ELEMENTAL

It has been a magical weekend with over 100 families coming to experience ELEMENTAL at the Wetlands Centre, Bibra Lake. Primarily an eco education centre, the HOME program has brought more creative learning workshops and experiences in nature for young children & families over the past 3 terms.

For many years i have wanted to create this site specific family engagement, exploring the main elements through creativity, with recycled materials and openly facilitate child led play. Over 8 weeks families attended workshops to create the elements for installation – cardboard trees, giant mushrooms, hanging baskets of vines, water and clouds, a fire cave of shadows – the possibilites were endless!

A unique creative event for young children, led by an incredible team of local independent artists, for families to create an installation based on the Elements – earth, water, air, fire, all out of recycled paper! A safe space to play out the effects of climate crisis with art, play and nature, for social & emotional well being, children could lead and explore their own sequence of Element spaces in the 2 hour time slot, engaging in the activities at Creation Stations as they wished. With bubbles floating in the sky and refreshments available, families could relax in the beautiful natural outdoor environment of the Wetlands at any time.

Article in the Fremantle Herald July 11th 2026

‘Nature is not a place to visit, it is HOME’    

Come HOME to the Wetlands!

It was a 12 hour install to hang & install all the beautiful creations made by community, myself and Kate Hannah, with help from Ana & Niamh & our intern Jasmine with her mum at the Wetlands Centre,we managed to fix up everything by 9pm Fri evening. Everything was ready to go!

Many thanks to all our volunteers from 15 – 85 years!

AIR

Air with artist Kate Hannah

Artist Kate Hannah created a paper world high in the sky, originally this Element was going to be outside, but the weather could not be trusted! So hanging creations with a rainbow arch were displayed, butterflies & bees, paper planes & kites, and all things that fly. Families were invited in

to create origami paper birds to hang from a giant bird cage, glittery clouds or anything they could imagine.

WATER

Water Goddess puppet by Rachel Riggs -paper mache, found & recycled materials

In the Water room with poet Lakshmi Kanchi, children were able to compose short poems about the wetlands, with a panoramic video projection of the Wetlands at Bibra Lake filmed by drone cameras, as a backdrop to their play.

In a sparking pond of silver strip with a whirlpool spinning, children could pretend swim or splash, with a school of oven glove puppet fish to swim around in circles.Wall Paper Waves hung above painted by the Wednesday Nature Play group and the Saturday Wild Child workshop participants – paintings of water, flora & fauna. Fish were created to dangle in the Silver Pond & cardboard tube & tissue squid to swim ’

Large paper boats were created out of old naval navigation maps & small origami papers

FIRE

In the fire cave, families could explore the ancient art form of shadow puppetry, with myself & Rohit Kanchi assisting when I needed to support artists in other spaces. My collection of shadow puppets from India, Cambodia, China & Indonesia were on display and demonstrated to inform about the ever alive culture around the world. Everyone was encouraged to explore the use of the Overhead projector, magnifying fire scenery and enjoying a hands on experience before crafting their own puppets to perform and tell stories with using a simple stick, cut out card & sticky tape. They could also make red flags to wave and children’s campfires made with cardboard rolls were lit with battery candles to glow in the darkness of the cave

EARTH

With musician & performer Jack Collard, families were treated to an immersive experience in live music, song, story and dance. Jack told traditional stories from Noongar culture aabout caring for all animals & birds, trees, plants & flowers, engaged the audience with dance and played the didgeridoo/. During the children’s play, they were free to play musical wooden percussion instruments at any time and interact with the artist to ask questions and find answers to their lines of enquiry.

Jack’s family totem is the Boo Bok Owl so it was very fitting children had created Owls with clay and natural materials at a previous session in our Nature create sessions.

the Story dolls were available to be played with in the cardboard worlds of mushrooms, flowers, trees with views of the wetlands outside.

Children & carers could create an easy Paper Bag Puppet to Tell a Story in the Puppet Theatre – drawing on a face, scrunching ears with stick-on eyes, improvising & performing how they wanted.

Parents went home with many of their children’s creations for extended learning, repeating the nature play experiences at home, with everyday materials & objects becoming extraordinary.

Feedback from Parents –

‘Elemental was a deeply immersive experience, which not only transported us into the heart of the elements, but connected us to the communities we share our natural world with. The integration of Noongar practices, music and language was integral and inspiring. We thoroughly enjoyed the day and left with our curiosity and creativity truly sparked.’

