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Keighley children celebrate their Pledges to the Landscape

On Saturday 17th August 2024, 100s of Keighley people came along to Cliffe Castle park and joined in some fun, creative sessions run by Keighley Creative that focused on learning about the environment.

Families who attended were given the opportunity to join in with all sorts of activities and everyone was welcomed to get stuck in, no matter what their age or ability.

Approximately 350 visitors took part in various activities using and celebrating nature including making journals, sharing stories, making wind chimes, taking a story stick for a walk and adding their self-made pom-poms to the “Blanket Bog Blanket”.

Some of the comments from families that attended included:

“My kids really, really loved it all. It was so nice to see so many people getting involved.”

“Pom-pom making is so satisfying and calming.”

“I made a journal and I’m going to record in here every day of the summer holidays.”

“Making wind chimes was a very therapeutic activity.”

Local artist, educator and project lead, Naseem Darbey, was thrilled that the event was such a success and said:

“It was a family celebration enjoyed by all and we got so much positive feedback evidencing how much the workshops were loved. People left with their nature gift bags stuffed full of all their own fabulous handmade goods including journals, wind chimes, pom-poms and recipes, and even stories to share. Cliffe Castle park was buzzing and it was fab to see so many smiles.”

The Pledges to the Landscape event was a celebration of a ongoing project run by the charity alongside Yorkshire Peat Partnership (YPP), and funded by West Yorkshire Combined Authority’s Community Climate Grants. Local school children from Year 5 at Eastwood, Victoria, Riddlesden St. Mary’s, Worth Valley, Holycroft and Merlin Top primaries were involved as classes were given their own “micro-peatbogs” to look after and then took part in interactive art workshops in the classroom.

The aim of the Pledges to the Landscape project and the event was not only to get creative but to help educate participants about the environment around them and particularly the importance of Yorkshire’s peat bogs, their plants and wildlife.

Lucy Lee from Yorkshire Peat Partnership with the “Blanket Bog Blanket”. Photo: Bob Smith Photography

Spokesperson from YPP, Lucy Lee, said: “Our unique landscapes, peatlands and their plants are truly beautiful but they are also critical to the preservation of our natural environment. It’s important that we all learn about how important bogs are so we are keen to get children involved from as young an age as possible.”

The workshops have been designed and delivered by Naseem, who visited the schools and helped children study their own classroom “micro-bog”. She encouraged pupils to be inspired by the plants that were growing in the bog and to study them using hand-lenses and identification cards. They then used their senses to observe and their drawing skills to record what they had discovered.

Naseem said: “The children that have been involved in the classroom project learnt about the importance of the plants and landscapes around them and how their preservation is essential. We looked at the past, present and future of these environments to help the children understand how they work and they documented the peatbogs using drawing materials. They tried different drawing techniques which helped the children really engage with the bog and they created some beautiful art in the process.”

Keighley Creative Pledges to the Landscape celebration event with Naseem Darbey, Lucy Lee and Worth Valley primary school
Showing off the Worth Valley Primary School bog at the creative nature event at Cliffe Castle are, from left, Naseem Darbey, Victoria Townson and Lucy Lee. Photo: Bob Smith Photography

As Naseem continued: “The sessions provided by YPP and I were designed to engage the children by having fun, being creative and sometimes getting messy! This hands-on approach really helped the children understand their local environment and has hopefully inspired the next generation to contribute to the conservation of our peatlands.”

The project has been funded by Bradford Council, the Mayor of West Yorkshire and West Yorkshire Combined Authority’s Community Climate Grants.

Newly appointed Creative Director, Paula Clark finished by saying: “As a newcomer to Keighley Creative I am so excited by the energy and enthusiasm of the people of Keighley to get involved in this creative and collaborative community project. It’s also fantastic to see the commitment of the talented Keighley Creative team and Yorkshire Peat Partnership to make meaningful projects like this happen. I’m looking forward to everything that is to come next!”

For more information on your local peatlands, please contact Yorkshire Peat Partnership. For more information on arts and crafts workshop offerings from Keighley Creative and Naseem Darbey, please email admin@keighleycreative.org

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Children from Riddlesden make their “Pledges to the Landscape”

Local primary schools have recently taken part in a project educating children about the importance of our peatlands and the latest school to take part was Riddlesden St. Mary’s.

The children were invited to take part in the Pledges to the Landscape project, a classroom programme using art and mark making to engage children, which has been designed by arts charity, Keighley Creative, working alongside the Yorkshire Peat Partnership and the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust.

