ANTONINE WALL COMMUNITY MAP PROJECT
"Neil was commissioned to do a community map for a pilot project on the Antonine
Wall in West Dunbartonshire. We were delighted with the map that was produced.
Neil's creative input, energy and enthusiasm made him a joy to work with"
"
Stephen Balfour, Antonine Wall Project Manager, Planning and Building Standards, West Dunbartonshire Council
Community map for the Duntocher – Old Kilpatrick portion of the Antonine Wall celebrating the local Roman heritage and providing information including walking routes and features of interest as inspired by the local community.
The project was commissioned by a Steering Group of five local authorities (West Dunbartonshire, Glasgow City, East Dunbartonshire, North Lanarkshire and Falkirk Councils) and Historic Environment Scotland which together manage the Antonine wall and the recent "Rediscovering the Antonine Wall" project.
As a participant in the Local to Global UNESCO UK project funded by the National Heritage Lottery Fund,
the steering group were tasked with implementing a pilot project engaging marginalised groups along the site.
Targeting an audience of people aged 60+ living near the Wall the aim of the project was to encourage the use of
the Wall as an outdoor venue and encourage local walks and facilitate social interaction.
Engagement with the local community took the form of an Introductory meeting, a guided walk for all abilities around sites
of interest in Old Kilpatrick, Workshop 1 held in Duntocher Village Hall, a guided walk along the length of the Antonine wall from Duntocher Golden Hill park to the River Clyde at Old Kilpatrick and a further Workshop also held in Old Duntocher Hall.
Various media was used to create engagement with the the participants during the workshops including the sourcing and community singing of local songs, modelmaking of Roman era items and in particular the use of a creative learning educational resource called The Discovering Poetry Project which I have developed with support from Learning & Teaching Scotland, West of Scotland University and the Scottish Poetry Library. It is targeted at all ages above 7 or 8 and is currently available to use free online at www.discoveringpoetry.org
This resource helps guide the individual through a creative process which develops observational skills, improves creative writing and encourages self expression. It's worksheets are easily adapted to suit the content of any specific project and the content created was used to feedback into the final illustrated version of the map. In addition a draft large scale map was created which allowed the participants to directly engage with the area and add their input. Examples of the various media and the activities of the participants are shown in the images below.
More information from the project can be seen on the Rediscovering the Antonine Wall website at:
It was a privilege to meet the people of Old Kilpatrick and Duntocher, to hear their stories, to explore and learn about their area, share in their sense of place and join them in celebrating their heritage along the line of the Antonine Wall.
