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Breaking News Newsletter for Breaking New Ground Landscape Partnership Scheme
Brecks Landscape Patterns (A6/2) ‘June was a busy month for Landscape Patterns Project Leader, local Artist Stephanie Hartick.
Art in the Park, held on 13th June at Brandon Country Park attracted over 55 participants of all ages. Visitors were encouraged to look for patterns in the Brecks, getting their inspiration from leaves, trees, cones or the Landscape Patterns photography file. Painted canvases were pegged up to dry, forming flags advertising the event.
Textile Artists Sam and Thirza, set up with their sewing machines in the Visitor Centre, embellished the canvases.
12 canvases were chosen to form part of a wall hanging which has already been displayed at the Apex as part of a talk on the 15th June by Bury Friendship Group to encourage the elderly to visit the Brecks and take part in BNG Projects. There will be an Landscape Patterns exhibition of the finished canvases for BNG.
For a report on Landscape Patterns Riverwalk in the Forest event, see our website.
Office Up-date:
June saw the departure of Holly from the BNG
team after almost exactly a year as the project‘s
Business Support Officer. Holly has taken up a
new post as Learning & Participation Officer
with The Churches Conservation Trust in King’s
Lynn. We would like to extend our best wishes
for the new role and express our gratitude for
the hard work put into developing the project
website and newsletter as well as the
numerous other details that helped us get to
where we are.
Martina North has joined the team in a part-
time capacity, and is working hard to pick up
where Holly has left off. We’re delighted to
welcome Martina to the team, and are already
benefitting from her extensive local knowledge.
Projects Round-up
Sandlines’ third creative writing workshop took place at West Stow Anglo Saxon Country Park. Themed on Ancient Communities and
Rivers. Holly’s full report can be found in this newsletter and on our website.
Brecks Landscape Patterns’, environment inspired art, held 2 very successful workshops at Brandon Country Park: Art in the Park and Riverside in the Forest.
Wings Over the Brecks have been live streaming fascinating footage from Weeting Heath Stone Curlew and Thetford Forest Goshawk nestcams.
www.breakingnewground.org.uk/events/
A newsflash for project partners and participants with news items , project updates,
special features and forthcoming events.
July 2015
Project Focus
Wing Over the Brecks Nest Camera Project Update (C4)
Sammy Fraser, RSPB Brecks Community Engagement Officer writes...
At Weeting Heath the Norfolk Wildlife Trust set up their camera on the heath and were successful in securing the first ever live camera footage of stone curlews on their nest. This was streamed live to their visitor centre and recorded footage was sent to High Lodge in Thetford Forest. The footage has provided a fantastic window into their nesting behaviour but also featured the antics of the reserves other wildlife including a lapwing family and rabbits chasing their arch enemy- the stoat. The celebrity stone-curlews managed to successfully hatch their chicks and to date the chicks can be seen out on the heath from the hides.
The project has also been successful in securing live footage of one of the most impressive hunters found in Thetford Forest- the goshawk. Live footage of the female chick (sadly only one egg
hatched) has been streaming at High Lodge, where visitors have been treated to views of the parents and the family feasting on pigeons- perhaps not the best viewing for lunch hour! The goshawk chick- dubbed Boudicca- successfully fledged during the second weekend in June, so fingers crossed she will be seen again and successfully raise young of her own.
For Sammy’s full report see our Website
Upon This Rock Geology Day School (C12)
Heritage buildings can give us fascinating insight into the geology of an area. From indigenous flint to far travelled ‘erratic’ rocks from the Ice Age, the Brecks has an interesting geological story to tell.
Few people, however, are aware of the contribution that geodiversity makes to the built heritage of the Brecks. It is also poorly represented in many of the specialist books on the area.
To address this the Norfolk Geodiversity Partnership will hold a Geology Day School introducing participants to the geology of the Brecks. The school will focus on the wealth of features present in Brecks churches and churchyards, and will include a field trip to key locations.
Participants will acquire a theoretical understanding of the range of building and gravestone materials of geological origin used in Brecks churches, their advantages and limitations, and will gain practical experience of identifying them in the field.
