A summer
festival of
nature-inspired
creativity for
families and
young people
EVENT GUIDE
Stories
Nature
OF
Stories
Nature
OF
Step into a world of nature and creativity
this summer
This summer, Stories of Nature
invites families on a magical journey
where Wirral’s wild places come alive
through imagination, art, and hands-on
creativity. From coastlines to country
parks, libraries to leafy woodlands—
our local environment becomes the
stage for an unforgettable adventure.
Designed for young people and
their families, this inspiring free
festival transforms Wirral’s libraries
and stunning parks into hubs of
creativity. Through free workshops
and interactive sessions, families are
encouraged to create, connect, and
contribute, drawing inspiration from the
natural world around them.
At the heart of the programme is a
simple but powerful idea: nature is
a living library—a place filled with
stories, secrets, and small actions that
can make a big difference. This project
has been funded through Arts Council
England and commissioned by Wirral
Council.
All workshops are stand-alone
sessions and must be booked in
advance via:
wirrallibraries.eventbrite.co.uk
Andrea Ku is a socially engaged
environmental artist who works
between people, place and
pollinators. She teaches and delivers
creative, educational, hands-on art
workshops that are sustainable and
involve recycling and reusing.
Andrea’s Urban Oasis workshops will
focus on what families can create
together to enhance the smallest of
outdoor spaces while also providing
more habitats for wildlife. Stand-alone
workshops bring nature alive with
practical hands-on activities to help us
all make small actions to support our
wildlife and creatively connect with
nature.
All workshops must be booked in
advance: wirrallibraries.eventbrite.co.uk
Urban Oasis
Andrea Ku
Urban Oasis
Nature’s Remedies
29th July 10am–12pm
The Floral Pavilion
Nature’s remedies are all around us and
honeybees have much to teach us and
why plants are needed for their survival.
What can we learn from them, and can
we take a leaf out of their book? Andrea
will be showing you how local beeswax
and other natural ingredients can be
used to make simple remedies.
Suitable for ages: 12+
Splish Splash!
29th July 2pm–4pm
West Kirby Library
Water surrounds our beautiful peninsula,
and our wildlife needs it too! Andrea will
be showing you how to make your own
water station for our beautiful birds and
insects.
Suitable for ages: 8+
Clutter to Flutter
4th August 2pm–4pm
Wallasey Central Library
Everything needs a home, and you will
be making feeders from recycled items
to ensure our butterflies can continue
with their important work.
Suitable for ages: 8+
Give Bees a Chance
5th August 10am–12pm
Bebington Central Library
Our bees need food to keep busy and at
this session you will be making up small
pots with bee friendly seeds and bulbs.
Suitable for ages: 8+
What Lies Beneath!
5th August 2pm–4pm
Dibbinsdale Nature Reserve
Visitor Centre
Let’s get our hands into soil! Andrea will
be teaching us all about how to make
compost from natural materials and
food waste.
Suitable for ages: 12+
Feed our Feathered Friends
11th August 10am–12pm
Birkenhead Park Visitor Centre
Birds need a helping hand whatever
the season and Andrea will be showing
you how to make bird feeders using
natural materials. After the session why
not explore the wonderful park with
your family?
Suitable for ages: 5+
Small is Beautiful
12th August 10am–12pm
Wirral Country Park Visitor Centre
Andrea will be showing you how to use
microscopes to look at the tiny world
of nature. What can you see? Taking
inspiration from your images and the
park you will create a beautiful nature-
inspired piece of art.
Suitable for ages: 8+
Hungry Caterpillar
12th August 2pm–4pm
Birkenhead Central Library
Nothing goes to waste at this workshop,
Andrea will be showing you how to use
recycled objects to make a lovely paper
chained caterpillar.
Suitable for ages: 8+
Lynn is a lifelong artist and educator
who draws deeply from nature and
experience. She has taught art in
schools and collaborated with a diverse
range of professionals in both the
creative and environmental sectors to
combine creativity with environmental
awareness.
From tides and treasures of the coastline,
from stories to sketchbook, Coastal
Connections invites you to explore
Wirral’s seashores through creative
eyes. Each stand-alone workshop
begins with nature and ends with your
own masterpiece. Whether you’re
sketching shells, designing posters,
getting messy, or building your own
book, you’ll be connecting to the coast,
in new, imaginative ways. Our coastline
is so valuable and each family will also
be gifted a seashore guide filled with
illustrations, facts and creative activities
to help you explore Wirral’s coastline.
