Back at the end of January we were invited up to Quay Arts to listen to a lecture which had been organised by the Isle of Wight Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) Partnership.
It was a fascinating evening, and we were very lucky to hear a lecture by Sue Clifford of Common Ground, which if you haven’t heard of before, is well worth finding out more about, by checking out their website.
Sue is an expert on ‘Local Distinctiveness’ – a term coined by Common Ground way back in 1983 and so was more than qualified to spark the interest of the audience for a new AONB Partnership project, titled ‘Celebrating Islandness’.
The Partnership are working on the project with the Council Conservation and Design Team and the aim is to record the ‘small but all important details of the Island’s wonderful environment’.
As John Brownscombe, former AONB Lead Officer stated at the launch,
There are often things in our local environment and neighbourhoods that we take for granted that make if different or special, Very often we only notice their value when they are lost. For example, plaques giving the date and initial of builders on houses from the grand to the small; faded adverts from years ago painted on the side of shop buildings; old street signs, lamp posts; milestones; way marks; a style of gate; and kerbstones all adding to the patina of place.
With so much of what surrounds us changing on a weekly basis, this project is a fantastic way to capture and celebrate those little things that make the Island so great, but your help is needed.
Next time you walk out of your door, lift your head up and look around you – you’ll be amazed at what beauty there is around you – not just on the wide scale, but with the little things too.
Once you start noticing things that could be of interest you’ll need to either take photos to send in or give a list with details of the locations.
You don’t have long, as all submissions need to be in by 1 April. These will then be collated and the final selection made by a panel of AONB Partnership members.
The result will be a not-for-profit publication.
If you want to contribute, please send your photographs (minimum 300dpi, ideally as a jpeg or tif) to aonb(at)iow.gov.uk with the subject heading ‘Islandness entry’.
Postal entries can be sent to : Freepost RRLA-XREB-BXZZ, Isle of Wight AONB Unit, Seaclose Offices, Fairless Road, Newport PO30 2QS
For any further info you can call Fiona Hanna (AONB) on 823855 or the Conservation and Design Team on 821000.
Image of 13th Century Church at Gatcomeb courtesy of Good Fairy.
