One of our sessions during Mental Health Awareness Week was to join a Wellbeing Walk and photography workshop set up in a collaboration between Paul Williams (independent photographer), Charlie Johnson from Portsmouth City Council, and the Good Mental Health Coop. This was part of an ongoing project set up by Paul to highlight the benefits of trees in particular for our wellbeing, and using creativity through photography to illustrate this.

So an intrepid group set out from the Clock Cafe at Buckland United Reformed Church to walk to the Stamshaw Park, led by Charlie. Under guidance from Paul, everyone had a go at different techniques to photograph the wonderful array of trees in this lovely green space.

A second workshop, along similar lines, has been arranged for Monday 26 June, with our ChitChat Club. But you don’t have to come on one of the sessions to join in the project. You can submit photographic images of trees that feel meaningful to you at any time through the summer. Paul plans to produce an online photobook of all the images, and some will be selected to be in an exhibition at ArtSpace in October. Click here to find out more about the Lungs of the City project.