It’s not easy for people who have never been flooded to understand what it is like. It’s even difficult for people who have been flooded to convey what they have gone through.

We started sharing about what happened by using 3D art to create models of the flood experiences. A great way to start 3D art work is with sand – the medium of sand is a simple playful means to connect with expressing ideas and memories using tactile materials.

Working with sand then led to thinking about how to express parts of the story in more complex 3D. The children used a range of natural and art materials (from clay, sticks and moss to wool, textiles and buttons) to show what happened and how the flood still affects them. They then worked together to make larger group models about the recovery process.

Here a model has started to take shape. Once completed the children shared what they had made with others in their group, naming the different parts of the models, and talking about what each feature meant. Then they visited other groups’ models and did the same. It’s interesting how in the larger group models everyone chose different aspects of the flood and the recovery process.

Next the children and young people worked out how to ‘translate’ these modelled experiences into key messages for decision makers.

Find out more about the ways walking and talking and drama and theatre were used in the project.