Wortley Top Forge and Allotment Social

 

Our Green UPLIFTS’s are go and we've had a busy couple of weeks visiting local industrial museum, Wortley Top Forge and a more familiar gathering with the first of our allotment social's for the year. 

Here's a peak of what we've been up to...

WORTLEY TOP FORGE 

Wortley Top Forge is a Water Powered Heavy Iron Forge whose history can be traced back to at least 1640. It is owned by the South Yorkshire Industrial History Society and has been restored by its volunteers. UPLIFTER’s had a very interesting and insightful day as they were led around the site on a tour with volunteer, Ted. They were shown exhibits including the original water wheels and water powered drop hammers that are within the original Forge building, which is progressively being restored to it's 1900s condition.

It was a fascinating day for UPLIFTER's taking in the  history and exhibits on show. The site itself is very atmospheric and was a perfect backdrop for sketching and painting. Whilst half of the group settled down to sketch the rest of the group embarked on a 2 hour walk through the Thurgoland tunnel and took the opportunity to work on some photography with new camera equipment bought with funding gratefully received by the Transpenine Trail. There was fun to be had getting stuck in the mud! And a primal scream through the Thurgoland tunnel proved very cathartic. Both groups met back up at the Bridge Inn for a nice cuppa before returning home. 

A fascinating day, enjoyed by all!

ALLOTMENT SOCIAL 

Next up was our first allotment social of the year and it was such a lovely one to kickstart the calendar!

We were so pleased that the rain held off as we got to enjoy pizza and marshmallows around the fire whilst listening to the gorgeous sounds of Ryan Lauder on guitar and Nina on accordion and ukulele.

Artist, Emma Condor also joined us to create natural neck pieces as incoming celebrations for the summer solstice. Emma had pre prepared woods and flora, each representative of different qualities, these included oak which represents strength and protection, lavender which is reflective of constancy and loyalty, borage for courage, ivy for attachment and eternal friendship and many more. UPLIFTER’s were invited to choose which pieces they would like to work with according to the qualities they would like to bring to their lives. The results were some fabulous necklaces that were not only beautiful to look at but all so unique and meaningful. 

It was such a wonderful atmosphere, we’ve tried to capture the essence in a quick video here.:

There are more wonderful allotment socials planned in the Green UPLIFT calendar this year that we'd love to see you at! Watch this space! 

Our return to Green UPLIFT's and exciting plans for the project!

 

Green UPLIFT is back for another season of green social prescribing, it's a project that we’ve been successfully running since 2022 and is all about bringing a ‘breath of fresh air’, through connection with nature and creative events in green spaces. We have a programme of outdoor creative events and regular meetups, designed to build our connection and understanding of the natural environment, always with a creative twist!   

First up on this year's green UPLIFT calendar was a trip to the National Trust’s beautiful, Wentworth Castle Gardens where exciting plans for the project got underway!

Green UPLIFTER’s spent the afternoon enjoying a picnic and hearing all about the history of the gardens by head gardener, Rachel. She shared their plans for the future and how they planned to link with the community, of which Creative Recovery will be involved!

We are delighted to be included in the restoring of the Union Jack garden project and have been offered a small section of the geometric, Union Jack Garden which was first planted in 1713. We will work on with the gardening team to create something that represents our community and exciting plans are already underway to create a garden that inspires it’s visitors to look up and enjoy the sky.

Lead artist for Green UPLIFT, Helen Boutle says: 

“Our wild section of the Union Jack garden will be moderately tamed but will mostly be embracing all that's there, the dappled shade of the noble oak, the view of Scots pine from the far reaches, fragrant mock orange with its hidden nooks. Our path follows the natural course of the garden circling the Mulberry Bush. It is quite secluded but is surrounded by bushes and feels safe and cosy. I will be a quiet space to retreat to.”

Inspired to create a space to rest in nature, Green UPLIFT are thrilled to be working with musician, Nick Lewis who from September will spend 6 weeks creating a nature meditation. Described as a ‘sound piece to soothe the soul’ this will include sounds taken from the gardens and words inspired by the gardens, woven together with music. On visiting the garden, visitors will be able to read about what we’ve created and why and a QR code will be available for visitors to sit on a bench and enjoy the piece of music that has been created whilst taking in the space and surroundings.

We can’t wait to return to this in the Autumn and reveal the fruits of our labour but in the meantime, we need you! Calling all our green fingered enthusiasts – if you can help in the initial clearing of the garden project then we’d love to hear from you! Keep an eye on our Facebook posts for details on how you can help and get involved.

More on the restoring of the Union Jack Garden project can be read here:

https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/yorkshire/wentworth-castle-gardens/restoring-the-union-jack-garden-project