Work with Wyld Mother’s Fire

A story of mothers coming together

As a new mother, I attended a mother’s group I central Brighton called ‘Wyld
Mothers Fire’. I had my baby during a national lockdown and was cut off from a
lot of social and professional support, as were many mothers during this time.
Wyld mothers fire was an outdoor space that offered me and other mothers that I
met a weekly routine to come together each week and be together in an outdoor
space around a fire; to get things off of our chest and practice gratitude for
what we have, for each other and for what we bring every day as mothers. To
find community; a community of friends me and my daughter still see on a weekly
basis.

Wyld mothers fire was started 5 years ago by my colleague Poppy,
who found there were few spaces for mothers that focussed on the mother, that
were free, and that called to a more natural and outdoor way of being together
as mothers. This started out as a project to develop a sense of community for
herself and her son and became something much bigger. Marion joined the fold 2
years later when she had her daughter. Marion runs a theatre company and has
run mothers Lullaby projects with groups of mothers.

Wyld Mothers Fire (wyldexperiences.com)

MurmurationArts – Theatrical Experiences

After coming to the fire space for a while I began my MA in
inclusive arts project and when I ran my mothers research project, which was
very much inspired by the community I accessed at the fire, I asked Marion to
mentor me.

While I was running my Mothers creative workshops and still
attending the Brighton fire with my daughter on Mondays, Poppy approached me and
said that they had a proposition for me, explaining that they had received
funding for a new Wyld mothers fire in Whitehawk, asking if I would like to
facilitate this fire. There wasn’t really anything to think over, I said yes
immediately.

 

We got to work planning and searching for a space in early February
and made connections with a range of local outdoor spaces who I had been in
contact with. We eventually settled with Race hill community orchard in  Whitehawk.

Racehill
Community Orchard – Brighton and Hove Food Partnership (bhfood.org.uk)

 

We began in April and continue to hold a weekly space on
Tuesdays for mothers and their babies and children under 5. We arrive early and
set up the space, collect firewood and light a fire with flint and steel. We
offer tea and snacks and sometimes we offer cooking on the fire.

Most weeks I run a natural craft activity with mums and
their little ones.

We invite guest speakers to come and share their knowledge
and skills, we often invite mothers form the fire who ate returning to work
after maternity leave.

 

In August, we worked together at Camp Bliss a family festival in Dorset. We set up and held a space for 2 days, offering a range of family activties including fire lighting workshops and woodland crafts inlcuding making nature mobiles and flower collage. we also held a fire all day and offered tea and a space to chat for families.

Group pictures taken and shared with consent

I continue to embrace my world as a mother and appreciate
the power and the need for communities of mothers who support each other through
nurturing children in these early years. I am humbled to be able to give
something back to this community and am forever learning and expanding my
practice through this.

I love my job!