversation at the

City Council's Botanic Gardens horticultural team

Botanic Gardens. The team impressed us all with

who appreciated the visual appeal to casual

their ability to rise above the challenges at the

visitors together with the strength of the message

time, pandemic and procedural, and still deliver a

as the moths arrived in Glasgow just as the COP

truly engaging event.

conference got underway.

"We were very keen to have a legacy of the visit, so we are honoured to be left with a whisper of local moths which are now resident, along with an interpretation panel, in the Kibble Palace Glasshouse at Glasgow Botanic Gardens." Andrew Sinclair.

January 2022 71

Even after a week of installing, followed by two weeks of invigilating the installation, we still admired new moths, our eyes drawn to new ones every time we looked.

72

1 - 12 November 2021

Underwing In the indigo we leave together to a duel at first light

the day breaks and we part, you become my opposite

each step I take away from you I am divided

and our heavy strides

then suddenly a skylark

puncture

and we feel

the earth

unknowable forces

beneath us

tipping

feet drawing

the balance

lines of power

towards obliteration

a mist rises

this is the moment

we choke on memories

to turn and take aim

and ancient sunlight

and our eyes lift

liberated, the artist

with the heart

at the edge of the field

ascending on wings and a song

observes and makes a sign

we could still…

Chloë Uden

73

A message from Plymouth Energy Community by Jemma Knowles Wow what a beautiful journey this has been so

Who would have ever thought that a

far for Plymouth Energy Community, not just as

community organisation from Plymouth would

an organisation but also as individuals. We have

go to a COP?! The experience in Glasgow

learned so much!

was mixed but we found grounding in the beauty and tranquillity of the installation, the

We have always found conversations connecting

ongoing conversations with visitors and the

individual challenges with energy and how we

power that all of those voices together held.

can all be involved in taking action on climate change difficult. It's not exactly a fun and

Behind every moth that has been made is a

engaging topic. Moths to a Flame has allowed

story and we are incredibly proud to have been

us, and everyone who participated, to join the

part of this incredible collective. We are

dots between struggling with energy bills, our

celebrating a change for the better in the way

dependence on energy, the impact on nature,

that we work; a positive step towards climate

the role of global collaboration and the

action that is truly inclusive. We extend a

importance of communities coming together.

massive thank you to everyone who has walked

With everything we do at PEC, building a strong

the journey with us and we look forward to the

community is the foundation. Raising our voices

next steps that we can take together.

collectively to bring about meaningful change is hard, but this phenomenal experience has shown how it can be done. Offering a chance for people to participate creatively in an accessible and dynamic way has allowed us to reach and connect with our community on a level that we have never done before. We were blown away by the amazing response to the call to participate, the donations to the Crowdfunder and the sheer number of people who visited the installation; showing a real need and desire from our community to play a part in a just transition to the more beautiful world we know is possible and how much it means to people’s lives. We loved be part of a joint campaign with other community energy groups across the country as well, bringing us together in our own unique ways.

Clare Mains, Alistair Macpherson and Jemma Knowles in The Kibble Palace

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Moths to a Flame installation in The Main Range.

1-12 November 2021

Participants took so much care to create stunning moths that often included messages.

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2021.

We were visited by Glasgow residents and their families, participants of COP26, negotiators, ministers and researchers from all over the world. People described the exhibition as a refuge for reflection and revival in the tumult of business in the busy city.

Photo credit: Katherine Anne Rose

Visitors to the exhibition could walk around the installation with UV torches which revealed hidden messages. Photo credit: Rob Cooke

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There is a meeting place between you and I, where I end and am always beginning.

There is a name for this infinitesimal space.

A good

In this rift

and golden word

valley

full of silver and grace:

between us

Liminal,

a cathedral

and

emerges, above

it is

newly formed earth

other, worldly

palm to leaf

eternal

belief turns

always new

into simple hope,

dark and luminous

to learn

polarities approaching

to flourish

a whole truth.

together

and in glimpses

like moths

we find love

on the other side

indirectly.

of the flame

Chloë Uden

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On the Fridays for Future march we walked with the giant moth puppet made as part of Moths to a Flame by South East London Community Energy. We found that if you are carrying something meaningful and creative, people want to talk to you (including journalists from around the world!).

November 2021

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The Lessons of Moths The Bagworm moth caterpillar saws little mossy sticks to make itself a wooden case.

Then carries it round like a snail's shell guy on TV said they have the look of log cabins.

