News
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Arts news
Sustainability news
Dartington International Summer School tickets on sale
26 July - Sun 15 August 2014 Fancy your hand at Junk Music, a masterclass with award-winning oboist Nicholas Daniels, or making music theatre with West End writer Richard Stilgoe? We’re excited to announce that tickets are now available for Dartington’s International Summer School, which is open to all from beginners to experienced musicians.
and non-native), and good sense about repertoire choices. Henk Neven, a 30-something Dutch singer of recitals, oratorios, and opera, exemplifies all of those things.’ The Doric String quartet, who formed at the National School for Young Chamber Music Players and are described by string music magazine Strad as having ‘great wisdom and ... creativity of sound’ with performances that are ‘inventive, engaging, moving and beautiful’, will play ‘Death and the Maiden’ by Schubert on 7 March. See events listings overleaf
Bookbinding with Mary Bartlett If you have a book with a broken spine or are curious about letterpress printing, come along to Dartington’s bookbinding class, taught by Mary Bartlett, in the Bindery at Dartington. Kate Mount
2013 Summer School
Mary, who was trained by CE McNally after joining Dartington as a horticultural student under Dorothy Elmhirst in the 1960s, has an historic collection of lead and brass letterpress type as well as bookbinding reference books on non-Western traditions of bookmaking. You are very welcome to bring along your own restoration project; create artist books, boxes and portfolios; or learn about typography using lead and brass type, brass hand letters and decorative tools.
Social Justice news
Did you say the men use sharp tools? CP. Yes they do. They learn how to use the tools required for landscape gardening in a safe and supervised environment. Are you saving us all money? CP. Yes, one of our guys costs £67K to prosecute and hold in prison for a year. The estimated cost of all reoffending each year is £10billion. We’re running at a tiny fraction of this cost and we aim to reduce reoffending, so LandWorks is saving money. Does it really work? CP. So far, so good but it’s not straightforward. One man can arrive with difficulties quite different from another. But we’re making a difference, not just to trainees but also their families and the community. It’s a small but evident ripple.
the challenges of running, growing and developing a social enterprise. The 20 free places are offered to people who live and/or work in Devon thanks to funding from Price Waterhouse Cooper and Devon County Council. Find out more at www.dartington.org/sse
Dr Fritjof Capra returns for a new course which explores more deeply his recent book The Systems View of Life - A Unifying Vision. It presents a new scientific understanding of life by uniting its biological, cognitive, social and ecological dimensions.
‘This week I returned to the horticulture course and caught up with everyone. We’re all still going which is great and says a lot for the course and our teachers. Having completely forgotten about micronutrients over the holidays, Darren brought us back to his favourite subject - SOIL. We had four hours on pH and cation exchange. This might sound deadly but actually it took me right back to the joys of chemistry A-level. The beauty of how life works on a microscopic scale.
Sue Webberley is studying Sustainable Horticulture with Schumacher College and Bicton College. She blogs regularly about her learning journey in Sue’s View published in The Gardening Times and at www.dartington.org/sustainability, or you can follow her on Twitter@sustainablesuzi
Schumacher College is fortunate to see the return of several high-profile teachers whose ground-breaking work has transformed our understanding of planet, people and spirit in the last two decades.
Theologian, activist and author Matthew Fox, joins Satish Kumar and Fred Matser, in To Live Well is to Work Well, providing new meaning to our understanding of work and the potential this can have for personal and collective change. David Abrams follows on from last year’s popular summer course, teaching alongside Stephan Harding in a course that looks at the planetary transformations caused by climate change and how we might cope and thrive for the benefit of people and planet. Over the next few months we’ll also welcome new faces breaking ground in sustainability over the past few years. Environmental lawyer and campaigner for a new law of ‘Ecocide’, Polly Higgins, will be coming in May to teach a two-week short course with leading activist Charles Eisenstein on how to work most effectively for the Earth. Nature poet David Whyte will be coming in June to give an evening of poetry reading followed by a day’s writing course. Booking is essential for all of these events as they will sell out. Find out more at www.schumachercollege.org.uk
Schumacher fundraising success
Louise Rainbow, Head of Promotions, Events and Fundraising at Schumacher College, writes: ‘Schumacher College’s annual fundraising supper in December, Om Shanti, was one of the most spectacular fundraising events the College has ever seen - raising over £18,000 through donations and auction bids to support Schumacher’s work.
‘At the opposite extreme, Jane has been teaching us about biodynamic farming. Now this is more on the cosmic scale. Coming from a scientific background, I like things to be fact-based but as I’ve got older I’m definitely more open to a spiritual dimension. Gaia theory and Goethian botany enthralled me. In my limited reading so far, biodynamics seems to be even further out there: if anyone has any experience of it I’d love to hear from you so I can understand it better.’