‘This was a fabulous event for my two young girls. They loved the concept of the four elements and have a dedicated room to each. There was lots of interactive activities for them to do, they got creative and made lots of different art creations. They especially loved hearing the didgeridoo being played and joining in making music. Thank you so much.‘

The HOME program involves weekly creative workshops for families with young children, after school activities & interactive performances made with community in collaboration with local WA artists. We aim to promote well-being for children to feel at home with nature, support good mental health and develop a rich program for all families inclusively.

The HOME program has been funded for a second year of development in 2027, thanks to CITSWA. Family tickets of only $10, to make the program accessible to all, are only possible because of the funding support we receive.

Grateful Thanks to support by the WA Government, Department of Creative Industries, Tourism and Sport & Healthway – Creativity & Wellbeing for Young people fund

ELEMENTAL- A Paper World Adventure ! from the HOME program

Thanks to support by the WA Government, Department of Creative Industries, Tourism and Sport & Healthway – Creativity & Wellbeing for Young people fund

ELEMENTAL is an artist-led site-specific children & family project for all ages and abilities, facilitating and supporting a child led, play based installation for family engagement.

Designed & created by multimedia artist Rachel Riggs (Imaginary leaps), children can Journey through an interactive installation where they can explore, perform and play.

ELEMENTAL turns the Wetlands Centre at Bibra Lake into an innovative installation with arts and play activities inspired by the four main elements – earth, fire, air and water.

Everything is made with paper, recycling our throwaways into a paper world adventure with colour & pattern inspiring play, storytelling, sound, movement, projections – the possibilities are endless!

Over Term 2 families have been creating & experimenting with different kinds of paper, working with local artists & making together, to transform the Wetlands Centre into ELEMENTAL.

Produced & developed by creative learning artist Rachel Riggs in collaboration with Rickeeta Walley, Jack Collard, Lakshmi Kanchi, Kate Hannah & Roe Kanchi & the Cockburn Wetlands Centre.

Every ELEMENTAL area has ‘Creation Stations’ to build what you can imagine, with local artists facilitating creative play & sensory engagement making each element come alive with art play and hands-on activities.

• EARTH – Make a garden of flowers, fruit and vegetables with storytelling, puppets and play percussion music
• WATER – Feel silver whirlpools, swim with the fish in wallpaper waves and compose wetland poems
• FIRE – See the world of shadows, create shadow puppets & tell stories in the fiery cave
• AIR – Come over the rainbow, fly a kite or a paper plane and wave your flag in the clouds

‘Nature is not a place to visit, it is HOME’    

Come HOME to the Wetlands!

The HOME program involves weekly creative workshops for families with young children, after school activities & interactive performances made with community in collaboration with local WA artists. We aim to promote well-being for children to feel at home with nature, support good mental health and develop a rich program for all families inclusively.

The HOME program has been funded for a second year of development in 2027, thanks to CITSWA

Quotes from engaged families –

‘I’m immensely proud that my child could take part in this experience, which I’m sure they will remember for the rest of their life’

‘We had a wonderful and comfortable time, fun with everyone here, lots of love’

‘Fantastic morning! Weve done many nature play groups but this was something extra special – we loved it and will be back’

the HOME program

ELEMENTAL workshops Term 2 2026 the HOME program

Our familes have been busy every Saturday this term in the Wild Child workshops exploring all kinds of paper & making the elements – earth, water, air , fire in all kinds of ways.

For EARTH, we have created Balga grass trees out of recycled corrugated cardboard, tissue paper flowers, cardboard roll bromliads,  brown paper local animals & lots more from childrens ideas of looking after our natural environments.

For WATER, poems about the Wetlands have been composed with Lakshmi Kanchi after exploring Bibra Lake  water colour waves of wallpaper painted, paper boats sailed and lantern fish made for the ELEMENTAL installation

For AIR, all things that fly and float in the sky created with artist Kate Hannah. Paper balloons, planes, kites, flags, butterflies, birds, clouds and rainbows – all drawn & painted by our Wild Child families.

And for FIRE we have explored making safe pretend fire effects and the world of shadow puppetry with light & dark.

All this creativity will be showcased in the ELEMENTAL installation Sat July 11th & Sunday July 12th 10am & 1pm sessions

For tickets – https://events.humanitix.com/home-elemental-world-t2

the HOME program Term 2 Nature Play sessions

Its been a joy this term to welcome parents & little ones into the beautiful Wetlands Centre to explore natures environments

The group has grown to its full capacity with families coming from as far as the Northern Perth suburbs to attend.

Bobby puppet is always there to play

Culturally diverse with babies, toddlers & neuro divergent needs, there is something for everyone with open play materials and objects to engage with together.