All workshops must be booked in
advance: wirrallibraries.eventbrite.co.uk
Coastal
Connections
Lynn Struve
Early Explorers
23rd July 10am–10:45am
Dibbinsdale Nature Reserve
Visitor Centre
23rd July 11:15am–12pm
Dibbinsdale Nature Reserve
Visitor Centre
Perfect for little ones, this tactile session
explores textures and colours from the
coast using materials like wax crayons, oil
pastels, watercolours, and food colouring
to create art inspired by coastal treasures
such as shells, seaweed, and egg cases
and even clay! Dress to get messy!
Suitable for ages: Under 5s
Young Storytellers
24th July 10:30am–12pm
Bebington Central Library
31st July 10:30am–12pm
Wallasey Central Library
Calling young storytellers and illustrators!
Create a short, illustrated coastal story.
By exploring different illustrated books,
your unique characters and backgrounds
will come to life before making your very
own book. Mixed media tools such as
pencils, markers, and pens will help you
create your own tale.
Suitable for ages: 5–11
Coastal Connections
Young Campaigners
22nd July 10:30am–12pm
West Kirby Library
29th July 10:30am–12pm
Birkenhead Central Library
Do you want to take positive
environmental action? This workshop
will be about focusing on environmental
issues and reflecting on beach finds
such as litter and plastics. Designing a
seashore poster advocating for ocean
protection using mixed media, inks,
paints, and pens will inspire positive
actions to protect our valuable coastline.
Suitable for ages: 7–11
Young Coastal Artists
21st July 10:30am–12pm
Wirral Country Park Visitor Centre
28th July 10:30am–12pm
Birkenhead Park Visitor Centre
30th July 10:30am–12pm
Wirral Country Park Visitor Centre
Join one of the stand-alone sessions
as Lynn invites you to draw inspiration
from coastal finds and images to create
a small painting to take home, using
watercolours and acrylics that capture
the beauty of the coast. A great session
to learn and expand your artistic talents.
Suitable for ages: 7–11
Joseph Venning is a contemporary
painter known for his large-scale murals
and canvases that fuse a myriad of
styles, from photorealism to street art
and impressionism.
Do you want to help create a massive
masterpiece?
Local mural-painter Joseph Venning is
creating giant paintings of our wonderful
Wirral and he needs your help!
In these stand-alone workshops, Joseph
will provide each participant and their
grown-up with a large section of a very,
very large painting, for them to work
together on and add their own mini-
masterpieces to.
Over the course of the 2-hour session,
Joseph will help participants add their
own drawings of local landmarks, wildlife
and even themselves and their family to
the giant artwork. This will all be done in
fancy pens, pencils and collage, so fear
not–no clothing will be sacrificed in the
artistic process!
At the end of the session, the
paintings will all be reassembled to
reveal a stunning, detailed, panoramic
masterpiece showing everything you
can see from the very top of the highest
points on the Wirral.
Participants can of course take their
own section of the painting home after
the workshop, to be hung in pride of
place. Joseph will be digitally assembling
photographs of your artwork to make
massive prints that will go on public
display in a tour of local libraries, so your
artwork will be marvelled at by people all
over the Wirral!
Hills and
Horizons
Joseph Venning
Hills and Horizons
All workshops must be booked in
advance: wirrallibraries.eventbrite.co.uk
Dates and locations:
4th August 10am–12pm
Birkenhead Park Visitor Centre
5th August 10am–12pm
West Kirby Library
6th August 10am–12pm
Birkenhead Central Library
7th August 10am–12pm
Dibbinsdale Nature Reserve
Visitor Centre
7th August 2pm–4pm
Wallasey Central Library
12th August 10am–12pm
Bebington Central Library
13th August 2pm–4pm
Wallasey Central Library
14th August 10am–12pm
Wirral Country Park Visitor Centre
Suitable for ages: 8+
Becky Bryson is an experienced
illustrator and maker, with a
background in outdoor theatre,
large-scale sculptures and puppetry,
where she developed a passion for
storytelling through bold, visual
expression. She has delivered a
wide range of community projects in
diverse settings, using art as a tool for
connection and creativity.
Becky’s stand-alone workshops are
all about transforming nature into a
living narrative, where each participant
becomes a storyteller. Just as libraries
open doors to countless stories,
these workshops invite families to
explore the stories within Wirral’s
green spaces, using these places as
inspiration for creative expression.
Through collaborative artmaking,
participants connect with the natural
world, crafting woodland creatures,
suncatchers, and lanterns that hold the
essence of nature’s tales. These hands-
on experiences celebrate nature’s
beauty, and the role libraries and parks
play in unlocking its wonders.