Aren’t there lots of these projects? CP. Not lots and certainly none locally. The Dartington estate is a busy, vibrant and inspirational place but it’s tranquil location also allows trainees to be in a different environment, free from their normal pressures. Many of our trainees would have felt excluded from this environment, so it is here we start to break down barriers. Is this really pioneering, you know, unique? CP. Yes. There is an opportunity for trainees to join whilst in prison and remain at LandWorks for three months after release, bridging this difficult period. We combine employment training and qualifications alongside developing self-worth and social skills - a holistic approach. Our environment, as part of Dartington, is unique.
‘The Craft shop is moving to the current Toyshop, next to the pottery workshop Crazy about Clay. There will be space for craftmakers to hold workshops: if you’re interested call 01803 847500. ‘For a bird’s eye view of the area, try out Dynamic Adventures’ tree walk, which opened in October, bookable on site or by calling 01803 862725.
In a dramatic turn for the gardens, one of our 300year-old sweet chestnut trees fell over in the winter storms. Ian Gilbert, our head gardener says that ‘once the weather improves and the ground is less wet, our team, Mo, Mardie and Katie and I, will bring machinery in to remove it. There are plans afoot to create a bench from the wood… The chestnuts sit at the top of the tiltyard, which requires much work to maintain. You may wonder why the gardeners ask that you do not run down it. Well, each foot hole created requires a wheelbarrow load of soil to fill, and a bucket of grass seed to replant. And the rammer used by the Elmhirsts to shore up the eight banks is well beyond our current gardening budget, Dartington Chutney so we’d really appreciate your help in looking after them and the rest of our Grade II listed garden for ‘And just along the path from the new Craft shop future generations. you will find a new social enterprise called ReStore. It offers an array of vintage furniture, and works ‘In March we will be lifting and relaying the raised in partnership with the Devon recycling enterprise sunny border path that runs alongside what are Refurnish to revitalise old furniture by employing known as the 12 Apostles, the yew trees by the local restorers.’ tiltyard. It will be closed to the public during this Find out more at www.dartington.org/shops period. We will also be fitting metal edging to
New manager takes helm at White Hart and Hall
‘We’re delighted to say that following our call for garden volunteers in our last issue, we’ve welcomed Sally to our team, who joins us once a week to help with edging and tidying our herbaceous borders.’ Find out about our work in the gardens and grounds by following The Dartington Hall Trust on Facebook or @DartingtonHall on Twitter.
The White Hart and Dartington Hall accommodation is under new management in 2014 as we welcome Tej Walia as General Manager. Tej has extensive hospitality experience following management posts in the UK and India, including Fawsley Hall, Northamptonshire, the Hilton group in the Midlands, and The Oberoi’s, Grand Hyatt and Kempinski group in India.
Lescaze jobs and homes plan approved
A multi-million pound regeneration plan to provide new jobs and homes in Dartington has been approved by South Hams district councillors following a two-year consultation exercise with the local community. The district council’s Development Management Committee granted planning consent for two related applications for 93 new homes and significant investment to revitalise workspace supporting up to 180 new jobs when completed. Find out more at www.dartington.org/news/ dartington-jobs-and-homes-plans-approved
Volunteer at Dartington The Dartington Hall Trust is looking for local people to volunteer their time to support its charitable work. Opportunities include chatting to our visitors, supporting events and festivals, collating data, growing produce, and keeping the gardens tidy. Susan, for example, who has a wealth of experience of studying and photographing wildlife, enrolled as a woodlands and conservation volunteer last summer. She’s currently working on mapping the ‘veteran’ trees on the estate - those that are several hundred years old. The estate has a relatively large number, usually oaks, as well as ‘ancient’ trees that are 500 years old and beyond. Mike Newby, Dartington’s Amenity Warden, says: ‘Not only do humans benefit from Susan’s work but also bats, woodpeckers, moths and invertebrates, especially beetles and lichen, that are only found on veteran trees’. Find out more about volunteering at www.dartington.org/volunteer, email volunteering@dartington.org or visit the Volunteer Hub next to the Visitor Centre.
