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Hedgerow sculptures - a natural welcome in the hillside |
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This
leaping roe deer almost looks real
Photos: Blackdown Hills Rural Partnership |
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The
Blackdown Hills on the Devon and Somerset border have some new arrivals
- a series of animals sculptured from hedgerow materials. But you
have to go out and find them... |
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The Blackdown
Hills are a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) on
the Devon-Somerset border.
Around two thirds of the AONB
falls inside Devon. It's a hugely diverse area of 360 square kilometres,
taking in heathland, high plateaux, valleys - the Otter, Culme and
Yarty are among the rivers which pass through - and fields flanked
by high hedges.
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| The
Blackdown Hills |
It
was designated as an AONB in 1991 and then, seven years ago, the Blackdown
Hills Rural Partnership comprising local councils and the Countryside
Agency was set up to promote sustainable development.
That includes making the Blackdown Hills attractive for visitors -
while not detracting from the natural beauty.
This year, a lot of thought has gone into how best to 'brand' the
Blackdown Hills in a way which promotes the distinctive landscape.
The result is stunning...a series of animal sculptures made out of
hedgerow materials.
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| The
Beast of Blackdown (with a little cat, too) |
There
are now four hedgerow sculptures, placed at entry points to the Hills.
They show a big cat (dubbed the Beast of Blackdown), a flock of sheep,
and a bull - all new this year - plus the leaping deer, which was
put in place a couple of years ago.
The scupltures were crafted by local environmental artists Stefan
Jennings and Sophie Courtiour and were made with the help of students
from Bicton College and schoolchildren from the area.
During the workshops, the youngsters learnt a range of rural skills,
and one of the aims of the sculptures is to show people the importance
of the natural environment.
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| Making
a flock of sheep... |
The
artists discussed which animals to base the sculptures on, and then
came the decision on where to place them.
Corrine Matthews of the Blackdown Hills Rural Partnership, said: "We
wanted to the project to involve the local community, and we wanted
the sculptures to be natural.
"So they are made of hazel, dogwood and willow. But we aren't
saying exactly where they are. We want people to come across them.
They are geographically scattered, that's all I'll say!".
As part of the project, the sculpture-making process was filmed and
that, too, will be used for promoting the area.
And there will be limited editions of tea towels, key fobs, beer mats
and rubber stamps, all depicting images of the sculptures.
At the moment, this is just a pilot project - but if the sculptures
go down well, then more will be made in the future.
Article first published: 9th December 2004.
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