Team Cornwall in training for 2012 International Mining Games

Students from the Camborne School of Mines (CSM) are in preparation for the International Mining Games, which will be hosted by CSM at King Edward Mine Museum, near Camborne from 31st March to 1st April 2012.

While many of us are trying to get into shape by sweating it out in the gym or pounding the pavements, they are heaving mine wagons, laying rail tracks and chiselling through granite.

Now in its 34th year, this is the first time the competition will be held outside the US or Australia. 40 teams from all over the world will compete in physical challenges based on traditional mining techniques, many of which were originally developed in Cornwall in the 1700s and 1800s. The event will be free and open to spectators.

The primary aim of the competition is to celebrate traditional mining techniques, many of which were originally developed in Cornwall. Events such as ‘jackleg drilling’, ‘mucking’ and ‘track stand’ test the competitors’ physical strength, speed and endurance, while challenges like surveying depend more on knowledge and quick thinking. All rely on preparation and excellent teamwork. CSM is entering three teams and the students have put together a busy training schedule, around their studies.

CSM student Oakley Turner is leading on the organisation of the games. He said: “The skills required for these traditional techniques are now extremely rare, but an understanding of them is still vital to the mining industry. CSM students are among the few people with this expertise, which puts our graduates in very high demand among employers.

“Hosting the International Mining Games is a wonderful way for us to celebrate our skills and bring a really exciting event to Cornwall. It will be a great opportunity for local people to see these techniques being carried out in the same part of the world as they were originally developed.”

The International Mining Games started in 1978 in honour of the 91 miners who died in the Sunshine Mine disaster, USA in 1972, as well as miners that have since died in the line of duty. Since then, it has grown and evolved and also provides a talent scouting opportunity for mining companies and companies in related sectors, as well as bringing together mining students from all over the world.

Head of Camborne School of Mines Professor Frances Wall said: “We are very proud that our students are bringing this prestigious competition to Cornwall. Representatives from some of the world’s biggest mining companies will be attending, so this will be an excellent opportunity for our students to network and potentially secure future employment.

“It will also be great fun for our students and for local people, who we hope will come to cheer along the CSM teams.”

King Edward Mine, known to generations of students as KEM, was for over a century CSM's field station for practical mining and surveying. Now open as a museum, the mine is owned by Cornwall Council and is managed by a team of volunteers who stated restoration work on the site 25 years ago.

Mining Engineer Tony Brooks, former CSM student and director of King Edward Mine Museum, said: "We are delighted to be able to help host the Mining Games at KEM. There could be nowhere more appropriate for this event. This will be good for CSM, Camborne and Cornwall"

Listen now to our latest podcasts!

This month we're looking inside Heartlands with two delicious podcasts from our exhibition planner, Andrew Leitch. As well as restoring the former mine buildings at Robinson's Shaft and preserving many of the artefact's that were found there, the World Heritage Site exhibition within Heartlands will bring to life the history of Cornish mining in an innovative and interactive way. In the podcasts, Andrew Leitch gives an exclusive glimpse inside the exhibitions revealing the captivating human story as well as the challenges involved in interpreting the Cornish Mining story.

The exhibitions will be delivered within the restored Robinson's Shaft mine buildings over the next couple of months.

For more information and a Guided Tour, please contact the Heartlands Team on 01209 722320.

Opening Doors tell us about their visit to Heartlands

Today we had a different meeting. We went to the Heartlands Project in Pool to see what was happening there. We need a new place to meet so we are looking at all the different places we could use. We hope to use some rooms at the Heartlands Project.

The Heartlands project is all about using land that was not being used and changing it to land that can be enjoyed by lots of people. They will take some of the old buildings and make them better. They will build new buildings. It will look great when it is done.

They will have nice gardens for people to relax in. They will have a pond and water feature that people will enjoy. There will be a museum for people to learn about the history of all the work in the tin mining industry. There will be a theatre for performances. There will be artist's studios. There will be an open air theatre for music and performances.

Kirsty showed us on the model what it would look like.

This is some of the land that is not being used at the moment. It used to look a mess.

This will be the cafe. It needs lots of work doing to it.

This is the Robinson's Shaft where the museum will be.

This is where they will build the artists studios. It was flat and nothing there. It was hard to imagine what it would look like. They will have markets and a children's centre.

