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We enjoyed a fantastic day exploring the autumn colours from the Treetop Walkway. Wandering between and through the many magnificent glasshouses, absorbing the world around us, to use as inspiration for future work. Some of the highlights: The Temperature House hosted the ‘Material World’ exhibition, which explores connections between art, nature, botanical science and fashion. We saw and learnt about plant-based textiles and marvelled at the breathtaking installation by Nnenna Okore.

The Hive is a unique world class installation and experience highlighting the importance of pollination in our food chain. Illuminated by LED lights, they pulse in time with the humming vibrations of bees and swelling orchestral music. 

Whilst visiting the Carbon Garden we were fortunate to have the opportunity to speak with a Central Saint Martins graduate in Material Futures (a transdisciplinary MA course where science, technology and design collide), who is now working as a Material Researcher and Regenerative Designer. Alice spoke to us about the Carbon Garden’s biomimetic architecture and her Post 16/18 pathways. We were fascinated to discover more about how science and creativity help to find solutions to global environmental problems.

Review from Olive, who was with us on the trip:

'Our trip to Kew Gardens was an inspirational and beautiful experience where we were able to see the natural world from a completely new perspective. The material world exhibition was particularly captivating as we were surrounded by a fusion of plants, fungi and textile pieces, combining the natural elements with sculpture inspired by the natural form. Immersed in the numerous gardens, we had the opportunity to study tropical plants from all angles, even including a tree-top trail! The water lily house was a beautiful haven of colour and light, the architecture providing the framework for climbing plants to trail from, creating a serene environment which almost seemed as if it had been painted! This trip gave us the chance to expand our understanding of the natural world, allowing us to gain artistic inspiration and insight which we are able to use in our investigations.'