YPP’s ACE Bogs (Access, Citizen science and Engagement on Bogs) project engaged the public in peatland ecology and management through volunteering and involvement in a long-term citizen science project. The project worked with volunteers to monitor key indicators of peatland health over time. A series of artist-led workshops enabled volunteers to express their responses to peatlands in visual art, poetry and music. This exhibition gives the public the chance to share in those responses.
The project was based on Denton Reserve, above Ilkley at the southern end of Nidderdale National Landscape. YPP worked with community groups, local schools, naturalist societies and walkers to help them understand how Yorkshire’s upland peatlands had become damaged, and why and how they should be restored. Through their monitoring activities, ACE Bogs volunteers played a vital role in assessing how restoration has been improving Denton Reserve’s peatlands.
Volunteers worked with Keighley-based artist, Naseem Darbey, and Skipton-based musician and poet, Sarah Smout, to reflect upon and respond to their experiences on peatlands. The entire project was documented on traditional photographic film by photographer, Juliet Klottrup, whose photographs form part of the exhibition.
Juliet Klottrup said:
“Art and science work side by side, making sense of our changing world in a way that is accessible to all. As an artist documenting the restoration of our landscape my lens sits beside the scientific data. Art acts as a tool for recording, decoding, communicating human connection, expanding details, scale and deeper understanding.”
Naseem Darbey said:
“I’ve really enjoyed working on ACE Bogs and learning about these super important habitats. Seeing people engage with bog vegetation through our Bog in a Drawing Box activities and resources has been a truly rewarding aspect of the project. Drawing allowed people to connect and record this fascinating micro world. Giving people the resources to keep as a gift of the project encourages people to continue to connect to this wonderful Landscape”.
Sarah Smout said:
“It has been a joy to share time on Denton Moor with so many different people, and creating a sound-piece that reflects all the different voices that intersect here. This includes the mosses and water sounds on-site, recorded via contact microphones and hydrophones. Being able to share this with others and encourage creative interaction with the restoration of this moor has revealed to me how important collective and collaborative care is for the future of the uplands.”
The exhibition runs from 12th to 27th April at Ilkley Manor House, which is open on Saturdays and Sundays from 11:00 to 16:00. ACE Bogs is funded by Nidderdale National Landscape’s Farming in Protected Landscapes programme.
