Youth Voice Project
A week of experience for young storytellers, from storyboarding and scripting to capturing and editing video for communicating about nature
What happens when you take six creative young people and ask them to create an advert for Wakehurst?
In an exciting new collaborative project, we have worked with six young people from across the region, aged 16 – 24 to storyboard, direct and star in a brand-new advert for Wakehurst. By bringing together new voices and ideas, the advert introduced themes of nature conservation and biodiversity to the younger generation, building a deeper understanding of how young people perceive and connect with nature.
In autumn last year, the group came together for four packed days onsite to explore the landscape, gather ideas and to develop concepts for their advert. They were treated to a tour of Kew’s Millennium Seed Bank, plus the wider landscape in the Loder Valley Nature Reserve, finding inspiration in the ancient woodlands and meadows.
Following discussions and creative exercises, they drew out their key messages, adapted to a youth audience, and built their storyboard. Working with a videographer, the budding filmmakers spent one day filming in November, with everyone taking it in turns to spend time as director and leading star.
“This was an exciting new experiment for us, and we were keen to see how young people interpret Wakehurst’s diverse landscapes. By giving complete creative control to the group, we enabled them to form their own narrative of what the natural world means to their generation. We hope that their content will inspire others to connect with nature, but also to share the wonder of it.” - Harri Oliver, Participation Manager
One of the young people involved in the project shared: “On the first couple days I felt quite daunted about the project because it seemed like quite a big task, but by the end, I felt really confident as the project came together.”
Be part of the next project
Wakehurst is continuing the project this year and welcomes expressions of interest from young creative individuals. No experience is necessary, just an enthusiasm to share ideas and create an engaging piece of content.