World Wildlife Day is dedicated to spreading awareness about the world’s wild animals and plants and the theme this year is ‘Listen to the Young Voices’. We would like to celebrate by sharing some incredible illustrations created by a former student at Avery Hill College which can be found in our archive. Ada Lightowlers attended Avery Hill College in 1921-23, she studied Biology and Nature Study whilst training to become a teacher. In her workbook she notes that Nature Study goes far beyond flora and fauna and that children should be taught more about the ‘natural phenomena’ and its dependence on the climate. One main problem the world faces today is the conservation of these ‘phenomena’, which is something that archives can also relate to in the wonders found within them.
Her workbooks range from Birds and Butterflies to Insects and flowers and are all incredibly detailed with lengthy descriptions of each species. She even goes as far as detailing the differences between a Moth and Butterfly. These illustrations are incredibly meticulous, however her teacher can be seen commenting on Ms. Lightowlers work questioning the scale of her drawings.
