ACTIVITY REPORT
October - December 2014
Introduction
Now in its second year ‘Exmoor’s Inspiring Landscapes (Woodlands)’, activity from October to December 2014 is set out in the table below, following the same format as within the Action Plan submitted in the original bid for funding. There are additional elements at the end of the table which pick up uncompleted activity from Year 1, or where activities are continuing into Year 2.
Please refer to the Project spreadsheets which document the figures used within the table below. This is not a cumulative report, aside from the ongoing tally of outputs in column 3 for the whole of Year 2; please refer to previous reports which set out in detail the activity specific to each reporting quarter.
Activity / Targets - Year 2 / Tally - Year 2 / Tally – whole Project / Status and Activity Since Last Report /Review of year 1 activities
in consultation with the project advisory group and volunteers / 1 / Write-up will conclude during the next quarter and will include a promotional document summarising the Team’s highlights.
Call for Volunteers
Advertise & recruit / Maintain 20+ volunteers to deliver project activities. Aim to recruit at least 8 young people 16-25 to the group. / 60 vols signed up
14 under 25s
17 active vols / 8 new volunteers were recruited this quarter, 2 of which came via advertising on Exmoor National Park’s website. 1 via West Buckland School advertising our heritage placements. 4 were recruited directly via word of mouth, due to Volunteer Coordinator promoting opportunities in Lynton/Lynmouth/Brendon.
2 volunteer coffee mornings took place this quarter, thanking existing volunteers for their time in 2014 and planning 2015 activities. We had 4 new volunteers attend one of the coffee mornings.
A new volunteer recruitment poster was put together and displayed in the National Park Centre, as well as village notice boards and local newsletters.
All volunteering opportunities are now on the new do-it system (national coverage online)
1 new volunteer has come forward to begin a distance heritage placement with us, looking at event promotion and publicity for the project. A young graduate who lives in Essex but keen to gain more work experience.
Regular heritage talk, walk, tour programme with local societies around the theme of Exmoor’s Inspiring Landscapes (woodlands) / 24 walks, talks, tours, trails / 10
214 people attended / 45
1336 people attended / 7 events were organised during this quarter:
· 6 evening talks under the banner of ‘Evenings@thePavilion’:
o Why Exmoor River Matter by Roger Furniss of the Exmoor Rivers & Streams Group
o Exmoor Coast Revealed – myths, tales and legends by ENPA Ranger Tim Parish
o A Delve Into Exmoor’s Woodlands by ENPA Woodland Officer Robin Offer
o Exmoor’s Woodland Heritage by ENPA Archaeology Officer Rob Wilson-North
o Tales from an Exmoor Hill Farm by local author Victoria Eveleigh
o Exmoor Mires Project by Project Officer Morag Angus
· 1 guided “Deer Walk in Rut” was run by two ENPA Rangers, leaving from Prayway Head which an astonishing 45 people attended. They were delighted to see two large herds of deer emerging from the mist during their walk.
152 people attended these events.
Training for volunteers / 15 days of expert time for training. Specifically 4 sessions per year to train as Heritage Volunteers / 2 vol training events. 2 days of expert time.
22 total attendance / 10 vol training events
87 total attendance / Oral History training for volunteers has been booked for 21st Jan 2015.
Discover Lichen training in partnership with Plantlife 4th October 2014.
First Aid training on 24th October 2014 for volunteers who are starting up as tour guides/heritage volunteers in 2015.
Planning underway for walking routes in Lynton, Lynmouth, Porlock for heritage volunteers in partnership with Exmoor National Park Authority.
Launch Heritage theme memory challenge / One theme every two months, 10 new responses on average / 1 theme
33 responses / 2 dedicated volunteers look after the Project’s Your Exmoor section within the National Park Centre and this is where the memory challenge sits at present. During this quarter the theme chosen for the memory challenge was ‘Autumn Glory’, showing a woodland path and mushrooms. Visitors were encouraged to write their memories and experiences of Exmoor’s Autumn on the mushrooms, and place them along the path. 33 responses were pinned to the board.
