Amanda Kane-Smith
Storyteller
Merry-go-Round Storytelling
Tales from the Riverbank
I live in North Hampshire which has a landscape rich in chalk streams and rivers.
These precious wild waterways are globally significant – of the approximately 200 that exist worldwide, around 80% are found here in England, with the majority located in Hampshire. I feel this is something to be celebrated and in turn protected!
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I was first contacted by Watercress and Winterbournes (a partnership scheme with Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust whose focus is these amazing habitats), when creating my Test Valley Tales Project.
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Since this time, I have enjoyed working with them in a variety of ways.
Poetry Writing Workshops
In 2024, I created and delivered Interactive Poetry Writing Workshops for the 'Tales from the Riverbank Literature Festival', an initiative run by Watercress and Winterbournes, which sought to explore ways our chalk streams and rivers can inspire the written word.
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The workshops I delivered were for 7-11 year olds living in the communities of Alresford, Andover, Overton, and Whitchurch.
They aimed, not only ignite creative expression, but also to nurture a deeper awareness of our chalk streams and rivers—and the crucial role they play in sustaining local ecosystems and biodiversity.
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Each workshop was designed to be immersive and multi-sensory, combining creative activities, interactive games, river walks, and storytelling to fully engage the children’s imaginations.
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By blending hands-on experiences with factual content, I aimed to spark the children’s creativity while subtly embedding knowledge that could be drawn on for their poetry.
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To support the transition from high-energy activities to focused writing, we created a calming, immersive environment using ambient music composed by Dan.
This helped to provide the perfect space for reflection, imagination, and creative writing.
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Here are a couple of feedback examples sent to Watercress and Winterbournes after the Workshops:
“There was a good range of activities and Amanda was really engaging and kept the interest of all of the children.”
“I wanted to send you a big thank you for the lovely poetry workshop you ran in Andover last Saturday. My 8 year old daughter really enjoyed it and got a lot out of it - she was enthusing about it for ages and has already written more poetry!”
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Poems created by the children were entered into a competition as part of the Literature Festival, and many have been turned into a beautiful anthology called 'Chalk Stream Poems by Young Writers'
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An Awards Ceremony was held in Winchester where prizes, book tokens, and copies of anthologies were presented to the winners.
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My love of chalk stream habitats continues.
If you would like to read my chalk stream blog written for Watercress and Winterbournes, please click here