With nature play & crafts, puppetry & storytelling, Wednesday mornings are full of fun for early years to explore nature art

Feedback includes –

‘Another great session, we love Bobby & Rachel. Our favourite thing was playing with clay and making snails’

‘Rachel was very nice, my kids enjoyed the session. It was worth the hour drive. Thank you’

‘We had a wonderful and comfortable time, fun with everyone here, lots of love’

‘Fantastic morning! Weve done many nature playgroups but this was something extra special – we loved it And will be back’

Retelling the story helps children understand  in their own way

Due to popular demand, we are extending the HOME program Nature Play sessions to include an extra two weeks until the end of June 2026

With support from the WA Government, Department of Creative Industries,  Tourism & Sport, and Healthway – Creativity & Wellbeing for Young People Fund

COME HOME TO THE WETLANDS!

the HOME program Term 2 Nature Create with Rickeeta Walley

This term we are creating a wonderful new story in shadow puppetry from Rickeeta all about a baby kangaroo exploring the natural world – Ninny Djudiny -The Little Joey’

Families have been exploring the aetform of shadow puppetry, Noongar language & storytelling over the term, deepening cultural understandimg.

All are invited to a presentation of the new story on Sat June 27th 1- 3pm at the Wetlands Centre, Cockburn,  Bibra Lake, WA

Book here – events.humanitix.com/home-culturekids-t2

With support from the WA Government, Department of Creative Industries,  Tourism & Sport, and Healthway – Creativity & Wellbeing for Young People Fund

Story Dolls Theatre

Story Dolls Theatre is a gentle, interactive work in progress performance for young children and families, featuring Noongar storyteller Rickeeta Walley, poet Lakshmi Kanchi and puppeteer/artist producer Rachel Riggs. Produced by Imaginary Leaps for the HOME program.

Blending story dolls, puppetry, play- based storytelling and lots of hands on fun, sharing cultural experience. This special event invites families into a warm space of imagination, connection & belonging.

The Story Dolls are made with textile artist and doll maker Elder, Auntie Geri Hayden using eco dyed material from local flora and natural decorations. They come from a tradition of healing by making & yarning (talking together) with love and respect for family and culture.

Story dolls Theatre has been developed working with families to make traditional rag dolls, acknowledging story from Noongar Boodjar and telling stories from emerging communities and inter-generational learning.

Many of us have travelled here in many ways to call Australia home and this performance celebrates our journeys and personal narratives, cultures and children’s play.

For all who call Australia HOME

Home = Hope

Theatre which celebrates family, through Inter-generational experiences and learning

Theatre made from early years imaginative play with the story dolls created, following children’s ideas, stimulated by family stories.

Theatre which is an immersive sensory experience through play with everyday objects and materials

The Story Dolls Show was a beautiful interaction with families showing the symbolic value of dolls with the power of play and story telling, something ive been wanting to celebrate in a show for a long time.

Thank you so much all who came & supported 🥰
Thank you to Auntie Geri Hayden for the Welcome to Country. Ricki & Lakshmi for beautiful storyelling & our families for playing & sharing. 💖 Thank you to the Department of Creative Industries, Tourism and Sport

Performing Arts in Early Childhood Education – Aesthetics and Meaning

Hold the page! Very excited that my research paper on shadow puppetry in community, creatively working with Rickeeta Walley is about to be published! Thie research paper was presented at the ASSITEJ Congress in Cuba 2024 for the ITYARN research conference for theatre for young people. Performing Arts in Early Childhood Education – Aesthetics and Meaning International perspectives on.early childhood, Vol. 47, Manon van de Water (Eds) ISBN978-3-032-25547-1

https://link.springer.com/book/9783032255471

Series title: International Perspectives on Early Childhood Education and Development

Book title: Performing Arts in Early Childhood Education

Book subtitle: Aesthetics and Meaning

• Demonstrates the importance of aesthetic education and experiences for the very young
• Presents theoretical approaches and practical case-studies of performing arts for and with the very young
• Is relevant for educators, policy makers and artists working for and with young children

Part of the book series: International Perspectives on Early Childhood Education and Development (CHILD, volume 47)

This collection explores the value and meaning of performing arts for young children (birth-6 years old) with a focus on how children aesthetically perceive and make meaning of art. The premise of the book is that children perceive through the senses; the original Greek meaning of the word “aesthetic.” The perception of art by very young children has not been sufficiently researched until the 21st century nor taken into account as something that may be of value for young children. This book redirects this notion by connecting the young child as a human being with performance perception theory and early childhood development theories. It demonstrates the value of performance for and with young children and highlights their capacity for meaning making. The chapters rely on theories of child and childhood, performance perception theory and audience and performance analyses from multiple perspectives and in multiple global contexts, demonstrating the impact of performing arts experiences in educating the whole child.