There is a web cam which will show how they are getting on. You can see it on the Internet at the Heartlands website. Have a look at http://www.heartlandscornwall.com/

Here they are building a new road so that you can get to Heartland easily. You can get a bus there. David knew lots about mining and all the big machines they were using. He told us what they were and what they did. David told us all about his family who worked at Falmouth Docks and the Holman works.

We finished off our tour by having our picture taken with Sarah, Kirsty and Claire. Gary and Judith looked cool in their sunglasses. It was a great day for a visit.

Sheila has done lots of art work which helped to the money for the Heartlands project. Gary said he was pleased he had found out more about the Heartlands project. Tina thanked everyone for the interesting visit. Persida said its going to be awesome when its finished. We were all excited about the project and what it would look like.

Kirsty and Sarah said they were happy that we had come to see the project. They said to keep in touch. They would like to do other things with us. Things like fireworks on bonfire night and Christmas. We then had lunch with Kirsty, Sarah and Claire.

Words and photos kindly created by Peter Keeves, Cornwall Partnership Trust.

Balloon winner announced!

The winner of the Heartlands Biodegradable Balloon Race has been announced! Local student Roxanne Penfold from Pool Business and Enterprise College, is now the proud owner of a new bike thanks to her balloon making the 712 mile trip to the small town of Modingen in Germany.

In total 33 balloons were reported found from Jersey, France and the winner in Germany.

The balloon release that took place on July 23rd was to mark the launch of construction on site and echoed the movement of Cornish people around the world in the 18th and 19th century.

Roxanne has been involved with Heartlands through the geography department. Roxanne and her year group have been researching the renewable energy sources that we will have on site to power Heartlands.

Roxanne is pictured above receiving her prize, along with friend Shauna, and Pool Business and Enterprise teachers Mrs Boase and Mr Brooks.

Found balloons mapped out

There have now been 22 balloons reported found from the 'Great Heartlands Biodegradable Balloon Race'. We have had reports from Germany, France and Jersey to let us know that the balloons have manged to cross the Channel.

Mapping the found balloons it can be seen that the furthest travelled is in Germany. Each balloon is represented by a red pin on the map.

There are only 3 more weeks left until the winner of the furthest travelled balloon is announced!

Totems finished!

Over the last 2 years artist Nicky Neate, has been involved in this community led art piece with a task of inscribing a message, poem or sentiment to the recycled totem beams that will surround the concave circle of the Plan an Gwarry, that will be located in the Market Square at Heartlands.

Through a series of interactive workshops with students from Pool Business and Enterprise College, year 9 students created their own graphics for an alphabet. This alphabet is unique to the location and site of Robinson's Shaft at Heartlands; the group picked letters from the alphabet and the students were then given the task of designing their own letter, using and being inspired by the discarded metal objects that were collected from the mine site.

The year 9 students then produced a poem using their alphabet which has been cut out of copper and steel plates and fixed on to the totem beams by Nicky.

Four more balloons found over the weekend

The first emails I see this Monday morning are from France, which tells me that more balloons have been found!

One was found in the town of Maine et Loire, east of Nantes, another was found on the beach informing us that the balloon had successfully crossed the English Channel near a village called Pleneuf Val-Andre, not so far from the town of Saint-Brieuc, in northern Brittany, and a third balloon was found in a small village called Saint-Aubin-des-Ormeaux, next to a road that crosses a river called the La Sevre. All three of the balloons successfully made it to France.

Also, this morning we had a phone call from a British family who are on holiday in Jersey telling us that they are on St Ouens beach on the west coast of Jersey and have just found a balloon.

That is 12 balloons in total that have been reported with the furthest travelled at the moment reaching Haute Vienne, which is 140 miles north east of Bordeaux, France.

Students hardwork is celebrated

Last week over 300 young people gathered to celebrate this years Heartlands Primary School Project, and to showcase their hard work.

This years project was the third year that Pool Business and Enterprise College and Heartlands worked together to host the project to 6 local primary schools. Treloweth, St Johns, Rosemellin, Portreath, Illogan and Roskear all focused on the interpretation centre that will be housed in the Robinson's Shaft buildings, which are at the hub of the Heartlands site. Year five and six students from each school looked at creating their own child-friendly visitor guides for the museum that will be built at Heartlands. Students visited several mining sites in Cornwall, such as Geevor and Cornish Mines and Engines in Pool, to inspire their project work. All six schools also visited the Heartlands site to take a look at what it looks like prior to construction work commencing.

