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Troopers Hill Stepping Forward Schools Project
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Work is progressing well the with our project to create trails across Troopers Hill for schools and families, using existing paths. More details of the project are on http://www.troopers-hill.org.uk/steppin ... roject.htm.
On Wednesday 20th February, I and Ruth Coleman, whom Friends of Troopers Hill have contracted to run this project, visited the Summerhill Academy to see 90 Year 3 pupils with their teachers and helpers. We took a display of materials with us to inspire the children with ideas for the symbols they were going to create for us.
Ruth explained very clearly to the children the importance of their contribution. They were going to design symbols for trails on Troopers Hill and some of their symbols would be etched onto different metals to create copper, zinc and brass trails. The metals link to the history of Troopers Hill. The chimney on the top of the Hill was used to create high temperatures in a copper smelter in Crews Hole. Ore was brought from Devon, the copper metal extracted at the smelter, then the copper went to the brass works where it was mixed with zinc to make brass. Goods made from brass were then used as part of the barter process in the slave trade.
Some of the children looked at materials on the school website and the internet others came to the display.
Soon everyone was working hard
Flowers inspired some
and flying mammals excited others.
In fact all round the hall children were concentrating deeply, creating their symbols.
These are some of more than 90 images that the children produced. All their images will be used for the information material that will be available on this website to support the trails.
Ruth and I have gone through all the images and chosen 23 to use on the metal trail markers. Sculptor Steve Joyce http://www.axisweb.org/seCVPG.aspx?ARTISTID=16208 has taken these images and carried out the work necessary to make them ready to transfer to the metal plates. The plates will be round, square or oval and no more than 2 inches square.
This is how Steve has transformed the images that will go on round plates.
Soon the children will visit Troopers Hill and we will put temporary stickers in places where we think the images will work best. The children will try out a number of "challenges" along the trails and we will see how well they work.
A huge thank you to the staff and children of Summerhill Academy for all their work. We hope that many other schools and families will benefit from their work, enjoying and learning about Troopers Hill.
Posted by Susan, Fri Mar 15, 2013 4:31 pm
