What's New

It’s been good to be involved in so many new projects this year. Forestry Commission Scotland (FCS) has provided three fascinating contracts:

• Continuing interpretive work for the award-winning Peregrine Wildwatch site near Huntly in Aberdeenshire
• The first ever full audit of public-access FCS forests in Aberdeenshire.
• A partnership project between FCS and RSPB at Culbin, a forest planted to stabilise a vast sand dune system on the Moray Coast and now providing a fragile habitat for many rare species.

Work continues on behalf of British Waterways with the Great Glen Ways Initiative: about 50 wooden and Caithness flag interpretive markers (designed by Ross Associates) with inset panels (written by local company Rowan Tree) will soon be erected along the Great Glen Ways, the culmination in an interpretive planning process kicked off by Michael Glen in 1995

After producing panels for its sites at Arras and Zehrensdorf near Berlin (see picture), the Commonwealth War Graves Commission has asked Interpretaction and Ross Associates to develop panels for its cemeteries at Arnhem and Suda Bay in Crete. It is a privilege to help communicate the stories of those who fought and lost their lives in conflict to new generations.

A really enjoyable audit contract allowed Verity and associate Eleanor Bird to spend several weeks auditing interpretation (impact of buildings, exhibitions and interpretive panels) within the beautiful landscape of the Yorkshire Dales for the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority.

Working in the Dales left both Eleanor and Verity keen to return for pleasure rather than business!

Flashpoint, the drama based life-changing experience for kids with difficult issues in their lives, which Leeds Royal Armouries used successfully in secondary schools in Leeds for two previous phases has now moved into its third phase. Interpretaction produced a DVD evaluation report summary of phases 1 and 2 and hopes to do the same for phase 3, which is based around Robin Hood for the younger participant age range rather than Romeo and Juliet as previously. Verity and Nicky Boyd are auditing this together – so watch this space on Flashpoint!

The good thing about all this evaluation work is being able to share the knowledge and techniques developed. Verity has led more training than ever before over the last year, with courses being offered on interpretive writing and planning, education/outreach projects, and live interpretation through the Highlands and Islands Skills-building for the Future programme.

After seven years on the board of IMTAL Europe, Verity stepped down as a director at the AGM in Paris in August 2006. It was a great experience to be involved in the birth of such a badly needed organisation, which exists to promote networking and good practice within the live interpretation industry across Europe. The most memorable moment has to be the 2001 conference, which took place only days after September 11th and yet which still attracted delegates from all over the world. The new and enthusiastic IMTAL-Europe board is working hard to plan and promote IMTAL Europe’s second UK global conference in Belfast in September 2007. See the new-look website at www.imtal-europe.org for details.

Last year The Royal Geographical Society invited Verity to design a live interpretation-based programme for primary-school children designed to complement its exhibition of photographs taken by Herbert Ponting, photographer to Scott’s ill-fated expedition to the South Pole in 1912. Rather than focus on the tragedy, our brief was a focus on the scientific achievements of Scott’s whole team. Working with Rinku Mitra of the RGS and Chris Bailey, who interpreted Herbert Ponting, as a contrast we created a modern fictional generic (female!) character, played by Vic Bryson, based on several members of the meteorological team at Halley Base in Antarctica, who provided us with some great background and images.

The event was hugely popular with schools and externally evaluated using the Inspiring Learning for All framework (click here to read evaluation in full).

Meanwhile, Harry's Cut, a live interpretation programme with associated loan boxes and a full pre and post visit resource pack (take a closer look by clicking here (760K), which won an Interpret Britain award for British Waterways in 2004, is still playing on or near narrowboats across England's canal network.