'Involving people in geodiversity'

Cultural heritage

Geodiversity links strongly to the cultural identity of areas through factors such as industrial heritage, landscape character, and the use and influence of geodiversity in and on our lives, from building stones to all mediums of art, such as folklore, literature and poetry, and painting, photography and sculpture. A better understanding of the links between cultural identity and geodiversity can improve our understanding of geodiversity and can help people appreciate the relevance of geodiversity in their everyday lives. In particular these links can be used to make local communities aware of their local resources and to encourage them to participate in promoting and conserving them.

Case studies discussed included community engagement in England in the West Midlands and on the Isle of Portland in Dorset, the influence of the High Coast World Heritage Site in Sweden on art, protection and conservation measures employed in National Parks in Argentina, the potential development of geo-cultural trails in Greece, and hands-on experiments used to involve people in practical aspects of geology. The 'Earth heritage: World heritage' conference also had its own resident artist who took inspiration from the event.

The examples demonstrated that geodiversity plays a fundamental role in making an area what it is, and that the links between culture, industry, arts and geology should be exploited wherever possible. Approaches include personal interpretations and experiences, organising local events, forging links between sculpture and stone-working traditions, the creation of town trails to look at urban geology, and the use of cultural sites to create geological trails, an approach currently being investigated through the 'geo-trail' project in Greece. The 'geo-trail' project aims to use archaeological sites and historically important regions to identify how natural values relate to cultural values, by considering the geological, geomorphological and landscape interests of the areas.

The case studies served to highlight the benefits of making use of cultural resources, and of identifying the role of geodiversity in cultural heritage, in promoting geodiversity. By recognising the links, the importance, relevance, and inspiration of geology may be demonstrated. This can lead to a greater awareness, understanding and appreciation of the environment, history and social development of an area and of the interactions between these factors. The integration of geodiversity with other subjects also leads to a higher profile for geology, since a greater number of people are likely to visit areas and sites that don't have a solely geological, and therefore specialist, focus.

Details of the presentations given are provided below. Where a summary is provided click on the link to view.

Mick Stanley. Cultural heritage–World heritage: geodiversity from country house to world heritage site.

Graham Worton. Wren's Nest National Nature Reserve and Castle Hill, Dudley – linking geodiversity, cultural heritage and the local community – click here to view summary

Lorena Ferraro. Cultural Resource Management: linking Argentinian National Park's rock art, identity reinforcement policies and present communities – click here to view summary

Hannah Sofaer and Paul Crabtree. The Portland Sculpture and Quarry Trust – click here to view summary

Margareta Petré. A personal presentation about art in the World Heritage site – The High Coast in Sweden – click here to view summary

Paul Ensom. Digging the dirt – an experiment in alfresco sieving! – click here to view summary

Irini Theodossiou-Drandaki. Geo-trails at cultural sites – interpreting geological and geomorphological components at cultural sites and establishing relationships between natural and cultural values – click here to view summary