Spotted at the end of the gardens in Cottrell Road that back on to the river (with sightings also being reported from the nearby allotments) are these three Canada geese and their nine offspring….
With thanks to Chrissy and Justin for sharing this beautiful photo.
(If anyone has more photos of the goslings or the river in general that they’d like to share for uploading here, please do email us.)
We would like to invite you to an introductory meeting about the Multi-Story Water Eastville project, and find out how you would like to see the project work in the Eastville area. Initially we are talking to “stakeholders” – that is people who belong to an organisation or group which is active or working in the area. Individual residents are also very welcome. The other half of the project is in Shipley, near Bradford where a similar section of water has been chosen.
At this meeting, further details will be provided about the project; there will be plenty of opportunities for discussion. There will be people from the organisations active in the project – for example, UWE, the University of Bristol’s Cabot Institute, Streets Alive, as well as regulatory and responsible bodies like Bristol City Council and the Environment Agency.
What are the positives and negatives about living by the river Frome? The main aim of the meeting is to listen to what the local active groups feel would be appropriate for the area. We want to find out what is already going on, and what the hopes and fears are of the groups in the area. Ideally we would then come up with activities which enhance what is already going on – taking some ideas to the next stage and leaving behind a legacy of visible change.
Meeting details:
Where: Glenfrome Road (http://www.glenfrome.bristol.sch.uk/Our+School/Contact+Us)
When: 7.30 – 9.15 pm Wednesday 23 May 2012.
Who: People from groups active in the Eastville area bordering the river who are interested in the river Frome
Refreshments will be served.
The workshop will be run in a participatory way to get the most out of the short time we have together.
Outcomes of the project could be:
• Street parties – have already been suggested by some neighbours
• Community arts projects – a textile project has already been suggested by neighbours.
• Water stories/ oral history collected from the neighbourhood and lodged with MShed to preserve social and environmental history for future.
• Arts related workshops and events – we have an arts facilitator ready to hear your ideas.
• Water related workshops and events – if required scientists from the Cabot Institute, Bristol University, University of the West of England, and Environment Agency could help with this
• Workshops focusing on local history and geography around the Frome – drawing on local knowledge
• A weekend of activities in September 2012 to mark the culmination of activities
We do hope you will be able to join us at this introductory workshop. To help with numbers for refreshments, please could you email [email protected] (project admin support) if you know you are able to come to the meeting.
Yours sincerely
The Eastville Multi-Story Water project team
If anyone spotted a short girl in a red anorak geeking out with a phone camera at the EA suice gates on Tuesday afternoon, that will have been me (Jess, the arts facilitator on the project). I thought I’d take advantage of the sun bravely venturing out, to make another tour of the ‘hood, seeking out the sites (and sights) along the river and under the motorway where nature meets concrete meets people meets water – and lots of it.
My original plan was to drift upstream, trying to capture objects, sights and sounds from a new angle than the way we might view them in the everyday; a lens through which to look at these places differently – and especially as spaces we could use to take and make ‘art’ and tell stories, whether that will be through singing, dancing, walking, knitting, acting, juggling, spoon-playing, skating, drawing, beatboxing….whatever the talents, interests and desires of the multi-skilled folks of the ‘ville may be. Like Alice’s rabbithole, I was looking for a way to fall into Wonderland, Eastville-style.
But I got far more than I bargained for at the sluice gates – which were open to allow the river to by-pass the city (so I’ve learned!) – and there was high drama as the Frome raced and frothed furiously through, creating a fine mist of spray. Like a stereotypical tourist, I just couldn’t stop filming, whilst grinning and exclaiming excitedly to passers-by ‘It’s just like Niagara Falls!’. From Eastville to geeksville…
