The Story
My name is Ben Rothery.
I'm an award winning wildlife author, illustrator and public speaker and I used to be the owner of a shop called Hidden Planet.
A little over three years ago we successfully crowdfunded to help raise the money for what we hoped would be a permanent home for our studio shop, Hidden Planet in Hackney, London.
We took a wreck and created a light airy space filled with plants & artwork with an event space in the back.
We attempted to make it a community space as well as a shop offering workshops and free activities for kids and for a while it was a beautiful thing.
Sadly the combination of the cost of living crisis and constantly rising costs meant that the shop / studio didn't survive and in May last year we closed it to concentrate on the design side of the business.
Since then, we've moved across the country and set up a new working studio in Norwich, where I started my illustration career 15 years ago.
And while closing that shop was an incredibly difficult and bruising experience, it has provided an opportunity for reflection and the chance to focus on what I got into this for in the first place.
My work focuses primarily on wildlife and conservation, with an emphasis not just on big, bold and beautiful species but the weird and wonderful ones too.
Through my books, illustrations and talks I seek to introduce the public to species they’ve never heard of or to take a second look at ones they think they know.
I believe this to be vitally important because in the context of the biodiversity crisis in which we find ourselves we need to conserve everything we have left but you don’t protect what you don’t care about and can’t care about that which you cannot name or do not understand.
Over the past decade I have given numerous talks, workshops and lectures at schools, universities and companies around the UK and having recently (September 2024) moved back to Norwich where I was born and raised I want to make this a larger and more focussed part of my work.
I am however conscious that education on this subject is inaccessible to many primary school pupils due at least in part to a lack of funding, with poverty in rural areas being a particular challenge.
Which is where our project comes in!
Hidden Planet, Raising Aspirations through Conservation and Creativity
Art and art education can widen school participation and raise aspirations, a study from 2023 showed that young people who had engaged in arts and arts education in addition to the mainstream curriculum showed improved outcomes for self-belief, critical thinking, motivation and empathy
According to the National Literacy Trust, one in five children aged 5-8 don't own a single book and this number is higher in children that receive free school meals. .
23% of children in Norfolk are eligible for free school meals… just under 27,000.
That's a lot of children who don't own a book and the poorer you are, the less access you have to books that might help you change your circumstances or see a world outside of your immediate horizons.
It is our intention to try and do something to change that.
The Project
Our project will deliver a programme of talks and workshops combining art, science and conservation awareness for primary school pupils in Norwich and rural Norfolk, as well as providing each child with at least one free book.
We will introduce them to the the ways in which art can help us explore and understand the world around us and in so doing, hope to inspire in them the same sense of fascination and wonder with the Natural World which has accompanied me throughout my life.
We will initially take 5 schools in underprivileged parts of the city through a full academic year delivering a programme that will include the following.
One Author talk and assembly complete with videos and Q&A delivered by me
Three workshops for their entire Lower KS2 cohort (that's years 3 & 4) based on my work and delivered by professional facilitators. These workshops have been extensively tested in London, We know they work (we've got the testimonials to prove it)
One Resource pack per school for their library consisting of a copy of all five of my books as well as exercises and projects based on them.
And most importantly, a signed copy of Hidden Planet for every pupil who goes through our programme.
This book is theirs to keep.
The Target
We are looking to raise £23,015
The Breakdown
The studio - £7200
This will allow us to secure our studio for 12 months allowing us to concentrate fully on delivering the programme without having to worry about keeping a roof over our head.
A wage for me - £7800
This amount will go towards paying me a part time salary to deliver the project, writing additional projects, liaising with the schools, training and coordinating facilitators as well as sourcing, delivering and signing books.
The talks - £750
To deliver the assemblies themselves - 1 hour presentation including powerpoint, talk and Q&A
The workshops - £3000
To deliver 1 x workshop per school per term - 15 workshops in total using professional facilitators paid and trained by myself.
The Books £3900
To deliver 1 x copy of my award winning wildlife book Hidden Planet - Ladybird Books - (RRP 9.99) at the discounted price of £6.50 per book to each student in the chosen year group at each school.
Books will be dedicated and signed to each child.
600 books total.
The Resource packs - £365
To deliver a Signed Set of 5 books to each school for their library as well as a set of resources based on the books.
Stretch Goals
We are ambitious about this project and believe that it has the potential to make a real impact on people's lives as well as raising vital awareness of the challenges facing many of the species with whom we share our home.
Additional funding will allow us to roll out the project to more schools.
We have already identified 20 more schools in Norwich and Norfolk and would love to expand the project nationally.
Our initial plan would be to secure the same funding to take the project through a second year.
After that, it costs £1603 to take a school through our programme for one year so every time we hit that number we'll be able to add another school.
Images of Rewards
Handwritten thank you card - £5
A signed Copy of Hidden Planet - £15
A one off pencil sketch of a species of your choice - £150
A talk for a school / institution of your choice - £250
Big Bertha - Hand Finished Shark illustration - £10,000