Anansi, Wisdom and the World of Trees

Further Event Information

What stories could contain more wisdom than those of the trees, and who is better equipped to lead the way but one who has cleverly earned the title of keeper of the stories by using wit and wisdom, who is better equipped than survivor spider, Kwaku Anansi? 

Join Mama D (Community Centred Knowledge) & Harriet Fink (Natural History Museum) for this online family adventure!

Each session will visit a different part of the world:

Monday 17th May: 5.30pm (Starting with the initial story in the Caribbean to North America and then to Europe)

Wednesday 17th May: 5.30pm (From Europe to the Middle East and then to Africa)

Saturday 22nd May: 11am (From Africa to China and then to India)

Saturday 22nd May: 5pm (from India to Australasia and then to South America and back to the Caribbean)

The sessions will be accompanied by light activities in the Wildlife Garden of the Natural History Museum, inviting you to visit this hidden gem and find out about some of the trees within the garden using Stories and Tree Wisdoms to share.

The tales have been assembled by Mama D and Harriet Fink, whose bios are below. They have responded to  the call of the Urban Tree Festival during the period of lockdown, which happened as a result of the Covid-19  Pandemic which has assailed the world. This followed hot on the heels of major global awareness of  impending climate catastrophe and has been flanked by an increasing awareness of structural injustices across the world system which particularly affected those most vulnerable in society. 

Given the widespread system trauma, sense of a need for recovery and regeneration of our best selves, it  seems the calls for wisdom across the world are more than ever needing a timely response. We feel that an  assemblage of stories such as these will be pertinent to adult and children alike reminding them of narratives of global resilience and the possibilities these represent for finding a way out of no way and a solution when there seems that none can be found. 

Contributors

Mama D is a co-founder and lead facilitator of Community Centred Knowledge. She uses immersive and  embodied storytelling to bring attention to the possibilities and opportunities which surround us. With a  background in agriculture and environment, community resilience and approaches to lifelong learning,  Mama D combines these in a nourishing alchemical broth to engage and transform all she engages with.  Having worked in East and West Africa and the Caribbean and amongst various marginalised communities in  the UK, Mama D is committed to restoring agency where it has been denied and to providing opportunities  for different narratives to come together to build healing and generative knowledges. 

Harriet Fink is Learning and Volunteering Programme Manager for the Natural History Museum’s Urban  Nature Project and co-founder of Curiovan: Explorium of Natural Wonderment. With a background in  environmental education and play and producing immersive performances for children she has a strong  interest in creative and inclusive ways to engage people with nature in cities.