These projects were awarded grants by HLF and could inspire community groups to do their own heritage project.
Grantee: Aberaeron 2007 Cyf.
Project Title: Celebrating Our Heritage
Grant Award: £50,000
Project Summary: The project celebrated the bicentenary of the Aberaeron Harbour Act of 1807. A programme of activities encompassed themes of navigation, shipbuilding and architecture exploring the social and commercial life of Aberaeron as a thriving ship-building port. This project included participatory community activities and permanent features such as a town trail with plaques.
Website: http://www.aberaeron.info/heritage/indexW.htm
Grantee: Cowbridge Physic Garden Trust Ltd.
Project Title: Volunteers for Planting & Maintaining Cowbridge Physic Garden
Grant Award: £45,700
Project Summary: The project involved a wide variety of volunteers carrying out the restoration, replanting and maintenance of the garden to its 18th century heyday using medicinal plants that were available in Wales before 1800. Interpretative signs in the garden educate visitors to the historical importance of plants at the time to cure illness. The project offered opportunities to schools, colleges and visitors to increase their knowledge of the design and maintenance of historic gardens. Trained volunteers actively promoted the garden’s historic importance and its contents to schools, voluntary organisations and community groups.
Website: http://www.cowbridgephysicgarden.org.uk/
Grantee: E3
Project Title: Pit to Port
Grant Award: £22,400
Project Summary: The project involved a group of 32 young people from Porth County Community School, Trehafod Primary School and Trehafod Youth Centre. The groups researched the growth of coal mining in the Rhondda valley, the expansion of the railways and the significance of Cardiff as a coal exporting city as well as the lives of the men and women who worked in these industries and the eventual closure of the pits. They gained valuable experience in research, interviewing techniques, ICT and artistic skills which resulted in the production of two 40ft x 5ft mosaics, now sited at Trehafod railway station and Rhondda Heritage Park.
Website: http://www.porthcommunityschool.com/e3.htm
Grantee: E3
Project Title: SELAW: A reflection of Wales
Grant Award: £47,300
Project Summary: The project engaged with 300 young people aged between 9-18 years with a programme of over 50 activity workshops to research, identify and celebrate their heritage. Young people had the opportunity to consider and nominate their inspirational Welsh heroes and consider the importance of their heritage in terms of as music, drama, sport, politics, architecture, engineering and literature. They also visited and explored the beautiful coastline of Wales, providing valuable heritage learning experiences that fed into creative workshops. The group produced an exhibition which reflects Wales as seen by the young people of Porth and the surrounding community.
Website: http://www.porthcommunityschool.com/e3.htm
Grantee: The Gateway Gardens Trust
Project Title: Food for Thought
Grant Award: £50,000
Project Summary: The project focussed on the history of kitchen gardens and food in Wales from the beginning of the 18th century to the Second World War. It was a Wales-wide project which included a series of free visits to historic parks and gardens for school groups, BME groups, carers and people with disabilities, particularly from Communities First areas. The project helped people discover the history of the food they eat, the history of kitchen gardens, fruit and vegetables and the history of cooking in an imaginative and hands-on way.
Website: http://www.gatewaygardenstrust.org/
Grantee: The Gentle Giant Trust
Project Title: Half Time Conversations with a Gentle Giant
Grant Award: £42,900
Project Summary: This was an oral history project focussing on the life and times of John Charles, Wales’ greatest footballer, and his influence on Welsh sport. The project has enabled the Trust to set up 180 oral history workshops for young people from 60 schools across Wales. The project complemented the touring exhibition about the late footballer, known as the Gentle Giant, which travelled throughout Wales. The workshops were designed to encourage young people to explore their sporting heritage by interviewing older people in their community. The interviews have created a permanent record of unheard and unpublished memories of ordinary people, who were touched by John Charles’ influence on football.
Grantee: Hirwaun YMCA
Project Title: Tower Colliery Musical
Grant award: £20,765
Project summary: Based on the buyout of Tower Colliery by its miners, young people from Hirwaun YMCA learnt about their local coal mining heritage and created a musical using this inspiring story. As well as gaining valuable heritage research skills, participants gathered professional skills such as project management, stage production, script writing, choreography and IT. The musical was recorded and the DVDs distributed throughout the area as a legacy of the young peoples work.
Grantee: Llanharan Community Development Project Ltd.
Project Title: Coracle Tri Afon
Grant award: £25,000
Project summary: The young people who attend Llanharan Drop-In Centre identified that they would like to explore the history of the coracle and it's associations with the rivers Taff, Teifi and Towy. As well as learning about the interesting history of the coracle, the project created an opportunity to re-create three types of coracle and produce a webpage to share their learning. A group of young people filmed the project to form a documentary which has been uploaded on to the webpage.
Website: http://www.llanharan-community.co.uk/
Grantee: Community Service Volunteers
Project Title: RSVP Reminiscence
Grant award: £47,600
Project summary: The aim of the project was to share memories, experiences and items of memorabilia relating to World War II with the whole community. The recruitment of volunteers specifically focused on older people with a living knowledge of the World War II period. Other participants included young people, ranging from primary to secondary school age, interacting with volunteers and learning more about their heritage by asking questions, listening to real life experiences and handling artefacts / memorabilia. Over a 2 year period interviews were recorded to create 3 exhibitions. Volunteers and participants also produced a booklet, a collage, photograph boards, visual and audio recordings.
Website: http://www.csv.org.uk/
Grantee: Somali Integration Society
Project Title: I Am Me - Religion and Faith from an African Heritage Perspective
Grant award: £45,400
Project summary: The project enabled the Somali community to showcase the diversity of customs and traditions of the West and Central African region through a series of events which demonstrated the role Islam plays in uniting people. With the help of a project officer, an exhibition was produced including a replica of a traditional Somali house which was exhibited in Butetown History and Arts Centre. Interpretation panels illustrated different aspects of Somali life and a tour guide was on hand to explain the construction methods employed and the artefacts and practices on display. Website: http://sisuk.org/index.php
Grantee: South Wales Intercultural Community Arts (SWICA)
Project Title: Blaenavon Film Forge
Grant award: £50,000
Project summary: SWICA artists worked with the community of Blaenavon recording oral histories of the area and collecting photographs to produce 21 digital photo albums. The vivid and entertaining memories given by Blaenavon’s senior citizens caught the imagination of the pupils of St. Peter’s and Hillside Junior Schools who used modern animation-making techniques to produce over 30 short films and animations based on the town’s heritage. The project culminated in a special Oscars-style presentation at the Blaenavon Workmen’s Hall with the official launch of the DVD showcasing the community’s hard work. This has been distributed free of charge throughout the local area.
Website: http://www.swica.co.uk/