The imaginations of the students and teachers ran wild, with replica model engine houses being built, merchandise such as bookmarks, badges and colourful fridge magnets produced that could be sold in the gift shop at Heartlands, miners helmets were made and also wonderful t-shirts, as well as the very impressive visitor guides, which were filled with interesting facts, puzzles, maps and important information about Robinson's Shaft.

Students take their Lost Words to the beach

The hugely successful Lost Words Found Objects arts project, which has been a partnership between Heartlands, artist Ben Cook and students from Pool Business and Enterprise College, is coming to a finale.

Lost Words Found Objects is a project looking at the Cornish language and exploring forgotten words in the Cornish vocabulary. Find out what happened when year 8 students from Pool School took their Lost Words to Gwithian Beach, at their blog here.

Cornwall College students help capture Heartlands in pictures

Every stage of Heartlands' development is being documented on camera by students from Cornwall College, Camborne.

The photography students will be making regular visits to the site to document each stage in the £35million project. Before work officially gets underway, the students have been busy capturing the site, documenting and archiving the historic buildings before the site is cleared and prepared in preparation for building work in the summer this year.

The pictures will be an inspirational resource not only for artists and designers working at Heartlands, but also for the community, including educational and community organisations. Heartlands social archive has been created to raise awareness about Cornwall's cultural heritage, as well as recognising and celebrating its achievements and aims to offer insight through learning from the material culture of this historic World Heritage Gateway.

The Cornwall College students that are photographing the site are studying for the Foundation degree in Animation and Foundation degree in Multimedia Design. Stephen Howard, Head of Multi Media and Animation at Cornwall College said "We are delighted to be able to work with Heartlands, the students are enjoying being involved in an exciting live project right on their door step and gaining valuable work experience too".

Lost Words Found Objects Blog

Heartlands have been working with Pool Business and Enterprise College and artist Ben Cook on the Lost Words Found Objects project. Click here to keep up to date with all the Lost Words Found Objects news.

Local student councils unite at Heartlands

Student council groups from Pool, Camborne and Redruth secondary schools have joined forces to keep an eye on the progress of Heartlands.

The students were introduced to the project by having a guided tour of the site. Pool Business and Enterprise College, Redruth Technology College and Camborne Science and Community College are located within a short distance of the Heartlands project, therefore are keen to get to grips with the project and relay information on the scheme to their fellow students. In the future we hope that the student council can guide us on how they might use Heartlands when it is open.

Lost Words Found Objects take to the Great Flat Lode

For the second part of the Lost Words Found Objects project, year 7 students led by artist Ben Cook, walked the Great Flat Lode trail. The young people navigated themselves using O.S maps and compasses from Wheal Basset to King Edward Mine. Along the way the students from Pool Business and Enterprise College recorded what they saw and found using sketchbooks and digital media, keping their eyes open for as many 'Lost Words' as they could find.

As the project progresses they will be encouraged to find ways in which they can manifest their 'Lost Words' in a physical form of their choosing. The words will be collated in to a book and used to inform and inspire artists working on the Heartlands project.

Pool pupils surf the waves on their eco boards

After months of preparation, students from Pool Business and Enterprise College have taken to the waves at Gwithian Beach on individually created belly boards inspired by life in Cornwall, and made out of recycled wood.

Panels of un-used wood, which were collected from Heartlands at Robinson's Shaft in Pool by the year nine students, have been transformed into eco-friendly belly boards. The boards have been illustrated with images chosen by the pupils, which depict stories they have gathered from their family members and local residents about life in Pool.

The project, named 'Lost Words, Found Objects', involves working with the local community to help develop the project and inspire the artists and designers working at Heartlands. This strand of the project was led by local artist Ben Cook.

Ben said the event at Gwithian Beach named 'Exhibition in the Sea' gave pupils the opportunity to showcase their boards both in and out of the water.

"After a professional surf lesson the pupils had a fantastic time trying out their boards. The belly boards are completely unique and the images that the pupils have chosen are all personal to their experiences of Pool's past and how they see the future of the area."

