Take the Time – Mural in Twickenham

Have you spotted the mural growing under a railway bridge in Twickenham? Have you ever wondered what an Oak tree might say? The tree, an icon of the Borough of Richmond, has a vibrant and colourful personality – look up and what will you see?  

We are inviting you to visit the mural Take the Time. The mural, by Bryony Ella, was created with local students and scientists. They gave the tree a voice through poetry and messages asking us to address the climate and biodiversity emergencies.  

Students from Waldegrave and Orleans Park School completed workshops with Dr Will Pearce and Dr Tilly Collins, alongside PhD student Hollie Folkard-Tapp and Bryony. They explored the Orleans House Gallery woods. They learned about roots and fungi networks. They learnt about urban ecology. They expressed their concerns around climate change. Bryony helped the students explore their thoughts through sketching, painting, and poetry. 

We hope the mural will inspire discussion around climate change. 

Share your thoughts with us #CulturalReforesting 

You can read more about the project here: Take the Time – seeing the forest from a new perspective  

This is part of our Cultural Reforesting  Programme which responds to the question – how can we renew our relationship with nature?  

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Take the Time was created by Bryony over a week in September 2021. Thank you to the volunteers, Discover Twickenham and Percy Chapman and Sons (the Hardware store next door) for their support. 

This was a collaboration between Orleans House Gallery, the Grantham Institute (Climate Change and the Environment at Imperial College London) and UK Youth for Nature. The mural was sponsored by Octopus Energy. It is part of a wider collection of murals designed by young people responding to the UN Climate Change Conference (COP26).