Our Proud Roots - a family exploration of our proud roots

Proudly celebrating our local landscape, environment and people, Our Proud Roots is a chance to explore and reflect on what makes our place and community special, with a new perspective on our changed world. This is a chance to re-discover nature and the wonderful effects it has on our body and soul!

You can download and try out our creative, hands-on family activities below. Join in from home, your back garden or out in nature. Why not come to Wheal Martyn to explore our special site and see our beautiful clay landscape with your own eyes?

How do I get involved?

Simply download the activities below and get creative, using the worksheets and videos to guide you.

Once you have completed an activity, submit your ideas with a short explanation of what inspired your creation and what you are proud of in your local area. Maybe you have discovered kind people, tranquil places or beautiful views that have filled you with pride for your local place? You can also share your work on social media using #OurProudRoots.

Here are the activities to download:

Find out about the project with the Activity Pack Introduction
Use your rambles and wonders outdoors to influence a clay creation: Clay Modelling In Nature
Be inspired by some of the amazing art from our summer community exhibition – dive in and explore the art, get creative with your own art and writing: A Picture Tells a Thousand Stories
Go out and about in nature or your own back garden, discovering hidden gems. Watch the 3 video tutorials with local writer Jaime Lock:

Use Art Tutorial Creative Writing in Nature to support the Video Tutorials with Jaime Lock
Get crafty with printing and watch the video tutorial Potato Printing with Fiona Chivers. Use Art Tutorial Potato Prints to support the video.
Get out and about and active as a Wild Explorer using the 3 Wild Explorer Video Tutorials with Suzie West to reveal dance, movement and clever photography:

Use Wild Explorers to support the Video Tutorials with Suzie West
Try our Dance Workshop with Suzie West! (below)

Celebrate and share 'Our Proud Roots'

Our Proud Roots was performed in the woods at Wheal Martyn on Saturday 19^th September, as part of the Whitegold Festival of Clay. Suzie West and SpinDrift Dance Collective performed a reflective, fun and inspired piece combining music, song, dance and storytelling. The performance reflected contributions of artwork, writing and photos kindly offered by the local community. The effect was truly special, echoing the appreciation for nature and beautiful clay landscapes our community has found during this unusual and challenging year.

Sample a taste of the magic...

See the Plug into your Roots film:

The Silent Disco soundtrack is available here.

Funded by:

www.feastcornwall.org

cornwallfoundation.com

Latest

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At Wheal Martyn from 17 May - 5 September

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On 12 April our outdoor grounds will be reopening for visitors to explore. We will be reopening fully from 17 May.
New Engagement Officer Appointed

We are pleased to announce that Sian Powell has been appointed as Engagement Officer for Wheal Martyn, following her internship as Trainee Curator.
Our Proud Roots - a family exploration of our proud roots

Proudly celebrating our local landscape, environment and people, Our Proud Roots is a chance to explore and reflect on what makes our place and community special, as seen through fresh eyes and with a new perspective in our changed world. This is a chance to re-discover nature and the wonderful effects it has on our body and soul!
Buy a ticket - timed slots

Pre-book a timed slot to visit Wheal Martyn.
The women of Clay Country

Clay Country has often been an overlooked area of Cornwall because it is not as easy to romanticise the open pits and sky tips as it is the old tin and copper mining landscapes further west in Cornwall. In this sense, the people of Clay Country, especially the women, have often been overlooked. As it is International Women’s Day on the day of posting (8th March), it seemed a better time than any to help to correct this.
Welcoming our community and visitors back

Since reopening on the 5 July, we have enjoyed welcoming back lots of familiar faces as well as some new visitors.
Exciting new project for Wheal Martyn

We have successfully joined this year’s New Wave Project with Heritage Open Days - one of just 10 organisations chosen from a cohort of over 80 applicants nationally!
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With spring just beginning to poke its head out from beneath winter’s chill and colour starting to return to the world, we decided to dive into the topic of how both colour and new life returned to Clay Country after centuries of industrial development.
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I like to think that in some small way we volunteers – whatever task we do - are making a contribution to the preservation of the industry history in general and Wheal Martyn (something once commonplace but now virtually unique) in particular. Not just for the benefit of future generations but also so that it will not be lost. So future Cornwall explorers can be as astounded as I was.