New Grant in Partnership with Young People, shines Spotlight on Environment

National Coal Mining Museum for England has been awarded £15,000 from Wakefield Council’s Culture Grants to deliver an ambitious creative project with schools and young people across the District. The project will culminate in a powerful animated digital projection and soundscape, to be unveiled during the Museum’s ‘Black to Green’ Festival this autumn.

Working with over 120 young people, particularly from ex-mining communities, the project will engage with schools, young people with SEND, family centres, young carers, and members of Spark’s Youth Arts Ambassadors – Wakefield’s Cultural Education Partnership.

Through a series of creative workshops led by artists Wayne Sables and Steve Poole, young people will explore the role of coal in the nation’s energy story and its impact on climate and nature today, through animation and sound. The Museum’s Pit Wood provides inspiration for how nature can reclaim former industrial landscapes. Workshops will draw on the Wakefield Curriculum, developed by Spark in collaboration with local teachers as part of the Our Year initiative, using coal mining heritage resources to connect past and present.

The immersive animated projection will premiere at the Museum on the evening of 25 October, with a second opportunity to view it during the Museum’s Light Up weekend on Saturday, 22 and Sunday 23 November.

The Black to Green Festival, co-produced by young people and led by Spark’s Youth Arts Ambassadors, will inspire family audiences to reflect on environmental challenges and solutions, and take positive action.

The festival is supported by a grant from the Natural History Museum as part of its national Interconnected programme, with additional match-funding from Creative

Minds and Prosper to support creative facilitation by Spark’s Youth Voice Coordinator.

Lynn Dunning, CEO for the National Coal Mining Museum said: “This project is a brilliant example of how creativity, heritage, and young voices can come together to put a spotlight on important issues and inspire change. We are really grateful for the support from Wakefield Council and the National History Museum which is enabling us to undertake this important project where we can work with young people to think about our environment, be a catalyst for change and face important issues like this head on, resulting in an amazing creative experience at the end.”

Cllr Hannah Appleyard, Cabinet Member for Culture, Leisure and Sport, Wakefield Council, said: “We’re proud to support this project through our Connecting Communities Culture Grants. It’s fantastic to see our young people, especially those from former pit communities, using creativity to explore our mining heritage and tackle the environmental challenges of today. This kind of collaborative, imaginative work helps us understand our past and empowers the next generation to shape a greener future.”