The project is designed to help children to get creative and to help educate them about the environment around them and particularly the importance of Yorkshire’s peat bogs, their plants and wildlife.

Bog in the box Pledges to the Landscape classroom workshop

Each class was gifted their own “bog in a box” kit containing high quality drawing materials and hand-lenses to help the children observe and document the growth of their own micro-bog.

The workshops have been designed and delivered by local artist, Naseem Darbey, who visited numerous local schools and helped them create their own classroom “bog”. She encouraged the pupils to be inspired by the plants that grow in the bog and to use their drawing skills to record what they had learnt.

Naseem Darbey artist
Artist, Naseem Darbey. Photo: Bob Smith Photography

The children were given challenges to help them connect with the bog and to improve their drawing techniques using mark-making, to help them get to know the drawing materials and using touch drawing to develop their senses and record texture. 

As Naseem explained: “We challenged the pupils to try new ways of drawing. For example, we encouraged them to draw without looking at the paper, which is tricky but it’s brilliant for developing hand-eye co-ordination. We also got them to draw with their other hand to take the preciousness and worry of a perfect drawing away, and to try drawing using a continuous line taking their drawing materials for a fast, spontaneous walk across the paper!”

Drawing Pledges to the LAndscape Riddlesden ST MArys

The children all made their own ‘Pledges to the Landscape’, working together to explore, champion and protect our important doorstep superhero wetlands! 

Spokesperson from the Yorkshire Peat Partnership, Lucy Lee, said: “Although the word “bog” may sound ugly, these unique landscapes and their plants can be truly beautiful and are critical to the preservation of our natural environment. It’s important that we all learn about how important they are and we are keen to get children involved from as young an age as possible.”

Lucy Lee Yorkshire Peat Partnerships
Lucy Lee from the Yorkshire Peat Partnership

Naseem said: “The children that have been involved in the project loved getting dirty and engaging directly with a bog in the comfort of their classroom. From there we taught them about the importance of the landscapes around them and how their preservation is essential. We looked at the past, present and future of these environments in order to help the children understand how they work. They documented the peatbogs using drawing materials and created some beautiful art in the process.”

Laura Woodcock, a Year 5 teacher at the school said: “It has been a truly inspirational experience. We absolutely adored it!” 

The sessions are also being run at other primary schools around Keighley such as Worth Valley, Merlin Top, Eastwood, Holycroft and Victoria.

Other Keighley families also will be given the opportunity to join in with similar drawing activities as well as story writing, clay modelling and painting at the Pledges to the Landscape celebration event on Saturday 10th August 2024 in Cliffe Castle Park. And everyone is welcome to come and join in the fun and get stuck in, no matter what your age or ability.

Pledges to the Landscape celebration event flyer

For more information on your local peatlands, please contact the Yorkshire Peat Partnership. For more information on arts and crafts workshop offerings from Keighley Creative, please email admin@keighleycreative.org

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Coming soon Stockroom

Leeds Young Film Festival comes to Keighley

Keighley Creative are delighted to be continuing our relationship with Leeds International Film Festival and this Easter they have asked us to host the Leeds Young Film Festival (LYFF). This will involve 6 film screenings at the Stockroom Cinema within Keighley Creative across two dates. It’s a great opportunity to take the kids out and enjoy a family film for just £4 per person.

Information as follows and tickets available via Eventbrite.

Date: Friday 5th April 2024 (Good Friday)

  • Moomins on the Riviera (2014) @ 11am / Age rating: U
  • Fantastic Mr Fox (2009) @ 1.30pm / Age rating: PG
  • Holes (2003) @ 4pm / Age rating: PG

Date: Saturday 13th April 2024

  • The Big Bad Fox and Other Tales (2017) @ 11am / Age rating: U
  • Marcel the Shell (2021) @ 1.30pm / Age rating: PG
  • Labyrinth (1986) @ 4pm / Age rating: U

Stockroom Cinema is Keighley’s very own secret cinema and performance space. Co-hosted by Keighley Creative and The Unit, in partnership with Leeds International Film Festival (LIFF).

Location:
Stockroom Cinema
Keighley Creative
3-7 Cooke Lane,
Keighley
BD21 3PF

(In the old Argos building just outside the Airedale Shopping Centre)

Booking required via Eventbrite: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/keighley-creative-41327641513