Just the act of getting 150 young people up onto the Dartmoor tors was an important aspect of surveying the landscape as they have proceeded to use their senses to survey this landscape. Our ‘survey’ focused on a particular place – Dartmoor. Being in the landscape and experiencing it directly has given us some rich data.
The young people all buckled down and did the tasks, recording all in the notebooks – these look great & will be a great resource. What they proceeded to record, all in quite diverse ways, concentrating on the different aspects of Dartmoor, was impressive. It was very good having a range of people deliver the tasks, as they all did it in their own individual way. This has helped the children record the landscape in dissimilar ways.
Hopefully it will lead onto the kids to think through the subtle things they value most about Dartmoor and reflect on the communities we belong to, as they all live close to Dartmoor. With future sessions allowing the children to expand and alter their understanding of ‘public space’.
The project is building on my continued engagement in the social, cultural and natural histories of sites and territories. With the children investigating the sites historical and geographical nature, as well as its possible future uses this will, optimistically, allow them to touch on notions of kinship and belonging as well as those of property and ownership so connected to the meaning of ‘public space’, or ‘common space’, in the English language and in Anglo cultures.
With them merging this research with their descriptive writings, which has pulled in their subjective, emotional response, to this place, has exciting possibilities. And I feel there is rich mileage in this work and thinking ahead of a workbook of activities, this could be set out in a series of class sessions, but still allow for flexibility around different schools and places. I’m very excited to see the end archival ‘product’, but a little scared to the amount of material they are recording (x 300 children!).
The afternoon went very well, with them working on the tasks. There was some difficulty in that the cameras did not come back to John (for the photo to be downloaded onto the system) all at the same time. But there was some great writing and some great photos – be difficult editing down into a manageable archive. We agreed to leave the children’s notebooks in school to aid them in future lessons. But they will be typing up some material from their notebooks and then the school will email me this.
after all the planning, discussions and testing of childrens tasks we got out for a fantastic session on Dartmoor. Went really well with good feedback from everyone involved (the other artists, the park rangers and the school).
The young people asked the ranger really intelligent questions about the man made vs natural landscape and its management in the future, I was impressed.
Very relieved to see that it all ran quite smoothly too.
Day two in a couple of weeks when we talk the second half of this year group.
I’m seeking views on Dartmoor and if you’d classify it as a theme park or as a wilderness?
As you can see with the older posts here,
I’ve been working with young people who live on, or near to, Dartmoor & I’ve now asked them “would you classify Dartmoor as a theme park or a wilderness”
They will be undertaking some research into Dartmoor and then together we will visit this place and do some fieldwork, recording the place using sound, drawing, photography and text, before coming up with an answer.
Personally I’m tending to see Dartmoor more as a theme park then just a park, and definitely not a wilderness. As a managed environment – doesn’t that make it a theme park – whose theme is ‘a wild, natural country’?
i’ve thought it is interesting when i’m there that there is this boundary, one min you are in a park, then you aren’t. You cross this invisible line. Also interesting all the planning restrictions because you are in the park – making it seem like a different age.
But what do you think. How would you classify Dartmoor, a theme park, or is it wilderness?
I know things are never just B&W and I don’t really agree with sticking labels on things, but what do you think; can you help with this question?
I’ve made a poll and i’m seeking opinions at http://www.51degreesnorth.net/joe/archives/879
Read a review of my radio prog ‘sounds of the seaside’ here http://thedomesticsoundscape.com/wordpress/?p=2000
This radio program is one of the bases to me new project where i’m investigating Dartmoor.
One outcome will be another hr long radio show featuring childrens comments on the landscape, mixed with soundscapes.
Along with a radio show, this will be combined with other material and be placed into hand made boxes and placed in the landscape, as well as being put onto google earth.
Been an engaging and interesting experience so far with this project.
Taking my experience working with this school and the last project and in that I will be working with the whole year group, which means 300 plus children, the school agreed to my role being initially a planning role. This has meant I have spent time with teachers (from the art and the geography department) and with a selected group from the year group. Together we have devised the project and exercises they will undertake on their ‘deep learning day’.
Working with some of the children we tested out their ideas on each other before settling on the task.
The school have been great in that I asked if rather then the teachers telling the children the answer, we can ask a question and hear the answer(s) they might come up with.
From their research I will then combine into an artwork. All sounding very exciting and can’t wait till the days out.
