Landscapes of the Lark Festival
This ran throughout the spring and summer of 2023, supported by the Cotswold National Landscape’s Farming in Protected Landscapes fund. The aim of the Landscapes of the Lark was to celebrate the wildlife and traditional farming practices of the Stroud commons through a combination of citizen science, guided walks, activities for young people, and arts events.
Over the course of the festival, we welcomed an estimated 2,000 people to a variety of events. Demonstrating the wonderful array of wildlife and culture supported by the Stroud Commons, our public events covered amongst other things the history of Rodborough Common, moths of Minchinhampton, cowpats on Selsley, and of course, Skylarks.
As well as wildlife-themed walks and talks, we took children from Minchinhampton, Gastrells and Amberley primary schools out on to their local commons to draw soundscapes, fold origami butterflies, and hunt for mini-beasts. We also worked with teenagers to record Skylark song and detect bats.
During our photography competition, people submitted entries inspired by local landscapes of the lark, and we recruited some Stroud Skylark Spotters to record spottings, showing areas on the commons favoured by the birds.
The creative side of our festival was ably looked after by Emily and Ali from Periscope, who ran five days of interactive workshops at the Museum in the Park. They also curated the culmination of the festival, a week-long art exhibition, Between Sky and Earth, which was held at the Bisley Road cemetery’s Chapels of Rest. The exhibition attracted submissions from nearly 200 artists from the whole of the UK and beyond and was supported by a drawing workshop, wildlife and history tours of the cemetery and an artists’ performance. There are still some exhibition catalogues available to purchase from the eco shop if you missed out.
Skylarks, in common with many British farmland birds, have seen steep declines in numbers over the past 30 years, in part due to changes in farming practices. Our commons, with their traditional grazing and rich biodiversity, provide a good habitat for these ground-nesting birds. The commons also give us, as members of the general public, a chance to hear and sometimes see these fascinating little birds in action.
As well as celebrating our commons, the Landscapes of the Lark festival recognised the deep cultural connection that humans have with skylarks; they have inspired many artists, poets, writers, and composers and are embedded in our language. They are particularly associated with spring, with energy, with laughter and joy, and with the dawn.
We began our festival with a series of guided skylark spots over the Easter weekend and invited people to become skylark spotting citizen scientists. The results of their efforts can be found here.
People were also able to carry out self-guided spots on Rodborough, Selsley and Minchinhampton commons, using our skylark spotting leaflets, which were available via our eco shop, at The Old Lodge, the Bear of Rodborough and at local events. These are available to download here:
We also ran a series of wildlife and culture-themed walks and talks on the commons, whose breadth reflected the biodiversity and long-standing human links with this land.
As well as our public events, we worked with local primary schools to give children a chance to get out on to the common and listen and look for different wildlife. South Gloucestershire and Stroud College did some skylark song recording and we spotted bats with the Rodborough Youth Group.
Alongside our other events, we ran a Landscapes of the Lark photography competion. Our winning entry was this stunning picture ‘Autumn Glow on Selsley’ by Amy Gately. The final eight images can all be viewed here.
We were really keen that as many people as possible had a chance to engage with the festival in a variety of ways, so whilst the skylarks were enjoying their well-earned end of breeding season break, in August we held 5 days of creative workshops with our partners, creative facilitators Periscope.
Attendance at these workshops was free, and people were able to take part in a variety of activities, including making a cyanotype, modelling with clay, painting, or listening in to stories of the commons. There was also a reading of a folk tale entitled ‘The Skylarks’. Listen to these Rodborough Voices and the beautiful tale below.
We also invited people to complete a questionnaire where they envisaged themselves inhabiting the Landscapes of the Lark - these can be seen here.
Finally to round off our festival Periscope curated the ‘Between Sky and Earth exhibition, which saw artists from all over the UK and beyond showcasing work inspired by the themes of commons, grasslands, multi-species sharing, and the space between sky and earth. Taking place at the iconic Chapels of Rest in Bisley Road cemetery, this was a fitting end to our six-month celebration of the commons and the farmers (and their livestock) who keep them thriving.
A selection of the fantastic works that were curated so brilliantly by Periscope can be seen here.
Our commons are precious, and the farming that takes place on them is vital to their survival. There is lots you can do to help to care for these special places. Find out more about the commons and how you can help to care for them here.
Photo: Geoff March
We would like to thank the Cotswold National Landscape’s Farming in Protected Landscapes fund for making this festival possible.
Also a massive thank you to everyone who worked on the project, took part in activities and events, and who supported us with venues, content, publicity and their expertise and time.
The Landscapes of the Lark festival was supported by the Cotswold National Landscape’s Farming in Protected Landscapes fund.