I think it's more like a log bridge, all twisted and askew, like a broken Jacob's Ladder.

Appropriate, since the moth pupates inside it: a link to another state of being.

Change isn't tidy or linear.

Even the term 'metamorphosis' is hard to say.

Stuttering trail of long syllables for a transformation with far more pain than glory

We see the bold wings and darting flight, rapid as a pianist's fingers mid-concerto.

But we do not see the faltering emergence – the frantic scraping and pawing of birth.

Other moth species spin silk cocoons around themselves. I've seen the process in time lapse film.

The caterpillar makes its own ghost: a frosted glass mould of its form. A coffin, in short.

And, often, that coffin is buried.

It pupates underground, for as long as fifty days.

So the energy that lies beneath a surface need not lose its combustibility.

Moths teach us this, and also coal. But it applies to human will too. Shall we let it fly

Anna Orridge 79

The Affirmation I dragged myself to the village hall on Park Street, opposite the Assisted Living Complex, where Dad would soon be moving.

It was deep sleepy yoga night.

Ten women in a stretched out circle looking for permission.

We’d been talking about the 88 different names for woodlice:

Chuggy-pig, Bibble-bug, Monkey-pea, Roly-poly, Johnny-grump, Hookie-fluff, Badger-drops.

And how when you sit with the souls of your feet touching, lay your hands in a diamond shape across the arches, you reveal a secret yoni.

I want to make friends with my vagina, I thought, as I tried to squeeze it shut like a lift and release it like a whisper, while it whispered back, You will never trampoline again!

This week I’ve been visited by the echo of a feeling from my long ago.

The one that bleached the colour from the trees and made me cross the road without looking.

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I notice, I think about dying in the same way I think about a holiday to the Bahamas.

I told my counsellor, I should be more grateful, she said, Stop with the shoulds.

After the Oms we resume the bug talk, Sundari tells us her neighbour has a garden box with an Elephant Hawk Moth, pink and green, the size of a child’s palm.

The top of my head prickles in amazement.

Are they even real, I thought to myself?

The next day, there it was on the big steps by my house, under the railings, bold as a brooch on a concrete coat.

The size of a Tunnock tea cake, furry with white trim.

A Post-It from the Universe,

pink and green against the grey.

The colour of colour returning.

Liv Torc (c) 2021

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Liv's poetry inspiration, the Elephant Hawk Moth.

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Transcribed messages that formed part of our 'whisper' at COP26 I wish for a world where caring for the environment

Non-conformity is the highest evolutionary

is not seen outside or apart from ourselves as

attainment of social animals. Do not

humans.

conform, but lead.

Simon Bates I wish for a world where economics and politics respect the Earth at their core, not as an

I think it's more than climate change. I think

afterthought.

it's a whole collapse of the way that we live and our expectations of what life can be. I

I wish for a world where the environmental crisis

think we need to rethink how it might be

comes first and is elevated to its rightful place.

possible to share, how we open our hearts to each other and to the world, and feel

I wish for a human world that reacts as quickly to

connected to all that is.

Sue

environmental degradation, as has been demonstrated it can do with the global health crisis.

All different forms of injustice are connected; all different forms of oppression. The root

I wish for a world that fully respects, acknowledges

causes of them––capitalism, colonialism,

and honours its dependence on nature in order to

patriarchy, and so forth––are very much the

survive and thrive.

same. It's about how do we address these systemic injustices in a way that we build our

I wish for a world that will wake up fully, as soon as

own power, and look after ourselves, and look

possible, as we have no time to lose now.

into a regenerative future that we can all step into.

Liba Ravindran

Please act now.

These are my wishes. This is my whisper.

The rich and the politicians need to stop

My roar.

building castles around themselves and

Catherine Munro

realise that we ought to live in this world together - not severed by walls, money, and...

.

Man in Plymouth

racism, and sexism, and abuse I hope for a healthier world, where everyone can feel nourished by Mother Earth, where there's justice for everyone and we live in community with

I

do

have

humans and the more than human world.

hopes

hopes,

but

they

are

grassroots

.

