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Local Landscapes - Case studies to inspire you
Clydach Gorge Heritage Trails
The Local Landscapes Toolkit was tried out by the
Llanelly Community Council in 2004-5. The Community
Council gathered ideas for possible projects from local groups, schools
and organisations. Next they held an Action Planning meeting to
which all of the groups and the general public were invited. A
number of project ideas were discussed, as well as problem areas.
One project, a series of heritage walks in the Clydach Gorge was
selected to work on because there was a group of local people who were
interested in their local history and in encouraging their neighbours
and visitors to explore the area and
find out more about its distinctive and important industrial heritage.
Considerable time was spent on deciding which routes to use, a special
waymarker was designed by the community and the routes were installed by
Brecon Beacons National Park wardens. A leaflet describing four
walks was printed and local school children were involved in its launch.
The other projects
identified during the process were included in an Action Plan, and these
will be worked on as time, resources and local enthusiasm allows.
One of the other important outcomes of the project was in raising
awareness and local concern about the condition of the Clydach
Ironworks, an important Ancient Monument that was then deteriorating.
The other projects on
this page did not emerge from the Local Landscapes Initiative, but all
are strongly related to aspects of the local landscape, and are provided
as ideas for what could be achieved through this process
Monmouthshire Meadows
 The
Monmouthshire Meadows Group was formed in 2003 out of a concern to
conserve the flower rich meadows that are a distinctive aspect of part
of the Wye Valley, between Monmouth and Chepstow. Changes in land
use, the intensification of agriculture and the sale of farms for
residential purposes was leading to the degradation of wildflower
meadows. The group had been inspired by the Parish Grasslands
Project, a similar project on the Gloucestershire side of the Wye Valley
a year earlier. 57 people joined the group, all of whom wanted to
look after their fields in a traditional way or to create and maintain
meadow areas in their gardens. Ecologists survey the fields and
discuss with owners the best ways of managing their land for
conservation. Green hay is collected from flower rich meadows and
scattered on members' land with a less diverse flora. This
increases the area of the local grassland gene pool and ensures the
conservation of characteristic species. The project has helped
members to attract funding for hedge-laying and shared tools,
and has increased biodiversity in the Wye Valley.
In 2005 very successful open days were held at flowering time, and the
group is planning to provide advice, based on the experience that they
have gained, on the management of roadside verges.
Click here to visit
their pages on this site.
Shroves - Using film and video
The project was located in a part of Herefordshire
that was badly affected by the Foot and Mouth Disease
outbreak of 2002. Many farmers' livestock were slaughtered,
and traditional social gathering places such as markets were closed for
many months. The project was a partnership between the Rural Media
Company and Eskleyside Agricultural Society to find ways for local
people (who were not usually involved in media arts activity) to share
their views with a wider public on what was happening at this time and
the changes that it would bring. A community film called Shroves
was made - a black comedy looking at the future of this very rural area
without farming. 125 local people were involved in the entire
process, from originating the story to playing parts, finding locations,
assisting with filming and sound recording, lighting, make up, editing
and producing the film. The
Rural Media
Company is a charity that works throughout the UK combining
community education, training and advocacy with the professional skills
of the media industry.
Whitebrook Then and Now
 This
project is related to the local heritage of a close knit community in
one small valley. The project began by forming a sub-committee of
villagers, including an archivist. The idea was to organise an
exhibition of life in Whitebrook in the past and comparing it with the
present day. Memories of the village came in from children,
students, householders and the elderly. Local people contributed
photographs and information and put the committee in touch with
ex-residents, relatives and evacuees who all told their tales of the
village. The children of the village were photographed to contrast
with the old school photographs. A taster exhibition was held so
that people could view the material that had been assembled, including
some articles by inhabitants describing their current lives and homes
compared with bygone times. So much material was collected that it
became difficult to choose what to display and there were so many
requests for a permanent record that a booklet was produced together
with CDs and DVDs for local universities and records offices. The
exhibition itself was visited by over 500 people in the two weekends
that it was open, in a village with just 64 resident adults! Many
people travelled great distances to come back to Whitebrook for the
exhibition.
Wye Valley Views - using
photography
In 2001 the Wye Valley AONB were preparing their
Management Plan and were looking for ways to involve the local Community
and Parish Councils. They invited the 40 local councils to take
photographs showing what they value about living in the AONB. Each
council nominated a local coordinator and were provided with a
disposable camera to photograph what they valued about their area.