In January this area will be augmented with online Pinterest Boards for each memory challenge, for the community to share their memories and photos through social media.
Delivery of heritage challenges with community youth groups / 6 weekly sessions (1 day/ week) with 12 young people to explore the theme. Create a temporary exhibition documenting their activities and experiences / The Mosaic Youth Project has identified 2 Young Champions interested in taking forwards a photographic challenge. They will be set the task of inviting other young people to join them in the challenge. The structure of the photographic challenge has been defined now and over Year 2 the Project will support the Young Champions to take it forwards. This will also be in partnership with the University of Plymouth.
Exmoor Young Farmers have taken on the challenge of recording memories and hopes about Exmoor’s Hill Farming across the generations, culminating in an exhibition later in 2015.
2 more challenges, one for the region’s schools and one for the region’s colleges (“Exmoor Uncut” and “Exmoor Revealed”) are set for August 2015, each running for 3 or 4 days. Some places are already filled.
The Ilfracombe Academy is keen to progress this activity strand and discussions are continuing so as to firm up an approach.
In October 2015 the Project will be delivering this challenge in partnership with the National Trust as part of Year 3.
Temporary exhibition – e.g. Louisa Lifeboat / 2000 viewings / Relates to the above activity.
Temporary exhibition with West Exmoor Federation (of Year 1 work) / 1 exhibition
130 school children taking part in exhibition and 1000 visits / 3 small exhibitions / Currently in the exhibition calendar to be displayed in March 2015, and to cover their seashore safaris, sculpture workshop, light drawing work as part of the National Big Draw campaign and their Viking re-enactment on Countisbury Hill.
Family Fun day with West Exmoor Federation / Successful delivery of the day
300 people attending, 8 seaside safaris, sea shanty show, / An exciting evening took place on December 9th 2014, “Vikings Attack!”. In place of sharing their coastal heritage work, the Project organised a Film Premiere evening showing the two films made of their Viking re-enactment on Countisbury Hill. Two pupils from the Federation read about their Viking experiences before ENPA’s Education Officer dramatically recounted the day’s events to the audience. After the fantastic films (produced by our former ‘Heritage Placement’ student) were shown, everyone then enjoyed Viking-themed food while being entertained by visitors from the national group “The Vikings” who had brought their raven and ‘wolf dogs’. Added into the mix were theatrical stories retold by member of the Stiltskin Theatre Group. All the children then dressed up in the Viking garb and wielded swords for photos! It was a great evening celebrating everyone’s achievements, and the films are now available to view on YouTube.
Recruitment and training of year 2 volunteer heritage placements / 2 x6 week placements and structured training programme
Recruit 2 placements in Yr 2 months 15 & 19
And further 2 placements in Yr 2 month 19 / One Heritage Placement
8 work experience placements / Targeted meetings continue with regional colleges to raise the profile of this opportunity amongst staff and students.
1 new volunteer has come forward with a view to starting a heritage placement in January 2015.
Temporary exhibitions – Year 2 / 2 in year 2
30 people taking part in creating exhibitions and 2000 visits / 7 exhibitions
4800 people viewing / 21 exhibitions
14250 people viewing / 5 exhibitions have been displayed during this quarter:
o The Romantic Poets Exhibition continued to be displayed in Porlock during October and November.
o The WW1 community exhibition remains until further notice in St Mary’s Church, Lynton.
o October saw an exhibition of stories from the Hoar Oak Project – about remote farming on Exmoor.
o Exmoor’s Wonderful Woodlands exhibition ran through November, to tie in with the fantastic show of colours in the area.
o The Dark Starry Skies Community Project displayed some of their lovely responses about Exmoor’s Dark Skies during December – a feast of poems and pictures from schools and community groups, poems and stories from local artists and specially produced art work.
Testing of the mobile App / 100 people to trial the app and provide feedback / Waiting for content to be uploaded – audio pieces have been commissioned (capturing both natural and cultural heritage).
