Respect for the Earth and the natural landscape in which we live. Climate Change, coastal erosion and flooding, what impact is the lockdown having on the environment?

During our T100 Calling event, we invited you to make a mandala using pebbles or shells on your daily walk and here are some of the results.

Tide Turning Mandala, East Beach, Shoeburyness

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We made our Tide Turning mandala on East Beach, Shoeburyness as the tide went out, placing individual cockle shells donated by Osborne’s of Leigh on Sea onto our design. When the tide turns on Covid 19, what are your dreams for a better world, what will be different, and how can we be part of the transformation that is now inevitable?

Mandala artists:  Ali Pretty, Lisa Meehan

Ali Pretty and Lisa Meehan introduce the Tide Turning Mandala

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Film and photos by Mike Johnston

Aerial photography thanks to Unique Imaging

Inspiring Mandalas by Therese Muskus

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Tide Turning Mandala by Hazel Huber

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My main concern is the erosion of sand, and beach rubbish. An environmental study in 2018 highlighted the real dangers of costal erosion and as a result emergency sand was shipped in to the area. It was swept away and within two weeks it was all gone.

There are maps of Essex, showing how much Shoeburyness will be flooded due to climate change.

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Mindful Moments

I have continued my regular early morning estuary walking during lockdown. I feel very fortunate to have this space on my doorstep. It is a great way to start my day, the wonderful everyday walk …

Time & tide wait for no man.

Tides and the rise and fall of sea levels are caused by the combined efforts of the gravitational forces exerted by the Moon and the Sun and the rotation of the Earth …

Lockdown has made me even more aware of how small we are on this earth…. the Coronavirus pandemic was full-on, on every screen and broadcast, the subject of every conversation and yet the waves continued to strike the beach, the cycle of rising and falling, the sand to settle and dry, the pebbles dragged up and back…..

I hope that the folk who become involved with the mandala making have conversations around the beauty of our natural world. We need to simply be; to appreciate the here and now. I think the slower life imposed by lockdown has offered a much-needed break in the fast track pace of life. The uncertainty of everything remains a big concern but I think folk have really thought more about what’s really important in life. We need to look out for each other and look after our world.
Linking to the beach mandala making we need to take care not to litter and to neither contaminate nor waste our water.

I started with a stick and a circle … gathered resource from the beach and twenty minutes later had my first natural mandala!
Looking forward to exploring the theme.
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Tide Turning Mandala by Sally Chinea and Hazel Huber

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Hazel, Ed and I met for some early morning social distance mandala making on Shoebury east beach – using what was there.

Shoebury East beach is approximately quarter of a mile long gently sloping sandy/shingle beach backed by a large grassy area used for beach activities and picnics. This will be the site for our large scale mandala at the end of our walk.

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The local council are fighting an ongoing battle not only with the pollution left by people, but trying to reduce the risk of coastal flooding and erosion for the local homes, businesses  and beach hut owners.

This is one of the only places along the areas coast that does not have a concrete sea wall.  We hope to highlight some of these issues with this in our future mandala.
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Tide Turning Mandala by Hazel Huber

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During every walk along the estuary, if I walk on the beach I always pick up pebbles, stones, shells and seaglass. I use them around potted plants to help reduce water evaporation and place them in lines along window ledges and on steps throughout my garden .. just love the look! I collect shell/ shingle to use as grit in my chicken run.
May Mandala arrived and I decided to set up a mandala making space. It is now a permanent resource and I love it! Creativity, chill time, fun in the sun, beach in my garden!

Tide Turning Mandala by Michaela Freeman

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A family-effort beach mandala for Kinetika’s May Mandala project. A way of saying thank you to the beach that’s been keeping us sane the last few weeks.

Tide Turning Mandala by Joan Bullivant

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My mandala as an end product represents the theme of Tide Turning but the materials used also link with the theme of Make Do and Mend. I have made the mandala to put on a patio area at the bottom of my garden. Some of the shells and stones I have used were in a display cabinet in my house but most materials were in an old washbasin sunken in the garden near the patio – my ‘fossil bed’.

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This had been there for about 10 years and contained stones, shells and fossils that I have had for many years. Nearly all of the objects were collected, given to me or bought years ago. My mother collected the fossils from beaches in Hampshire and some of the shells I collected from the same beaches when I was a child. Some of the objects have come from foreign sources – acquired from long ago before it became so obvious just to take photos rather than objects.

I have used old gardening trays to help structure my mandala.

Insects enjoyed crawling all over my fossil bed and basking in its warmth.

Amongst other things, my mandala is a better way of displaying my collection. It brings back memories for me and will enable others to see interesting items more clearly.

The insects will still be able to visit it but I intend to make use of what was also in my washbasin – fragments of pottery. In another square tray I will arrange these with alpines and succulents to create a living mandala for the insects.

I have always loved being at the seaside and exploring different beaches and coastlines. I love the sight and the sound of the sea and all there is to see and marvel at in a coastal environment.

I think my fossils and stones make me aware of how long things can endure. However, they also remind me of the impact that climate change and coastal erosion are having in our world today and make me wonder about and fear for the future.

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