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.

Celebrating the past, present and future of Pool

An intriguing and inspiring audio exhibition recalling the memories and experiences of people growing up in the area is open to the public until Sunday March 29 at The Bassett Institute in Pool.

‘Mine is Yours’ is inspired by people and place and investigates stories and memories of life in Pool, both past, present and future.

Contemporary artist Laura Smith has spent the last five months researching the history, heritage and stories associated with the area and the people who lived and worked there.

The audio exhibition centres around four themes: The Community, Wives and Families, older generation miners and younger generation miners. The interviews Laura has gathered have been re-recorded by pupils at Pool Business and Enterprise College and it is these accounts that will be played out of the four corners of the room.

Laura Smith, the artist leading the ‘Mine is Yours’ exhibition, said: “It’s been a great experience collecting the fascinating stories and memories, many of them from ex-miners from the area.

“The exhibition should be of interest to both the old and the young and the aim of working with the pupils from Pool School was to combine the heritage with the future. The pupils were fascinated with the real life experiences that were gathered and really enjoyed getting involved and extracting the most exciting parts of the interviews to tell the story.”

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.

Mine is Yours art installation opens to celebrate the past, present and future of Pool

Contemporary artist Laura Smith is set to open an intriguing and inspiring exhibition at The Bassett Institute at the heart of the Heartlands Pool Village scheme on Tuesday, 24 March.

The exhibition is the result of five months research in to the history, heritage and stories associated with the area and the people who lived and worked there. ‘Mine is Yours’ is inspired by people and place and investigates stories and memories of life in Pool, both past, present and future.

Since September Laura has collected over twenty fascinating stories and memories, many of them from ex-miners from the area. Ahead of the exhibition Laura is working with young people at Pool Business and Enterprise College to put the finishing touches to her creative work.

The exhibition is open from March 24 until 29 and is open from 2pm - 6pm weekdays, 10am -6pm on Sat 28, and 11am - 4pm on Sun 29 ‘Mine is Yours’ is part of the Mining Landscape project, a project of Aune Head Arts with Heartlands and the Tamar Valley AONB.

Alongside Laura’s work, 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.

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.

Heartlands is planned to transform Cornwall’s most derelict urban area into a truly inspirational cultural landscape. The project became a reality last year after receiving a £22.3 million grant from the Big Lottery Fund’s Living Landmarks programme – the only project in England to be awarded Living Landmarks funding.

The development will create a unique setting for a range of activities that are essential for the area’s social regeneration. Specific elements of the project include a new park and gardens area, one of the largest adventure playgrounds in the south west, exhibition and event areas, artist studios, a restaurant and residential housing.

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.

Heartlands tours on offer to the local community

Local people are being reminded that guided tours are taking place on a monthly basis around Heartlands in Pool.

The next monthly tour will leave Pool Health Centre on Friday 6th March at 2pm and the group will have the opportunity to learn first hand how the site will be transformed into an inspirational cultural landscape.

The group tours will be an opportunity for people to see how work on the site is progressing. The tours are being conducted by Heartlands Community Project Manager, Kirsty Davies.

Kirsty will be able to answer any questions people may have about the project and give commentary about key milestones whilst leading the group around perimeters of the 7.5 hectare site.

Kirsty said: “The feedback we’ve had from the tours I’ve already done has been really positive. The tours are another opportunity for local people to hear first hand from a member of the project team about what’s going on at the site and stay up to date with the project before work officially gets underway.”

Pool School students get creative at Heartlands

Art students from Pool Business and Enterprise College are using their creative talent to help make elements of Heartlands become reality.

The year-nine students are working closely with one of Heartlands’ commissioned artists, Nicky Neate, to carve their own designs on 20 wooden poles, which will form the outline of the smaller outdoor performance space on the site.

‘Plain an Gwarry’, which means ‘playing place’, will be set in the heart of the unique landscape, and host workshops and visiting theatres groups.

The students spent time at the Heartlands site in Pool gathering artefacts to inspire their designs on the 20 poles. To help capture the sites memories the students were given a first hand account of the area’s history from ex-miner Peter Hughes and were also given a tour of the Engine House, situated at the centre of the project in Robinson’s Shaft.

Cllr Carolyn Rule, Kerrier District Council’s portfolio holder for economy and regeneration, said: “Creativity and people are at the heart of Heartlands and this is a great example of just that. The young people have been a strong part of our inspirations for Heartlands from the beginning and it’s great to learn about how they are now helping make the project become reality and making their mark on what will essentially be an area for them to use and enjoy.”

Nicky Neate, one of the commissioned artists working on the Heartlands Project, said:” The students have been involved with Heartlands since the early days so despite the weather the students really enjoyed themselves. We tried to make the session as fun as possible the students wore wigs and performed a dance around the ‘Plain an Gwarry’ performance space where their designed poles will eventually be placed.

“People and creativity are at the heart of Heartlands and by combining the two it is our aspiration that the community has a sense of pride and ownership over the project.”

Scott James, Heartlands Programme Director, said:” The design of Heartlands has been subject to extensive consultation with the local community and students from Pool Business and Enterprise College played a large part in helping to inform the design process. It was great to have them on site, especially at such an exciting time as works are now well underway to prepare the site for the major site works to start.”

Local people invited on a tour of Heartlands

Local people are being given an opportunity to have a guided tour around the site of Heartlands in Pool.

The first tour will leave Pool Health Centre on Friday 5th December at 1pm and the group will have the opportunity to learn first hand how the currently derelict land will be transformed into an inspirational cultural landscape.

The tour, which is set to be the first of many, will be guided by Heartlands Community Project Manager, Kirsty Davies. Kirsty will lead the group around the perimeters of the site and will give people a commentary about what’s planned on the 7.5 hectare site and also answer any questions people may have about Heartlands.

Kirsty said: “We’re keen to get as many local people as possible involved with the tours. As a community led project the guided tours will be another opportunity for local people to stay up to date with the project in the lead up to the official start on site early next year and thereafter.”

The tours will be limited to 10 people and anybody interested should contact Kirsty Davies, Heartlands Community Project Manager on 01209 722323.