NEW LEAVES AND ANCIENT ROCKS
New Leaves and Ancient Rocks is an exciting new project from Buzzing Roots taking place at Beacon Hill, in partnership with Charnwood Arts and supported by Arts Council England.
In February 2022, we hosted free visual arts and geology workshops at Beacon Hill and were joined by 97 children and their parents. Participants took part in high quality, creative activities that explored and enhanced their knowledge of the local natural environment.
Led by geologist Dr Jack Matthews and artist Emily Hett, we used the fascinating geology of Charnwood Forest as inspiration to create artwork, which was showcased in a site-specific exhibition 5-28 March at Beacon Hill.
In April the exhibition is travelling to Broombriggs Farm & Windmill Hill, 30 April – 1 May, where visitors can also enjoy mindfulness walks led by local wellbeing and yoga specialist Parmjit Sagoo and supported by The National Forest (see info below to book).
Get your tickets for our FREE guided mindfulness walks with yoga and wellbeing specialist Parmjit Sagoo!
Buzzing Roots is working with wellbeing and yoga practitioner Parmjit Sagoo to offer a series of guided mindfulness walks taking place at Broombriggs Farm and Windmill Hill, Beacon Hill. Drawing upon geological knowledge and natural history, the walks will help participants feel more connected to the natural world and improve their sense of wellbeing.
Address: 89 Beacon Rd, Woodhouse Eaves, Loughborough, LE12 8RW
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Sat 30 Apr: 11.00am – 12.30pm (for adults) and 2.00pm – 3.30pm (for families)
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Sun 1 May: 11.00am – 12.30pm (for adults) and 2.00pm – 3.30pm (for families)
Limited places! Book now to avoid disappointment.
Book your FREE tickets for our wellbeing walks for adults, Sat 30 April & Sun 1 May, 11am-12:30 here
Book your FREE tickets for our wellbeing walks for families, Sat 30 April & Sun 1 May, 2-3:30pm here
Workshop Feedback:
“Thanks to everyone who helped to organise the event at Beacon Hill this morning. My granddaughter really enjoyed it and couldn’t wait to tell her mum all about it!” – Colin
“Wow! What a fantastic morning! The mud painting, the printing with natural objects…fantastic! What a wonderful way to get children engaging with the outdoors. Huge thank you to Emily, Liga and Julie.” – Sienna and Sophia
“Thank you for arranging such a brilliant morning. The girls absolutely loved it! We can’t wait to come and see some of the artwork on display.” – Jennie
Below are snapshots of our flags, with geoheritage information about Charnwood Forest from Dr Jack Matthews of Charnwood Forest Geopark. Can you find these flags at our Beacon Hill exhibition? Tag us in your photos and videos when you find them!
The Earth, just like the other planets in our Solar System, formed around 4600 million years ago, and has a core of iron and nickel at its centre. The surface of the Earth would have been much hotter than today, with no oceans, no continents, and no life… yet.
570 million years ago, Charnwood Forest would have looked a lot different to today. The area would have been under the sea, near a number of volcanic islands. Sediment was deposited around these islands, including layers of volcanic ash from the nearby eruptions. The rocks seen at the summit of Beacon Hill are an excellent example of these sediments.
Among the layers of our 560 million year old sediments sat an unexpected resident: Charnia. This astonishing fossil is now known to be some of the oldest evidence of animals, making Charnwood Forest a top destination for scientist who want to understand how our planet went from a world of microbes, to the animal-house of today!
Coal! This well-known rock type was mined on the western side of Charnwood Forest, and tells us of a time around 315 million years ago, when the area would have been a mixture of swamps, estuaries, and deltas. When the ancient trees that lived in these environments died, they became buried and compressed – turning into coal.
During the Triassic, roughly 240 million years ago, Charnwood Forest would have been at the centre of a large, hot desert. Gusting winds blew silt and sand around the craggy hills that dominated the landscape, and occasional monsoon-like rains created flash floods that surged down ancient valleys.
Around 450,000 years ago, much of Britain was covered in a thick layer of glacial ice. The ice-sheet would have slowly moved down from the north, picking-up and transporting south exotic pebbles not usually found in Charnwood Forest…
As the great ice-sheets of around 450,000 years ago melted, they deposited any sediment collected during their journey across the landscape. The fields of Charnwood Forest are full of these exotic transported pebbles; including limestone, chalk, and flint. This suggests the glaciers came here from the north or east, where these rock types can be found.
Today’s Charnwood Forest, filled with amazing life, may be very different from the landscapes our region has seen throughout geological history, but they are all connected. The variety of rocks and soils here – the geodiversity – influences what can grow and live here today – the biodiversity. From new leaves to ancient rocks, we’re all connected through nature.