All workshops must be booked in
advance: wirrallibraries.eventbrite.co.uk
Woodland
Wonders
Becky Bryson
Woodland Wonders
Forest Folk:
Grass Head Creatures
18th August 10am–12pm
West Kirby Library
(bookable ½ hour slots)
18th August 2pm–4pm
Bebington Central Library
(bookable ½ hour slots)
In every forest there’s a glade full of
life, and now you can create your very
own Woodland Folk! This fun, hands-
on workshop is perfect for younger
participants. Using stockings and
elastic bands (with sewing options for
older creators), you’ll craft the faces
of your very own Grass Head Folk.
These little woodland characters are
filled with sawdust and grass seeds,
ready to grow their very own “hair.” As
your Grass Folk begin to grow, they’ll
transform into living, green-haired
creatures!
Suitable for ages: 4+
Woodland Guardians:
Blobsters
20th August 10am–12pm
Birkenhead Park Visitor Centre
(bookable ½ hour slots)
20th August 2pm–4pm
Wallasey Central Library
(bookable ½ hour slots)
Step into the enchanted world of
forests and create your own Blobster, a
woodland guardian to watch over your
home. Made from natural materials
found in the trees, forests, and parklands
of the Wirral, Blobsters are charming
house sprites that thrive in the company
of plants. In this workshop, you’ll craft
your very own Blobster on a stick, using
clay and decorating it with treasures
like seeds, pinecones, feathers, and
shells. Whether you’re creating a simple
sprite in minutes or taking your time to
design a detailed figure, there’s fun for
everyone.
Suitable for ages: 4+
Park Light: Suncatchers
22nd August 10am–12pm / 2pm–4pm
Wirral Country Park Visitor Centre
Bring the beauty of the forest and
parks into your home with these
enchanting suncatchers. In this
workshop, participants will create
stunning, nature-inspired suncatchers
that catch the light and remind them
of the woodland wonders, even
when they’re indoors. Using a willow
frame and lantern paper, you’ll craft
your suncatcher by carefully layering
pressed leaves, seedheads, and forest
flowers, creating a window into the
heart of the forest.
Suitable for ages: 4+
Wildwood Lanterns
27th August 2pm–4pm
Birkenhead Central Library
Light up the beauty of the forest with
your own handmade lantern. In this
workshop, perfect for older children,
participants will craft a stunning lantern
using UK-grown willow, lantern paper,
and PVA glue. Pre-cut sticks ensure no
sharp tools are necessary, making the
workshop family friendly. You’ll begin
by creating a simple pyramid frame,
then layer the lantern paper and glue.
Inside the paper, you can incorporate
leaves, seeds, and other natural
materials, capturing the essence of the
forest in your design. When the light
shines through, your lantern will glow
with the stories of nature.
Suitable for ages: 8+
Nature Tales:
Tote Bag printing
29th August 11am–1pm
Dibbinsdale Nature Reserve
Visitor Centre
Create a wearable piece of nature
with this hands-on printing workshop,
ideal for older children. Participants
will design their own nature-inspired
illustration, then etch it onto a printing
block using a sharp pencil. Using acrylic
fabric paints, they will transfer their
designs onto a tote bag, creating a
unique and personal piece of art. These
nature-themed bags make a lovely
library book bag!
Suitable for ages: 8+
Venues
Bebington Central Library
Civic Way
Bebington
CH63 7PN
Birkenhead Central Library
Borough Road
CH41 2XB
Birkenhead Park
Visitor Centre
Park Drive
CH41 4HY
Dibbinsdale Nature
Reserve Visitor Centre
213 Spital Rd
Bromborough
CH62 2BJ
Images courtesy of Google Maps
Floral Pavilion Theatre
Marine Promenade
New Brighton
CH45 2JS
Wallasey Central Library
17 Earlston Road
New Brighton
CH45 5DX
West Kirby Library
The Concourse
Grange Road
CH48 4HX
Wirral Country Park
Visitor Centre
Thurstaston
CH61 0HN
All workshops are stand-alone sessions
and must be booked in advance via:
wirrallibraries.eventbrite.co.uk
All children and young people must
be accompanied by a responsible
adult and remain for the duration of
the workshop.
Event details are correct at the time of
publishing but are subject to change.
For the latest information please see
Eventbrite listings.
How to cancel your booking
If you find you can no longer attend,
please cancel your booking at the
earliest opportunity so your place can
be made available for another family
or young person. You can cancel your
place via Eventbrite or by emailing
libraries@wirral.gov.uk
www.wirral.gov.uk/libraries