Angie Flores, Peru

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Drama teacher in Enfield

I 'll start this message by saying that my children,

Who's going to have to pay, who's going to

both of them would like children, but right now

serve the consequences if we don't get where

they're considering not having children, for the

we need to be. I'm concerned that lower

obvious reason that they don't believe their

developed countries will have to pay the

children will necessarily have a happy and safe

consequences, when it's the richer countries

future living in the United Kingdom in 2030, 2040,

with all our consumption causing climate

2050. How sad is that?

change

Westminster University Climate Group So we have the solutions to the climate crisis, we know what they are. They just need to be implemented really quickly. Leaders have sat on

I wanna be able to look back without just

their hands for way too long. And right now, you

seeing death and destruction. I wanna do

need to get off your hands and you need to be

everything I can to help save the planet, but

brave and you need to talk with one another in a

I 'm just a kid - I don't have the power to make

collaborative way, because what's in the world 's

a massive change. I only have a voice. I 'm to

interest is also in the national interest.

speak for us. Listen to us. See us.

Pupil, Broadclyst Primary School So I would simply ask you to do everything, everything that you can.

Steve Watts

The staff at The Botanics encouraged us to hang moths in the 'children's climbing ' tree by the entrance to the Gardens. By day the moths welcomed everybody to the installation among the plants in the glasshouses. At night they looked magical; like the living creatures themselves.

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Hi, my name's Pax Butchart, I'm 20 years old and I live in Wiltshire, I'm very concerned about the climate crisis, and I'm going to read you a poem that I wrote, which is called 'Pen 414 parts per million'.

(Transcribed from the audio recording)

Pen 414 Parts per million What does it mean then, all of it; to stand on this

So take a day. Take two if you need them.

Lie in bed and stare at the wall and weep

burning Earth, awaiting oblivion, the agonies of soul and sinew and social bonds.

and be paralysed. Grieve and rage and gnash your teeth, that these days of

Where can we find the future here, among the

wickedness are yours.

withered forests, the devouring oceans?

And then get up. Write on your arms in Greek.

Of course the children fall to their knees. Of

Words like apocatastasis, eucatastrophe,

course the widows tear their hair and howl. It is

elpis.

little wonder the men in the street are downcast Shoulder your burden, cling to your allegories

their faces haggard.

and step out, face unflinching into the world But despair is a vine, choking poison over eyes

to come.

until they close. It absolves, and it dooms and deceives.

We will raise the coal towers and abandon the oil jets and harness the wind and the sun

Maybe this will be our end. Maybe the fumes will

like the oracles of old.

engulf the plains, the water drown the It is dark. It is cold. It is desolate. It is also

mountaintops. But maybe not.

unwritten.

There is still the choice to fight for every last raindrop, every flower and the claws of the great

So take up the pen write with the courage of

bears that dwell in the caverns.

the child who came out of the north, speaking her prophecies of doom and hope, do not

If this is the final decade of our race, then what

forget and do not give up.

better way to spend it than to fight for our air, our water, our earth and to dance to ancient

Even if you fail, the endeavour will be of the

music under the wheeling fire stars?

highest glory. The last great dream of humankind. But fight child, fight to make the

Our children wait unquickened in their wombs,

shadow pass away.

breaths bated, frozen, timeless voids of cells and potential. They are screaming for birth, for life,

The light is not yet entirely burnt out.

for air. We cannot fail them.

Pax Butchart

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Reflections on COP26

by Jake Burnyeat, Trustee, Plymouth Energy Community

100,000 people found the strength to take to the

Global emissions are still rising. The rate of

streets of Glasgow in solidarity with millions

emissions cuts now needed to keep warming

around the world pinning their hopes on COP26

within ‘safe’ limits now needs an emergency

being the pivotal event. It wasn’t. The UNFCC

response, and the commitment needed to

process is unique in bringing the world together

urgent action over the next 10 years is still not

to tackle a shared problem on a consensus basis.

there. Fossil fuel and short-term economic

There lies its hope and its hinderance. Each

interests are still slowing the process. And

conference is a painful compromise of

then the pledges must translate into action.

conflicting interests. It has taken 30 years and 26 COPs for the first mention of phasing out

Warming of 2 to 3 degrees within the lifetime

fossil fuels, but the end of coal is in sight.

of our immediate families is the current realistic outcome. The consequences for food

By the end of COP26 over 30 countries

security, health, natural disasters, habitats,

committed to new car and van sales to be zero

migration and the risk of triggering climate

emissions by 2040. 90% of world emissions are

tipping points are grim.

now covered by net zero commitments. 153 countries put forward new 2030 emissions

What can art do in the face of that? It can

targets. 91% of the world’s forests are covered

help you stop and think. It can bring people

by a pledge to end deforestation by 2030. 100

together. It can express hope and anger. It

countries pledged to reduce methane emissions

can help people imagine a different world. It

by 30% by 2030. Wealthy countries have

can inspire people to act. And that’s what it

committed $100 billion per year of climate

takes to change the world, or a government,

finance by 2023 to help developing countries

or a city, or a town, or a business, or a school,

mitigate and adapt to climate change. 450

or a house.

institutions, responsible for $130 trillion of capital, are committed to net zero targets.

