This journey will involve a diverse group of professional and amateur artists, ecologists, storytellers, historians and educators, some local and others from the SpeyGrian Network. The group will travel from Kingussie to Kindrogan, via Blair Atholl, with ponies and cattle, following the old droving and coffin roads. The route will include the Minigaig Pass (an ancient drove road connecting Speyside to Atholl) and the Shinigaig Pass (a coffin road connecting Blair Atholl and Glen Brerechan). The theme of this 'mobile conference' will be exploring how a road is more than a line of communication between places, but has a life of its own, with unique stories to tell, linking people, places and journeys over time - the journey itself linking across generations. This journey will provide all participants with opportunities to learn from each other and to reflect deeply on the importance of first hand experiences of our natural and cultural heritage and they will record their experiences using a variety of media.
Ponies and cattle will be provided by Ruaraidh Ormiston from Newtonmore who will be accompanying us on our journey - which we believe will be the first drove to travel on the Minigaig Pass for over 100 years! Ruaridh's family have bred ponies and cattle in Speyside for several generations and have some fascinating links with the drovers. Click here to here Ruaridh's own thoughts about this unique journey.
There will be a maximum number of participants of around 20 people. Participants will be expected to fund themselves but there may be a small subsidy available if we are able to secure grant funding. Please contact Kathy Dale if you are interested in being on the mailing list for further information kdale@envirocentre.co.uk
Emily Dodd attended two SpeyGrian events - the Creative Connections course on Colonsay (July 2009) and a recent networking weekend in Glenstrae (March 2011). Click the link below to see articles she's written about both events!
Creative Connections Course on Colonsay (July 2009)
Networking weekend in Glen Strae ( March 2011)
SpeyGrian trustee, Joyce Gilbert was one of 15 delegates who went on an LTS study tour to Arctic Norway in December 2010. The group visited Norwegian schools and kindergartens to see some innovative approaches to outdoor learning.
Read the TESS article about the tour here (PDF, 4,468Kb)
Read the Children in Scotland Early Years newsletter (PDF, 1,845Kb)
The annual 'Creative Connections' course was followed by an event for members and associates of the SpeyGrian network.
Held on the beautiful island of Tanera Mor near Ullapool, Wild Connections 2010 included informal journaling workshops by craftworker Jan Kilpatrick and writer Christian McEwen.
Seventeen people came for the week, with a further 6 arriving by sea kayak to spend a few days on the island. Take a look at the course gallery here!
Book here for next year's Wild Connections event on Tanera Mor, which will run from 23rd - 30th July. Cost is £350 which includes full board and workshop fees. Click here to see a flyer for 2011's course.
Helping young people to develop a sense of place was behind a series of ten outdoor journeys for second year pupils at Kingussie High School in September 2010.
Organised by RSPB Scotland and led by 14 artists and writers from the SpeyGrian network, more than 90 pupils and 10 teachers plus members of the local community spent a day exploring their environment by pony, by foot, by canoe and by bike. 'Journeys in Nature' was funded by Awards for All, The Scottish Centre for Intergenerational Practice, the Cairngorms Local Action Group and Booktrust Scotland.
For further information look at the feature in TESS and the intergenerational learning research report submitted by the University of Stirling.
In 2009, students from Alford Academy set sail on a "Classroom at Sea" - a SpeyGrian-endorsed trip encompassing all aspects of the curriculum. Leaving from Oban, the nautical classroom visited islanders on Eigg, Kinloch Castle on Rum and each part of the journey was documented by the young crew. The trip was commended in the Times Educational Suppliment, take a look on the link below.
Classroom at Sea, October 2009
On 21st October 2009, SpeyGrian held a workshop at Battleby Conference Centre entitled "Finding Our Place". Addressing the global challenge climate change and the methods in which nature conservation will respond and adapt, the worshop was a great success.
A report detailing the workshops speakers, presentations and findings is available here.
