From 2003 to 2006, the National Forest Company’s LANDshapes project worked with local people to record and celebrate their culture and heritage of The National Forest.
This major project, supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund, achieved far more than anyone originally envisaged. Its successes include:
The LANDshapes website and Archive containing hundreds of contributions and articles was created. The Archive is still accessible and is an invaluable resource for anyone interested in researching the heritage of The National Forest.
The workshops and competition attracted a great deal of interest generating over 1000 images, many of which can be seen by following the link above.
36 hour-long audio recordings were made, of the personal memories and experiences of some of the people who live in The National Forest. We also visited a number of Primary Schools (links to http://www.landshapes.org/littlelandshapes/your_projects/index.html) where we recorded children talking about their own memories and experiences of life in The Forest.
LANDshapes commissioned internationally renowned artist David Nash to produce six pieces of publicly accessible art which are sited within the six landscape zones in The National Forest. The columns have been open to the public since June 2006. Discover more at The National Forest Company’s web site. (Links to http://www.nationalforest.org/involved/noon/index.html)
Our lavishly illustrated book spans the last 10,000 years and investigates many aspects of The National Forest from the underlying geology to the present dramatic transformation through the creation of the Forest.
A number of projects have been funded with the aid of a LANDshapes grant. Some of the projects that we have been involved with include Witan Archaeology’s Young Historian Project and a successful series of Walks & Memory Lane projects.
Furthering the work inspired by the LANDshapes project
The National Forest Company continues to run heritage projects and provide funding to successful applicants. For more information please contact The National Forest Company.