150 years ago our whaling fleets hunted the polar seas at the extreme limits of human and

The outcome of COP26 would have been a good

technological endurance. Why? For whale oil

position to be in 20 years ago.

to light our homes and lubricate our machines.

At the time it was the norm. It would have been incomprehensible to most that it would not go on forever. At some point in the future the rusting hulks of oil rigs will be historical artefacts of a grim past, like the whaling stations of the Southern Ocean.

86

The Market Hall was redeveloped by Real Ideas Organisation (RIO) in Plymouth to regenerate the area. Building on our experience developing augmented reality content, we wanted to celebrate the Moths to a Flame project in their new 360 cinematic dome, and engage local communities to help us create something extraordinary.

In collaboration with digital creators; Harry Jenkins and Rhys Lamble we designed a participatory activity where people could colour in their own moth species and bring it to life on the walls of the dome. During the Illuminate Festival a total of 1,047 moths were decorated, flying together as a mass whisper on the final day. The content is now available to domes around the world.

November 2021

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The last words by Simon Bates at the Watch Moths finale November 2021 (Transcribed from the broadcast) It was two years ago, two summers ago, that Naomi

For example, I'm trying to find pasture fed

rang me up. I was sat in the garden it was May, we

livestock, you know from local farms. Because,

had that beautiful weather didn't we, and Naomi

if you're going to eat meat, (I do enjoy eating

said "How do you fancy being part of a live moth

meat) I'm trying to do it well. So my pledge is to

watching event?" and I thought, Yeah! what a good

just eat meat only once a week maximum and to

idea!

source it from within 10 miles of Exeter and make sure it's only pasture-fed, so I am sharing

And now I've got three things to say, and the first

that understanding about what needs to be

thing is; Thank you very much for reigniting my

done to reduce my personal emissions.

passion for moths because I am somebody that likes diversity and I tend to get excited about

I've calculated my emissions are five tonnes of

something and then move on, and I'd sort of done

CO2 per annum. And I count myself as

that with the moths, so, um thank you for giving me

someone that's quite green because I don't buy

a reason to get the trap out again and to share my

stuff, I don't fly, I have my own allotment, we eat

passion for wildlife with the public.

lots of freshly grown food.

So that's the first thing. The second thing is that

And yet, my emissions are five tonnes and we

what you've done is amazing and vital. I have

need to get to two tonnes if we're going to

always enjoyed the projects that involve artists

avoid or keep warming to 1.5 degrees. So

scientists and local community. I think that's where

sharing how we're doing that is so important.

it's at. It leads to advanced learning, excitement, fun, enjoyment, breaking down of barriers,

Finally, the final point, um, the beauty and the

fresh perspectives, and that's what you've achieved

amazement and the enjoyment from your

here with this project. It is about, (as we've seen

project. I've really enjoyed the art and the

from COP26), it's about the ground roots, isn't it!

poetry, and I've enjoyed things like John, in

That's where the change is going to come.

particular John Walters, you're a wonderful ecologist, a wonderful communicator! The way

Just recently in my day job... I work for East Devon

that you grow on eggs to caterpillars and that's

District Council and just recently, a few of us have

something that Amy Walkden has done as well, I

been through some climate change training and

mean that's been beautiful.

we've all pledged to make a reduction personally in our emissions and as a team. But what's really exciting is the conversations that are happening and the fact that people are emailing it to each other and saying "I'm doing this! What are you doing? Do you know where I can source...?".

88

So just recently John has helped me to go out

That's all from me. I really look forward to

and collect some brown hair streak eggs, tiny

seeing you or seeing some of you in person so

little coral-like butterfly eggs which are stuck to

we can celebrate properly what has been a

Blackthorn stems and they're now sitting in my

wonderful project.

fridge, and they're going to hatch out in the spring hopefully and then I'm going to feed them some fresh Blackthorn leaves, and hope they'll hatch into caterpillars, and then to adult butterflies, because I've never seen the adult butterfly. So thank you John for that advice I'm looking forward to seeing the beastie.

