On Monday, 26 November, Yorkshire Peat Partnership celebrated the end of a very special project, Pledges to the Landscape. This was a collaboration with Keighley Creative that sought to bring Yorkshire’s wild and beautiful upland landscapes to children who might not be able to reach them, might not be aware they were surrounded by or could even consider visiting these precious habitats.
The project aim was to give primary school-age children the opportunity to get hands-on with bogs, helping them develop their understanding of environmental science whilst improving their creative skills. Its goal was to create a symbolic and collaborative artwork embedded in the landscape that would also help to restore peatlands on Denton Reserve, above Ilkley.
Local school children from Year 5 at Eastwood, Victoria, Riddlesden St. Mary’s, Worth Valley, Holycroft and Merlin Top primaries, in Keighley, were invited to join in the project, and classes were given their own “micro-peatbogs” to look after. The aim was to deepen the children’s understanding of the special bogs and landscapes around them without travelling to them.
Led by YPP’s Engagement Officer, Lucy Lee, and local artist, Naseem Darbey, the project held a series of interactive workshops in the six schools. These allowed the children to get creative in the classroom whilst learning about the environment around them and the importance of Yorkshire’s peatlands, their plants and wildlife.
Naseem collected the children’s drawings and burned them onto wooden planks using pyrography. The planks were used to construct a leaky dam as part of the peatland restoration on Denton Reserve. A team of pupils and teacher representatives from all six schools, and volunteers, ventured up to the bog to install the dam, where it has now started to slow the flow of water off the moor. The dam will, over time, be engulfed by peat as the bog grows around it, preserving the children’s art for centuries to come.
The whole process has been documented by film-maker, Finn Varney, whose film formed the centrepiece of Monday’s celebration at Keighley Creative. The film follows the project from classroom art sessions to dam installation and is available on YPP’s Vimeo channel.
YPP and Keighley hope to continue collaborating to can help more communities understand and experience Yorkshire’s peatlands.
Quotes
Lucy Lee, YPP’s Wilder Communities Engagement Officer said:
“Our stunning peatland landscapes and the wildlife they support are beautiful. They’re also a vital tool in combatting climate change, so it’s important that we all understand how valuable bogs are; it’s been heart-warming to see how quickly the pupils have come to know and love them.”
Artist and project lead, Naseem Darbey, said:
“The children that have been involved in the classroom project learnt about the importance of the plants and landscapes around them and how their preservation is essential. We looked at the past, present and future of these environments so they could understand how they work, and they documented the peatbogs using drawing materials. They tried different drawing techniques which helped the children really engage with the bog and they created some beautiful art in the process.”
Newly appointed Creative Director at Keighley Creative, Paula Clark, said:
“I am so excited by this creative community project that celebrates art and our local environment. It’s fantastic to see the commitment and talent of the children and the collaboration between Keighley Creative and Yorkshire Peat Partnership teams. I look forward to seeing the long-term results as the next generation increases their focus on preserving our precious landscapes into the future.”
Nick Bailey, Director, Denton Reserve, said:
“It’s a privilege to be custodians of one of Yorkshire’s peatlands. Restoring this stunning landscape through increasing biodiversity, working on projects that capture carbon and growing more sustainable food is central to our mission. We’re delighted to be part of this creative community project and to see that the children have embraced it so wholeheartedly. The artwork on the timber dam is remarkable and we’re thrilled to know it will be submerging itself in the peat here over the generations to come.”
Tracy Brabin, Mayor of West Yorkshire, said:
“I’m delighted to fund this fantastic work to educate and inspire our schoolchildren to connect with nature.
“It's vital that future generations understand the importance of protecting our natural environment, which has such a positive impact on our lives and our communities.
“We’re dedicated to working with partners to create a greener, more secure West Yorkshire that’s fit for the future.”
Pledges to the Landscape received funding from the West Yorkshire Combined Authority’s Community Climate Grants program and City of Bradford Metropolitan Bradford Council.