Isn't it funny how some days and some people just help ideas click. The world doesn't look quite the same and you experience one of those rare aha moments.
This is what happened last week when i joined Socio Environmental Artist Dr Kerry Morrison at the Cat Strand in New Galloway.
I had been talking about Peatland Connections and how it's been a challenge to connect with communities online over the past couple of years. Community engagement is one of Kerry's specialities and she very kindly offered to meet me at The Cat Strand so that we could sit outside, sew and meet people.
Sewing bags is a key part of Kerry's peatland art project. The project is based at Pendle Hill and is in collaboration with In-Situ and the Pendle Hill Project. Once completed the bags will be transported to the top on the hill by local people and the seeds will be sown. Sewing in public has led to many conversations around peatlands. These conversations and the final event have helped raise awareness of the importance of peatlands for local communities.
It seems like over the last couple of years I had forgotten the great art of conversation and connecting face to face with others. We were only there for a few hours but we chatted to everyone who walked past. It was so lovely to pass the time of day with people again and meet the community I am working in.
So the big aha moment for me was to just get out and meet people and have conversations while doing something. We are social beings and that's where the greatest connections are made. So I'm thinking of ways to get out and about in the local community, to connect and meet new friends. See you soon somewhere in the Galloway Glens.