Chapter	Chapter Title	Status
Chapter 10	Beyond the Shadows: The Aesthetic Potentials of Traditional Shadow Puppetry in Contemporary Practice with Aboriginal Artists and Young People

My grateful thanks to Rickeeta Walley and the Walley family for my professional learning with them and their generosity in sharing story.

Manon van de Water Vilas-Phipps Distinguished Achievement Professor Emerita -UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-MADISON, Honorary Member ASSITEJ for her patient editing.

‘The reviewers have provided robust and very positive reports on this work. We are excited to see such affirmation of the content and believe this book will sit well within the series.’ 

Dolls of Japan – Hina Matsuri – Dolls Festival

In March this year I traveled to Osaka, Kyoto & Nara to research the history and modern day significance of the Doll Festival on March 3rd which also corresponded with a Full Moon.

A ceremony from China on the first day of the Snake in the third month was adopted by the Imperial court in Japan. This involved a ritual to ward away ill fortune by writing poetry and making cut out paper dolls, to float away in a stream and banish bad luck.

nagashi-bina, paper dolls are launched into rivers to carry away misfortune. 

This developed into the ‘Dolls Festival – Hina Matsuri’ that celebrates girls and is also known as the Peach Festival, named after the blossom that blooms at this time.

Early February, the decorations for Hinamatsuri can start to appear in homes, temples & shop windows, even the train stations. Families celebrate this festival to wish for the good health of girls by displaying the special decorative dolls for the month leading up to the special day.

Kyoto is the place where the finest of dolls were made and still are , at the Ando Japanese Doll Shop.

Ningyo’ is an ancient word for a human form which has its roots in the spirit world. These figures were used to draw illness and evil spirits away from humans.Throwing the affected figure away into water to rid them of misfortune. Babies were blessed with a special Ningyo’ to act as a surrogate and absorb any thing bad or mischievous to aid their well being & life expectancy. The dolls would then be placed in a shrine and given offerings on March 3rd, each year for this ancient purification ritual. Paper figures used for the same purpose are still foind today in shrines.

During the Edo period the dolls became a feature in the Imperial Japanese court and much more elaborate, with Hina Ningyo’ being displayed in pairs, dressed as nobility, attended by servants and miniature household furnishings with flowering tiny trees to reflect the peach blossom season and royalty.

The beautifuly dressed dolls represent the emperor & empress, with various attendees of a Heian-era style banquet. Displayed on a red carpet, these dolls are very expensive & family heirlooms.

The dolls are also associated with the hopes that the owner will lead a prosperous life just like the Emperor and the Empress.and take away any bad luck from the owner.

The dolls represent past idealizations of beauty, they demonstrate what people used to wear and how they lived. Particularly the dolls symbolised the beauty to be attained to by a young girl. The hina ningyo’ portrayed refinement,elegance,contentment and restraint, which is exactly what Japanese society had in mind for its future wives and mothers.

The dolls have to be packed away immediately the day after or the suspicion is if you delay until March 4, the girl in the family might not get married! Hmmm

Shinto is animistic, meaning to see life in what we consider to be lifeless things. Dolls have a ritualistic meaning in Japan because of their ability to be surrogate human beings. Ningyo’ means human form, while “doll” is typically defined as a small human figure used as a child’s toy.

The simple paper doll developed into a sophisticated symbol of wealth and status over the centuries.

Ichimatsu ningyō, are the most representative of children and have been popular since the 18th century. Originally named after a famous Kabuki actor Sanogawa Ichimatsu in the mid-Edo period 1755,.they are popular toys and gifts for friendship, still regarded as a protective symbol, but also common in Japanese ghost stories.

In 1927, 58 large, high-quality Ichimatsu dolls were sent from Japan to the United States as “friendship dolls” to improve diplomatic relations.

On May 5th, Tango no Sekku is the boys festival which changed in 1948 to the Children’s day public holiday. On Children’s Day, families with boys fly carp-shaped streamers called koinobori outside the house and display dolls of famous warriors and other heroes inside. The carp fish symbolizes strength and success, as according to a legend, a carp swam upstream to become a dragon.

Tango-no Sekku was a court ceremony to ward off illness and misfortune. It has continued since the Nara period

to ward off evil spirits for samurai boys and still practiced today.

