Discovering Bolton Fell Moss : Exhibition, Film Premiere & Conversations Hethersgill Hall

19th September 2022
4:30pm - 7:00pm

Wide open day:

PART 2: AT THE VILLAGE HALL 4.30-7PM (FREE)

An event for everyone living around Bolton Fell Moss, or with a connection to it, before the Reserve opens fully to the public. The Moss of Many Layers project has involved Shankhill and William Howard schools, artists, University of Cumbria, Natural England, peat contractors, and  local folk with stories of Bolton Fell in its former life as a peat factory. This event in the village hall is a chance to see an exhibition of artwork, poetry and photography by local artists and school groups, and showings of a short film that has been created.  We really hope it will be of interest to plenty of people who live in the local parishes.
After the guided walk the Village Hall will open its doors for refreshments and a drop-in event. This is a chance to get to know more about the moss through a number of lenses, an interweaving of restoration perspectives, art, science, history and experiential responses to this extraordinary place. There will be artwork produced by the PLACE Collective artists and by young people, and information about the moss, with maps, carbon capture calculations, biodiversity notes, and more. Bolton Fell Moss has been under the care of Natural England since 2013; this event will be a chance to find out more about the moss’s transformation from industrial extraction towards restoration, from Natural England staff and from Cumbria University researchers.

This is an informal event, with opportunities to chat with the Moss of Many Layers team and the young people who’ve been getting to know the moss. Emma Austin, Natural England Senior Reserves Manager will be there to share her experiences and answer questions.

There will be an allotted time for the premier of the film by Juliet Klottrup. Artwork on display will include photography by Rob Fraser and Juliet Klottrup, a new map of Bolton Fell Moss by Helen Cann, poetry by Harriet Fraser, mixed-media work by Anne Waggot Knott, and cyanotypes and prints made by local young people from Shankhill Primary School and the Open Space Club at William Howard School, Brampton.

There’s no need to book for the village hall event.

This ‘Wide Open Day’ is an opportunity to visit Bolton Fell Moss National Nature Reserve before it opens to the public and to hear from the Natural England reserve managers, scientists, restoration specialists, artists and young people from local schools who have all been involved in the Moss of Many Layers project. The walk on the moss will be guided by team members, and the event in the village hall will include an exhibition of artworks and information about the science, biodiversity and restoration of the moss. We’re looking forward to a gathering that includes local residents who have close connections to the moss – and some who worked here in its former life as a site of peat extraction.