The school will primarily be aimed at parishes in the BNG scheme area, with a maximum of 30 places.
This day school is FREE. Booking required.
To find out more about this project visit the Upon This Rock project page or the Norfolk Geodiversity Partnership Website.
© NWT
© Ian Smith
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Project Focus
Connecting With the Landscape, the 3rd Sandlines Project Writing Workshop
On Saturday 13th June, I drove through some very heavy showers to West Stow Anglo-Saxon
Village. At one point the avenue of trees suddenly grew thicker and darker, trunks seemed to
double in size and grow more twisted, their leaves much denser blocking out the bright sunlight.
In this brooding woodland, it felt as if I had been transported onto the set of Lord of the Rings. I
was actually on route to take part in a creative writing workshop, themed on Ancient
Communities and Rivers. As Melinda, one of the workshop leaders remarked, such a landscape
must have been quite intimidating to even the hardy Anglo-Saxons.
Our small group was undeterred, and after a brief introduction, we ventured out in to
the village. Wandering through the empty site, with no agenda other than just to
explore and soak up the atmosphere was such a peaceful experience. I really felt
connected with the landscape and a time when life was simpler. The modern world
was an unwelcome intruder in the form of a discarded bottle top and bright red fire
extinguisher in the corner of one of the wooden huts.
Back in the warmth of the education room, we had worked through some writing
exercise with the guidance of Melinda and Lois, creators of the Sandlines project. At
lunchtime I had to nip across to Brandon Country Park to check in on another Breaking New Ground event - Art in the
Park (click here to reads news feature). I returned to West Stow just as the workshop was drawing to a close. Feedback
was very positive – one attendee, who is currently studying for a degree in creative writing, said that of all the
workshops he’d been on recently (and there had been a few), this was the best. The final workshop in the Sandlines
project is now fully booked, however, you can still benefit from the work being done. If you’d like help starting or
developing your creative writing skills, take a look at the Sandlines blogs which contain hints and tips.
Holly Isted Business Support Officer BNG
Picture of the Month
Matti from Riverwalk School at the Landscape Patterns Workshop in Brandon Country Park.
Get your project noticed!
If there is something that you
would like included in the next
newsletter, please send details
to Martina by 24th July.
Breaking New Ground—Nick and Martina:
c/o Visitor Centre, Brandon Country Park, Bury Road, Brandon, Suffolk, IP27 0SU
01842 815465 e: [email protected] t: @TheBrecksBNG
f: TheBrecksBNG. w: www.breakingnewground.org.uk
What the Brecks Means to Me...
When I joined BNG last year, I was new to The Brecks. In our very first newsletter I wrote
about an area waiting to be discovered (under the curious rain of hundreds of little beech
nuts). A year later, and I have been able to do some exploring, and meet a host of passionate
and inspirational people along the way. From pine lines to pingos, I have discovered some of
the iconic features that contribute to The Brecks’ sense of place. I’ve taken part in a range of
practical workshops learning how to record and take care
of heritage buildings, and explored the landscape through
art and creative writing. I’ve seen the launch of some
great school based projects, and watched some amazing
footage on live nest cameras.
To me The Brecks now means opportunity. It’s an area
where despite the hardships of climate and soil, humans
and animals have made a home and flourished. It’s an
area that will adapt to changes with the help of hard-
working and passionate people, and the support of schemes such as Breaking New Ground.
It’s a place of history, heritage and beauty with so much going on there’s always something
to do. So in parting I would urge you all to spread the word and encourage people to explore
this area. Step outside your office, your home, look up from your phone and ‘Breathe in The
Brecks’.
Holly Isted—Business Support Officer
Forthcoming Events:
Upon This Rock: 11th July
Watercolour Workshop Painting Pine Lines: 11th July (fully booked)
Sandlines—Forests and Flints: 15th July
Oral History Research and Interview Techniques: 18th July (am)
Oral History Cataloguing and Archiving : 18th July (pm)
Can You Dig It: 24th July
Guardians of History—Discover the Norfolk Records Office 24th July
See www.breakingnewground.org.uk for more details.