These Ningyo’ figures are just some of the many different types of figures in Japan used for ceremonial display.

the HOME program term 1 2026 – Wild Child Make & Play – Story Dolls

with Noongar Elder doll maker Auntie Geri Hayden

“It was a great pleasure doing the workshops, it was relaxing and the yarning was special, and the kids loved it! That’s what matters most, that the kids get the greatest pleasure and joy from the workshop”. Auntie Geri Hayden

The story dolls use traditions of textile and fibre – yarning together – weaving the memories of families, making dolls and storytelling for love, comfort and play. Based on Auntie Geri Hayden’s eco-dyeing cloth technique from the local fallen flora collected for the workshop from Walliubup/Bibra Lake, such as banksia, bottle brush and Balga resin. The fabric is dyed and fixed, and then cut and shaped to make dolls in the workshops. Devised with families for family inter-generational learning.

The story dolls are created, following children’s ideas, stimulated by family stories.

Story Dolls celebrates family, through personal narrative experiences and sharing

Geri grew up on the Reserve in Brookton, WA with her family, old Nanas and great-grandmothers. She watched the old women make dolls for her and her sisters from whatever materials they could find. As she grew older she would make her own dolls with bottles and tins, and dress them with baby rugs that her old Nans would give her. It is these fond memories of her family that has made her so passionate about cultural arts and continuing the tradition.

The Story Dolls project has given the opportunity to develop storytelling from a combination of child led play and stories shared from parents/carers to foster a sense of being and belonging in the world. To extend the creative process by usng the dolls as communication tools of expression, to tell of journeys, dreams and lived experiences.

In collaboration with Rickeeta Walley, the dolls made with Geri from eco dyed local flora were used to stimulate stories in the workshops, and Rickeeta shared a local Noongar traditional story from the Bibra Lake area , about how fire was given to people from the moon.

Many participants took their textile work dolls home to continue sewing and decorated them back at the Wetlands, before their children used them in play scenarios, making houses for them and re-enacting daily scenes in life

There is also a special selection of artworks on display at the Wetlands Centre celebrating the legacy of our dear friend – doll maker & textile artist – the late Marcelle Riley, complimenting the HOME program’s Story Doll workshops & performance.

Bookings are available here

https://events.humanitix.com/home-storydolls-t1

Come Home to the Wetlands!

With support from the WA Government, Department of Creative Industries, Tourism and Sport & Healthway – Creativity & Wellbeing for Young people fund

the HOME program – Term 1 2026 Nature Create with Rickeeta Walley

the HOME program afterschool club has had an exciting first term with our walks to the lake being filled with the sounds of Carnaby & Red Tailed cockatoos, and all kinds of bird song & sounds of the different frogs at the waterwise pond – motorbike, clicking & banjo, to name a few. Rickeeta has led all kinds of creative activities – drawing in nature, sand drawing, clay sculpting, games and language learning – producing a beautiful poster made with the childrens drawings of native animals at Walliubup – Bibra Lake.

The program gives children of all abilities a creative voice, engaging with Noongar arts and culture within the natural environment of the Wetlands. The Nature Create after school sessions provide the younger generation and the wider community an opportunity to understand Noongar culture & the relationship with the natural world.

The HOME program supports wellbeing, inclusive of all children’s abilities, celebrating children’s ideas, through intergenerational experiences and learning in nature, stimulated by the arts & storytelling.

Rickeeta Walleyis a proud Noongar woman, living and working on Whadjuk country.
As a Cultural Educator and Researcher, she delivers cultural programs, workshops and professional development training. From early learning, primary and families, she works with both corporate and community bodies as an emerging leader
Rickeeta is very passionate about cultural knowledge and language preservation. She believes it is Aboriginal people’s right to hold their knowledge, and everyone’s responsibility to learn, engage with and understand the ancient culture and country that we live on.

Feedback includes –

‘Love the stick decorating activity and learning colours in language”

‘We really like the nature walks and learning all about the trees and animals. My son really is loving it’

‘We love coming because we learn Noongar culture firsthand. Being out in nature, singing, dancing, creating. We interact with animals and are graced with stories. My son’s eyes light up’

Our Nature Create family group was really fortunate to share creative learning with Richard & Robyn Walley coming to visit & Phil Walley Stack, and also Alton Walley and Jack Collard leading sessions.

The HOME program & The Wetlands Centre very much appreciate the support of the Walley family & friends – Aboriginal Productions @aboriginal productions

The HOME program involves weekly workshops for families with young children, after school activities & interactive performances made with community in collaboration with local WA artists. We aim to promote wellbeing for children to feel at home with nature, support good mental health and develop a rich program for all families inclusively.

Come and join us for term 2, starting Monday May 4th 4-6pm

With support from the WA Government, Department of Creative Industries, Tourism and Sport & Healthway – Creativity & Wellbeing for Young people fund

the HOME program