Voices of the Water
2022 saw the beginning of our Sign/Voices of The Water Program as we explored the hidden story of the River Fleet which flows under our feet in Kings Cross. Together with children and families from Brecknock and Torriano Primary Schools and Frank Barnes School for Deaf Children we explored the River Fleet through storytelling, art, movement and adventures.
Map of the River Fleet, it’s starting point below Kenwood House and it’s finishing point as it flows into the Thames.
How do we access the history of the place we live, work and go to school in? Do we have grandparents or elders in our families or communities who know the history of the place? A great number of us live in places that are new to our ancestral heritage and so we are the first ones to call this part of land home, even in a city. Are we curious to know the history of the land we now walk in?
Discovering there is a hidden river flowing through kings cross feels wild and mysterious… What happened to this secret river and can we still see it today?
Families from Brecknock and Torriano joined us as we visited our local nature spots now above the secret river. Outside of St Pancras Church there is an image from 1815 which shows the church on the banks of the river.
The river is now covered up and part of our modern day sewer system, it flows beneath St Pancras station following the curve of the station on the Euston road - can you imagine being able to swim through kings cross? So our adventures started here as we came together to play games and get to know each other amidst the pollen of the London plane trees. The pollen of the trees sent us on our way to explore Camley Street and finally our Floating Classroom on the regents canal where we sang songs and watched the ducklings follow their mothers. Writing this now as the snow lasts feels an age away.
“Like a river I have gone on a journey. I like swimming and in one month I am going to the water fountain and I went to the barge and saw a baby duckling. It was so fun.” — Mikayla - young person
After discovering the River Fleet begins it’s life underneath Hampstead Heath, we continued our adventures to see if we could find the start of the underground river and explore the heath.
“As I look over Hampstead Heath I feel curious because there are so many landmarks and places to visit and it’s exciting because you discover new things that make you feel adventurous that you found so many things because the heath is so big and you can feel amazed that you are looking at the beauty of the heath.”
— Evie - young person
“As I look over Hampstead heath I feel relaxed, healthy and free. I am blown away by the beauty of the colours of the trees. I can hear the birds singing sweetly. This is a very peaceful experience.
As I look over Hampstead Heath I feel tired, relaxed and quiet.”
— Caine - young person
Through adventure we explored the hidden river - discovering our relationship to the hidden natural spaces close to The Story Garden.
With the children from Frank Barnes School for Deaf Children we turned our attention to life in our local waters and the many forms of water. During our first program with the school we explored the movement of water, exploring a Sufi story as a river born in the mountains journeys to the desert and finds a way to cross the sands. This provided us with our inspiration to explore water and movement, creating land art, drawings, and movement pieces.
We experimented with the water in the garden - recreating our own rivers to water the plants and learn how water flows.
Our time together was joyful as children grew their creativity and collaborative team working skills and we played in the garden.
This autumn we continued to explore our local waters, visiting Camley Street and the canal, going pond dipping and finding a newt hidden amongst the logs in the Camley Street woodlands. Life in our local water inspired us to learn about the herons, blood worms and the water boatman (Insect found in our ponds). We used leaf rubbing, printing and magnifying glasses to witness the intricate patterns found in nature.
As the autumn waned, so has the project so we can take a pause over winter - collecting our ideas, reflecting on our relationship to the natural waters around Kings Cross, to the hidden river under our feet. Spring 2023 we will begin again with renewed inspiration to tell the story of Taniwa, a sleeping dragon - a story which has been told and retold in our garden, across countries and soon to be explored again.
Journeying to meet the River Fleet and find inspiration in forgotten history is a new way of being for me. As one of the Education and Community Gardener’s for GG, my inspiration comes from the earth, the plants, the cycles of food production and the quiet magical moments that happen when we garden. Often the plants do the work of teaching for me and my job is to be with people and plants in the garden, demonstrating and showing ways of tending to them. The fleet has asked me to widen my perspective and although at times I have missed the soil, the magic of the fleet and a hidden river under the pavement has captured my inspiration.
Notes from the Garden
I wake to a bright crisp winter’s day. Finally … after weeks of storms ravaging the country.
As the year ends we are reminded of the magic and beauty that our gardens bring, as places to come together and celebrate, even in difficult times. This year it has been challenging not to be taken over by fear and despair, with extreme weather events being mirrored in different ways across the world, from floods to droughts; with the most recent political events; with wars destroying land and displacing entire populations; and with the constant increase in the cost of living creating ever more inequalities between those that have and those that do not.