Forage & Dye: Botanical Wish Leaves
Great Big Green Fun Day workshop with Sam Doyle
Saturday 20 June 2026, 10am - 4pm
FREE, drop-in (10-20 mins)
Venue: Mill Marsh Park, Bovey Tracey (part of the Great Big Green Fun Day)
Suitable for: Everyone (but young makers might need help from an adult)
Level: All Abilities
a Green Maker Initiative workshop - part of the Great Big Green Week
Join artist Sam Doyle for a drop-in botanical workshop exploring plant-based colour and making in response to landscape and environment.
Participants are invited to create a small plant-dyed textile “wish leaf”, using natural pigments and simple mark-making techniques. Each piece becomes a personal reflection - a hope, intention, or offering for the future of the planet.
These individual works will be gathered into a collective hanging installation, forming a soft, evolving artwork shaped by the public across the day.
Rooted in sustainable processes and low-impact materials, this workshop offers a gentle introduction to natural dyeing while encouraging connection to place, material, and ecological awareness.
This workshop is free and doesn’t require any booking.
Under 16s should be accompanied by an adult.
This workshop will be taking place in Mill Marsh Park, alongside other sustainable community activities, as part of Bovey’s Great Big Green Fun Day.
About Sam
Sam Doyle is an artist and educator working across textiles, natural dyes and site-responsive practice. Her work explores connections between landscape, material and process, using plant-based pigments to create colour directly from the environment.
She is currently completing a PhD in Fine Art at Loughborough University, developing “locative textiles” — an expanded practice combining installation, mapping and community participation within heritage landscapes. Her work has been exhibited and commissioned nationally and internationally, including projects with UNESCO Global Geoparks and Arts Council-supported programmes.
Alongside her practice, Sam has over 20 years’ experience teaching art across further and higher education. She delivers workshops and participatory projects that invite audiences to engage with sustainable making, encouraging a deeper connection to place, ecology and material.
On the Day
All tools and materials will be provided.
This workshop is taking place in Mill Marsh Park, Bovey Tracey, as part of the Great Big Green Fun Day alongside various other community groups and organisations.
The Methodist Church car park and Station Road car park usually have plenty of spaces. Click here for more information on our location and car parking for the day.
This workshop is taking place on Great Big Green Week 2025; the UK’s biggest ever celebration of community action to tackle climate change and protect nature. Discover what else is going on at MAKE Southwest and the rest of Bovey Tracey HERE.
