Case Study - The Spartan Puffer story

Programme: Young Roots
Applicant: Fablevision
Grant awarded: £25,000
Project length: 6 Months

Summary

The project enabled around 25 young people living in different areas of Irvine, North Ayrshire to learn about the history of Spartan - one of Scotland's last Puffer boats and the only one built in Scotland.

Young people from different youth groups in Irvine set up a new group called ‘The Spartan Screenstars’. The group worked with professional film directors and researchers from Fablevision to explore the boat (which has been docked in Irvine for their lifetime), gather research and interview original crew members to create an exciting new documentary telling the people of Irvine 'Spartans Story'.

The youth groups held a competition as part of the project to create the best story-line for use in the final documentary. The film was screened for the local community in the boat shop, adjacent to the slipway where Spartan had been repaired.

The aims of the project

To give young people a full understanding of the skills needed to make a documentary film and to train them in specific film-making skills
To give young people an understanding of the history of the puffer Spartan
To create a high quality documentary film that the young people can be proud of
To create an outdoor premiere of the new film

Benefits for heritage

The history of the Spartan Puffer and its crew members has been recorded and made available to the local community
A lasting documentary was produced and made available in local schools and libraries

Benefits for people

The project involved young people from different youth groups from across Irvine, where territorial issues exist and provided them with an opportunity to work together
The young people developed the skills necessary to manage a project and work as a good team
The project allowed young people from Irvine to engage with the historic Puffer Ship which has been under restoration for nearly the length of their lives

Lessons learnt

The most valuable lesson learned was that museum artefacts can be used creatively to enthuse and engage a group of people who are not traditionally interested in museums or history
The teenage years are often typified by a rejection of the interests and values of older generations. In this case the majority of the participants were actively
interested in and fascinated by the former puffer crew members they met; who reciprocated the feelings. This was a very worthwhile exercise in positive crossgenerational interaction
It was important to the participant’s feelings of achievement both that their film was shown to a wide audience and that they could also physically hold their own copy of the DVD as tangible evidence of their collective success.

Long term benefits

The young people developed valuable skills in working as a team
The important history of the Puffer has been highlighted to the local community as it nears the end of its restoration period and becomes a new arts venue

The budget

Main Project Costs	£	Funding	£
Equipments / materials	7,350	Fablevision	2475.97
Staff / recruitment	12,475.97	Non-cash contributions	2475.97
Admin and overheads	2,125.80	HLF grant (83%)	25,000
Event budget	1,000
Travel	2,908
		Total costs	29,951.94

Young people on the Spartan Puffer

Sector

Industry, Maritime and Transport

Activity

Conservation; Participation; Learning