Peder Hansson

"If the children cannot come to the sea, we must take the sea to them"

- The basic idea of the Water Workshop (Vattenverkstaden) is to use fun-filled and creative methods to increase kids and schoolchildren to appreciate nature and the sea. In our work, we noticed that children and young people with disabilities don’t have the same access to those environments. So we created a project we called the Blue Box (Blå Lådan), to develop methods and tools for us to interact with them through schools and daily activities. We received funding from the Swedish Inheritance Fund (Allmänna arvsfonden) and worked on it for three years. And it turned out fantastic!

- If they cannot get to the sea, we must take the sea to them. That's how we reasoned and why we created our own medical transport. We’re working with people who, for various reasons, don’t come into contact with the sea or nature and we have developed different tools, materials, and methods that suit all different needs and medical conditions. It is about participation, everyone should be allowed to participate and create together. It doesn't matter who you are or what you look like.

- Initially, the participants are often afraid. For example, going out in water full of seaweed can be scary. But the fear always comes from unfamiliarity and by talking, showing and testing, their fears can be overcome. People who have developmental disorders can sometimes be difficult to reach, but there is such an incredible joy of life and you get so much back.

- The most rewarding part of the work is when I see a person we have worked with for a long time suddenly open up and express themselves emotionally. We had a boy with autism as a participant once and we got basically no reaction at all, but the staff told us that when they came back home he sat for a whole day and looked at nature through his window. I felt that I had opened a new world for him.

- There are both political prejudices and a bit of cowardice that prevent investments like this that include everyone. The City of Malmö has opened up to include more and it feels good and I think we can be a small part of that work. It is important for Malmö's diversity. But there is still a lot to do.