Sense of Here

SENSE OF HERE brings exploration of the outdoors together with consideration of land use and environmental care. It’s about taking time to pause, to feel the wonder and pleasure that can come from being outside, and listening to different views and opinions about one fundamental issue that’s critical at this time of climate change and biodiversity decline: the need for an enhanced environment that supports natural ecosystems and thriving human cultures. 

Where is your ‘here’? Does green and open space matter to you? People from across the UK and beyond are SHARING VIEWS about the environment and access to open spaces in their local area, and about what’s valuable – and vulnerable – in the natural world. Many of the comments relate to the Lake District – England’s most visited National Park, which also happens to be our local area, our ‘here’. We spent 2019 ‘clocking’ the place, month-by-month with a series of walks and camps. You’ll find more in our BLOG.

Imagine the Lake District National Park as a clock face, centred on The Under Helm Sycamore near Grasmere, with 12 hourly segments of 30-degrees each. We moved around the area month by month with a series of walks and a wild camp, pitching our tent precisely on each transect line. And each month we delved into an issue that’s relevant in many other areas – including soil, water, trees, communities, tourism and farming – and met specialists to deepen our understanding. HERE’S THE PLAN

The land is a canvas, loved, celebrated, used and altered. The Lake District has inspired writers and artists for centuries, people who not only celebrate the place but also reflect on it to pose pressing questions. Each month in 2019 we placed our CANVAS outside, just for a few hours. The slow reveal of words offered prompts for an alternative way of looking and seeing, and triggered questions and new poetry, and conversations with passers-by. SEE THE SET OF TWELVE CANASES.