Following the installation at COP26, Moths to a Flame returned to Ocean Studios in Plymouth for the Illuminate Festival where the project started.

November 2021

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Our Compass It's hard to see how we will all find our way to live in harmony with each other and our planet.

To attempt this journey, we must chart a way through unseen territories of the imagination, full of myth and misdirection, where few know what to do or how to do it. We may fail. Even as we set out, we know none of us will be the one that arrives. We travel for unborn generations, for the seeds of a better future, for hope. We have found ourselves in a land of giants and we need all the courage we can muster.

Dawn Breaks - March 2018 - A solar panel

If you are ready to set out too, let's go together.

artwork that opens eyes to new ways of Here is our Compass. It is a tool that has been

imagining and building our future energy system.

crafted and tested by many minds to help us navigate each step towards a better world:

Find the poetry, the inspiration.

Act in the face of Climate Change.

Be inspirational with allegory, cause curiosity

Have courage to make art because it matters, to

and allow for multiple interpretations and

make the most out of what could be ahead and

independent restorative or regenerative actions.

build resilience to inevitable change.

Design in the play, the magic for the memory.

Develop an energy lens.

Bringing joy and playfulness in the process will

With increased awareness of energy systems in

create memories and meaning. Make objects

our environment and in ourselves we change the

that people want to live with which can hold

thinking about where we live locally and globally.

stories and be those eco-reminders to share.

Accept that we are part of nature.

Encourage independence and empowerment.

We have evolved in nature (we are biophilic) and

Activate creatively, increase confidence, craft

we rely on it for our well-being and to live within

small simple steps, share skills and give space to

the limits of our energy systems. Nurturing our

people’s ideas. Give people the tools and

natural connections, gives us the foundations or

permission to do it themselves.

roots to heal rather than harm the Earth.

Work across sectors and banish barriers.

Focus on hope and positivity.

Collaborate for inclusion and diversity. Deepen

We need to lift sights, be optimistic and take

and enrich experience through understanding

risks, build stamina and give oxygen to the

different perspectives and partnerships. Most

possibility of success and positive change

things are interconnected.

ahead.

90

Listen to communities and bring people together.

Understand impact and take on leadership.

A united and greater voice, a chorus for change.

learning together inspiring other organisations

Many small voices become more meaningful

across the nation. Take on responsibility and

together. Be guided by those people of

record impact as you go.

Accept the role of holding others, sharing,

experience that know where to start and what is

Make and mark time to celebrate success.

needed.

Understand how this connects to the flow of

Experiment and take risks creatively.

work and inspiration. All partners and

As artists and project deliverers –

collaborators and participants are equally

experimentation is our business. Build

important, show them appreciation and give

confidence to try new things, develop a

them all space and time to gain from the

reflective practice that allows for failure and

experience of taking part.

renewal.

Art and Energy CIC (c) 2022

A room in the Main Range of the Botanic Gardens held plants that would have been growing millions of years ago, and which eventually formed coal and other fossil fuels.

There was a sign encouraging the passer-by to think about energy. We placed a few moths here, and a clay vessel labeled 'Hope' which hosted a speaker telling of children's demands for a better future. This place, above all, inspired us to be courageous in the face of climate change.

November 2021 91

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"This year Sustainability First launched two new prizes under our 'People's Choice Award'. The People's Choice Award was open to all shortlisted works from the Sustainability First Art and Writing Prizes 2021.

The Award comprised an online public vote in which one artwork and one writing entry was selected from the Sustainability First Art and Writing Prizes 2021 shortlisted works. The artwork and writing entry that received the highest number of votes each received

£500.

The Art and Energy Collective was the winner with 430 votes out of a total 1,141.

The total number of entries to the Sustainability Art and Writing Prize was more than 250 artworks and more than 60 writing submissions.

Sustainability First is a think tank and charity that works in essential services to promote practical solutions to improve environmental, social and economic well-being."

Clare Davidson, Communications, Education and Support Officer

This book is published by Art and Energy CIC.

All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior permission of the publishers.

The people credited in this publication assert the right to be identified as the author of their writing.

Printed and bound by Hedgerow Printers, Crediton.

Printed digitally with a small print run and on recycled paper, we have endeavoured to minimise the use of the Earth's resources.

Cover image photo credit: Katherine Anne Rose.