"Elemental Earth is a community grass roots group based in Machynlleth. We strive to bring the community together by use of the arts and environmental awareness. Much of Elemental Earth's work is done with the kind help of volunteers, and we greatly appreciate any help people may be able to offer us.
The organisation was born out of a project devised in November 1998 which was funded through the Millennium Commission "Natural Pioneers Award Scheme". It was established formally (initially named 'Sustain') in May 1999 by Ruth Brocklehurst and Josie Coggins.
Elemental Earth has grown through an enormous amount of voluntary work in between funded projects. So far we have received funding from corporate, government and private trust funds. We are working towards projects which will in time, sustain themselves, financially.
Projects range from gardening to skilled artistic input to being on the Management Committee. Sometimes we take on volunteers for one-off jobs but mostly we require people to commit for, say, three months for help with a specific project.
We run projects that strike a balance between creativity and context. Information is kept simple, and we aim for the strength of the message to come from the quality of engagement.
Everyone hears about sustainable development and environmental issues on the TV and radio. Elemental Earth creates opportunities for people to join together as a community to celebrate their social and physical environment and to take part in a spontaneous and community-lead performance. In the past some of our celebrations have included:
A concern for promoting environmental education to young people Developing ways of engaging young people and communities with the environment and each other in a meaningful way thus creating a practical enjoyable experience Showing that good design is a really important part of improving our world Making the most of something that's underused e.g school grounds Wanting to create a local network of environments accessible to schools. The aim is to create opportunities for people to improve their feelings and understanding of this Earth. We believe this helps people to lead lives that are more ecologically friendly and meaningful."
Written By Rachel Behan from Elemental Earth
Take a photo tour of Glantwymyn Primary School's Woodland Project
Elemental Earth is a community organisation based in the Dyfi Valley. It connects people to their environment through arts and land based projects. Development worker Rachel Behan tells us more.