Ben added: "This has been an exciting project for the pupils to get involved with and they have learnt that sustainable living can be fun. Raw materials, which were no longer of use on the Heartlands site and have now been transformed into fantastic original belly boards for the pupils to surf on and will later be exhibited at Heartlands for all to see."

The pupils boards were judged by Debbie Luffman, designer from Finisterre, which sells surfinspired, environmentally-focused technical clothes. Members from the Cornwall Council’s west Cornwall outreach team also joined in the day’s event.

We were also very lucky to have myCornwall.tv film all the bellyboard action from start to finish .

Inspiring the future - Pupils join forces at story telling event

More than 220 pupils from schools across the Camborne, Pool and Redruth area have come together to recall memories and tell their stories of the area.

The pupils from seven schools have spent the last 10 weeks gathering stories and speaking to older generations in their family to learn about their memories.

The story telling event, which was held at Carn Brea Leisure Centre on 24 March, gave the pupils involved with the project the opportunity to exhibit their stories to members of the public and other family relatives.

Members of the Heartlands Project were on hand to talk about the development of the Project and professional storyteller, Mark Harandon, entertained the pupils with exciting tales in between tours around the storyboards. To mark the end of the event all the children involved with the story telling project were presented with a Heartlands bookmark and certificate. Four pupils from each school, will be awarded a book token for the best stories and their stories will feature in a booklet which will be produced to tell the story of Heartlands, its past, present and future.

The stories that have been gathered will help form part of the Heartlands social history archive
which will be accessible to all of the commissioned artists working on the project. The stories will
enable the artists to gain inspiration and allow them to base their ideas on real accounts and
experiences of the area.


Cllr Carolyn Rule, Kerrier District Council’s portfolio holder for economy and regeneration, said: “The story telling event was a wonderful opportunity for the young and old to come together and recall fascinating memories and experiences of growing up in the area.

“Paul Annear, from Pool Business & Enterprise College worked with Kirsty Davies, Heartlands Community Project Manager, to collect the stories with the pupils.

Kirsty said: “The story telling event was a fantastic opportunity to get all the children that were involved with the workshops together and share the fascinating memories that had been collected. I’m delighted that the feedback from everyone involved was really positive and I know that the pupils are really excited about the Heartlands Project becoming a reality in the knowledge they have helped inspire elements of it. “

A big thank from Heartlands and Pool Business and Enterprise College goes to all 7 primary schools for your enthusiasm and wonderful stories which will contribute to the Heartlands Social History Archive. The archive will be stored at Heartlands and features stories from local residents, young people and miners about life in Pool. The archive will be used to inspire artists and designers working at Heartlands.

Heartlands team gather stories to further inspire the project

The memories and experiences of local people that live in the area surrounding the Heartlands Project in Pool are being gathered by primary school pupils.

Year five pupils from seven local schools are busy recalling their experiences of growing up and living in the area and speaking to older generations in their family to learn about their memories.

The stories that are gathered will help form part of the Heartlands Social History archive which will be accessible to all of the commissioned artists working on the project. The stories will enable the artists to gain inspiration and base their ideas on real accounts and experiences of the area.

Cllr Carolyn Rule, Kerrier District Council’s portfolio holder for economy and regeneration, said: “It’s great to see all generations getting involved with making their mark on the Heartlands Project.

From the start of the project the creative ideas from the very people that live in the area have helped shape the plans. As the project gathers pace the pupils involved with the story telling event can feel a real sense of pride that their ideas and experiences have helped inspire the project.”

Paul Annear, from Pool Business & Enterprise College is working with Kirsty Davies, Heartlands Community Project Manager, to collect the stories through a series of workshops with the pupils.

Kirsty said: “The children we’ve worked with so far are delighted to be involved and have had a great time recalling their own memories. All the students have said how exciting it has been to go home and learn more about the history of the area from their family members and said they’ve learnt a lot in the process.”

All the 220 pupils involved with the story gathering will exhibit their work at a celebration event on March 24, from 9:30am- 12pm at Carn Brea Leisure Centre. The event will be open to parents, relatives and the public and will be a showcase of all the stories and memories of the area.

Pupils will be rewarded for their work and will be presented with a Heartlands bookmark and certificate. Four winning pupils from each school will also receive a book token and will feature in a booklet about the project.