Your Exmoor heritage activity day workshops / Target to deliver 14 workshops for year 2 themes; 14 new activities designed;
10 people per workshop average;
100 creative responses to the heritage generated in year 2; Volunteers trained to lead / 6 events
125 people attended
41 on average per event / 28 events
459 people attended
41 on average per event / 5 events have been held this quarter, attended by 105 people (21 people on average per event):
o Stained Glass Workshop led by Glorious Glass
o The 2-day long event “Living on the Hedge” – making up a component of our Woodland Explorer Passport activities which ran for the October half term week. These 2 events were delivered by the National Trust as a Project Partner and covered hedgerow foraging.
o Tracks & Trails – an event run in woods atop Lynton by ENPA Ranger and the Project’s Heritage Officer, families learnt about animal tracks, made a bug zoo and examined their finds under the projectable microscope.
o Tales of the Exmoor Coast: a well-supported event where people were invited to come and listen to ‘known’ tales of the coast (myths, legends and stories) and were then asked to heckle, add stories, comment and share tales, over mulled wine and a mince pie! 45 people came, some travelling for an hour to be there, and large maps of Exmoor’s coast were scribbled on and annotated with new anecdotes and tales. Plans are now afoot to display the responses to the public during 2015.
Family learning days / 8 family days / 4 events
187 people attending / 31 events
1834 people attending / 4 Family Learning Days occurred this quarter:
1. Teddy Bears Picnic at Horner Woods Picnic Area (a National Trust site). This delightful event was aimed at younger children to encourage them out into Exmoor in a gentle and supported way. Various workshops were enjoyed during the day, including storytelling in a cosy bell tent, opportunities to make musical instrument using wood and natural materials (even harps were constructed, fully tensioned!), a drumming workshop and a small fire with hot chocolates and marshmallows. With the picnic blankets and bunting, teddy bears and children in fancy dress it was a colourful and inspiring day!
2. The Project Team and volunteers took part in the Big Adventure Day at Webbers Post, taking along the projectable microscope. In addition to the usual mini-beast hunt, the team ran 3 other games during the day for families to take part in:
o Leaf rubbing – with Autumn coloured paper and metallic crayons, people chose lovely veined Autumn leaves to rub. We were surprised how many people had never actually done this before!
o Connect with a tree – people were taken off to a large tree nearby and asked to take a few minutes looking at it, its bark, the tops of its branches, and then were asked to write down one word which described how they felt about the tree. This was surprisingly popular and people of all ages seemed to really value the opportunity to take a bit time to consider a tree. The resulting words will be put together into a poem for display.
o Bug Eye Rope Walk – using two ‘bug view’ eye scopes covering their eyes, people walked along a looping rope trail on the ground. If they managed it without peeping then they won a small prize. Hugely popular and more difficult than it sounds!
3. Heddon Valley Fun Day was run by the National Trust, a Project Partner, offering a variety of wildlife activities (badge making, bug zoos, colouring and guided walks)
4. Spooky Walk at Wimbleball Lake. Run in partnership with the South West Lakes Trust, lots of activities were enjoyed by families, including facepainting, lantern making, bat-ring making, lavender broomstick making, spells and potions in a self-made pot, wicker wand making. Families then all headed out on a spooky trail through the woods, visiting 9 different spooky stations, collecting letters and clues from giant pumpkins to make the name of a woodland creature. The trail included real bat-sounds from recorded bats, a street performer gargoyle, a cauldron which all the children stirred magic ingredients into, a woven wicker penyatta full of Somerset and Devon apples as well as glowing ghosts strung in the trees! It was an amazing event full of fun and exploration.
For the whole October half term week the Project ran the Woodland Passport scheme, where families could collect stickers for each participating event and 3 stickers or more won them a prize. 200 passports were handed out during the week, and partners included the National Trust, South West Lakes Trust, Exmoor National Park and The Crown Estate. Three families came forwards to claim a prize at the end of the week. One family arrived at the start of the half term and used the passport to work their way through the different events all week, proving that it worked well as a promotional tool. Although 200 passports were handed out, we have not included that within the total figures for the quarter as we cannot confirm how many people actually attended the events as a result of the passports.