The AONB unit processed over 1000 photographs and from these created a
montage in the shape of the AONB. The local coordinators
also filled in a questionnaire that asked them to identify local
concerns/issues and the changes that had occurred in the last 10 years
and 30 years. The completed jigsaw of the AONB travelled around
the area at 14 public meetings in 2002. It provided a very useful
discussion point, allowing local issues and concerns to influence the
development of the new Management Plan for the Wye Valley AONB.
West Sussex Millennium Maps -
creating community maps
 West
Sussex County Council was looking for ways to celebrate the
Millennium that would get local people involved. They decided on
the idea of creating Parish Maps, and this proved popular, as 87 local
groups began making maps of their own localities. The maps are as
varied as their makers - some record historic features and happenings,
others record field names and locations of interesting flora and fauna.
Some areas wanted to record the vulnerability of their areas to
incursions by the sea, or to modern development. To all of the
parishes, the creation of their map was a statement of their own
uniqueness, and people felt that their area was important in a new way.
A few parishes developed the project further to revive the ancient
practice of 'beating the bounds', walking right around the boundary of
their parish once a year. These events were combined with local
lunches and open-air church services. Others have evolved into
further local projects - one group has started an oral history project,
another is preparing a biodiversity map and trail and in another village
an arts society has been started as a result of working on the Parish
map. Most map-making groups had up to 20 members, ranging in age
from play groups to elderly people, and everyone had something to
contribute. More than 2500 volunteers have been involved in the
project throughout the County and 100 maps have been made.
Down To The River - using drama
This project was based in Hereford, around the River
Wye. New Theatre Works, a local theatre company succeeded in
getting funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund for a project to research
the history and varied uses of the Wye over time. With performers,
the company staged a series of unusual and unique interpretive guided
walks using theatre, music and dance to bring the history of the area to
life. There were 11 performances in all, and a video was produced
to strengthen the links between the creative arts community,
environmental and historical societies.
Abergavenny Schools Wood carving
project
A mature blue cedar tree at Linda Vista gardens in
Abergavenny had to be felled because it was unsafe. Monmouthshire
Countryside Service saw the potential of the tree for sculpting and
contacted the local Council Area Office, local infants school and two
day centres to see if they would like to be involved in a project to use
timber from the tree. The results were four projects - a statue
depicting three important events in the history of the town, now in
Linda Vista Gardens, two benches at local primary schools and a dragon
sculpture at the day centre. The project involved various Council
departments and a wide range of other people from the local community.
Hendre Food Coop - food based
project
The Hendre food Coop was started because the small
village of Hendre near Monmouth did not have a shop, garage, pub or
village hall, which means that the majority of residents have to travel
to town to shop for their fruit and vegetables. however, fruit and
vegetables are grown nearby. A small group of local people decided
that it would be better to obtain organic produce that had been grown
locally. They held a meeting, which around 50 people attended, and
20 or so people signed up to order a £5 bag of vegetables.
volunteers also came forward to help the project by dividing the produce
into equal shares, manning a central store and taking orders for the
next week. The co-op has helped to develop community spirit in a
village where opportunities to meet one another are limited.
Ecodyfi - a holistic approach
Ecodyfi is a project in western mid-Wales, and is
implementing a wide range of projects with sustainability as a central
focus of all that they do. It is a fully integrated project for a
single geographical area, and a very ambitious one. Ecodyfi is
attempting to address a range of issues that affect many of the rural
communities in Wales. All of the parts of the project have a
landscape element to them.
-
Tourism - market
research and improved information for visitors; encouragement to
tourism providers to be better coordinated and more 'green'
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Energy - a range
of renewable energy generation and energy efficiency projects
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Food - local food
project based around meat production, including support for the
local abattoir, investigating marketing of local lamb and linking
local produce with tourism to reinforce the distinctiveness of the
local landscape.
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Local timber -
support for the local wood-based businesses
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Transport and getting
around - developing cycling and horse riding routes
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Heritage -
Interpreting the area's local heritage.
Visit their website
to find out more.
Touchwood Partnership - making
more of wood
Touchwood was started as a way of increasing woodland
in the Stroud Valleys in Gloucestershire and management of it by
creating a better market for its products. A directory of people
producing, processing and using local timber for crafts, furniture,
building etc was published to increase the market for the raw timber and
finished products. The Stroud Valleys area has strong associations
with the Arts and Crafts Movement and the craftsmanship of artisans like
William Morris.
Visit their
website to find out more.
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