Partner, neighbour and community news Featured tenant: Textile designer Jane Foster
Dartington Space studios house local businesses from Soundart Radio to Dance in Devon. One such is textile designer Jane Foster, who moved into a large light south-facing studio in October and says ‘mentally, this is one of the best decisions I’ve made’. Jane’s self-taught and influenced by 1950s and 60s Scandinavian designs. She works with her partner Jim to sell her work online to customers from South Korea to Brazil, and has supplied Ikea, Habitat and Heals. She wanted a studio because working at home was cramped and noisy.
is brilliant for photographing our work to promote it online. There’s parking, security and use of the franking and post system. We’re surrounded by like-minded people with Soundart Radio here 24/7 so I always feel safe. We’ve got beautiful rolling views across the estate, and in our rare spare moments, we can use the lovely gardens, bar and café.’ While Dartington Space is currently full, we have a series of small first floor rooms at Chimmels, a Grade II listed building on Park Road. Find out more about all of our commercial and residential lets from carol.richards@dartington.org or www.dartington.org/commercial-property
Help School Farm grow
Would you like to support the UK’s only organically-certified community no-dig farm, based on the Dartington estate? School Farm CSA is offering everything from an online organic gardening course to a week’s residential at Schumacher College in return for pledges of time or money that can be made on the crowdfunding website Buzzbnk. Every pound raised up to £6,800 will be match funded pound for pound by The A Team Foundation. ‘Every pound donated will make a difference to what we are doing, and if it’s not for yourself then buying a gift voucher will help spread the word about what we are trying to achieve’, adds Melissa Harvey, Co-Director and Volunteer Coordinator. The farm which is based on a one acre site on the Dartington Estate, operates as a not-for-profit social enterprise in which members can invest at the beginning of the season, to receive a weekly box of fresh organic vegetables, and become involved in the growing of the food by contact with the farmers, volunteer and open day activities. The farm also offers horticultural training and affordable gardening courses. Find out more at www.buzzbnk.org/SchoolFarmCSA
In memory of Nick Gooderham
Organic horticulturalist Nick Gooderham passed away peacefully at the end of September last year. Working from School Farm on the Dartington estate, Nick pioneered low-carbon growing technology based on organic standards and a ‘minimum tillage’ policy - disturbing the soil as little as possible. Nick’s passion for sustainable horticulture meant that he was well known and equally well regarded by many, including the students he worked with on the sustainable horticulture courses run by Schumacher College. Nick will be sadly missed around Dartington and far beyond but his legacy is an incredible one, having inspired so many of us over the years.
‘There are so many perks of being here: the ground floor access allowed us to get our screen-printing equipment in. We’ve got a sink and the natural light
Om Shanti fundraising supper ‘The 60 guests, wearing exotic traditional Indian dress, were greeted with ginger Martinis and spicy canapés. They were bedazzled by the mesmerising Kathak dancer, Jaymini, and her wonderful musicians, and then serenaded by our writer-in-residence, Martin Shaw, with great readings and stories from Rumi and Tagore. Guests were treated to a five-star Indian banquet of fragrant spices and mouth-watering flavours from the East. And later Schumacher students joined guests at the party, dancing to truly awesome Bhangra DJs Judge and Jeevan until 2am.’ Read more about Schumacher’s exciting fundraising news in our next issue.
Nick Gooderham
Tej Walia outside Dartington Great Hall
Uprooted sweet chestnut
He plans to bring hearty British food back to the menu at the White Hart, put the customer experience first and set high standards for the White Hart and Hall. For him, the beauty of the Hall’s hotel-style rooms is that each looks and feels different: ‘What a contrast with a modular hotel made in a factory and bolted together with identical rooms,’ he says. ‘Instead each of the 50
Jim Palmer
Garden sculpture built by LandWorks trainees
‘Our small monthly food producers markets on the last Sunday of each month and our annual Food Fairs have been very successful, and we look forward to seeing you at this year’s Food Fair during the weekend of 31 May to 1 June.
rooms around the courtyard has a unique character.’ In many of the rooms, there hangs artwork created by high-profile artists who’ve worked at Dartington since it was founded in 1925. If you’re considering it as a wedding venue, come along to our Wedding Open Day on 23 February, 11am to 3pm. For a guided tour of the Hall and Gardens email ian.gilbert@dartington.org Find out more at www.dartingtonhall.com
Will Carrodus
To support LandWorks or to find out more visit www.dartington.org/landworks or email landworks@dartington.org
Barbara King, managing director of The Shops at Dartington, says: ‘We are delighted to announce that The Food Shop at Dartington is to move to a larger shop in March to increase its range of Devon-produced food, after a very successful growth period. We’ll re-introduce Dartington organic cider in association with Ashridge - last produced and sold on the site 50 years ago. We’ll also stock award-winning meat from rare breeds Partridge Farm and locally produced pies, pastries and cakes.
Social Justice news
Guy Collins
Oh gosh, do they all arrive with a ball and chain? CP. No they don’t (quiet sigh).
Food shop grows
Sweet chestnut falls in storm
the edge of two lawned areas, which will cut the gardeners’ time to trim the edges from a day to half an hour!
Chris Parsons
If you’ve an idea for a social enterprise, applications open on 2 Feb for the third year of Following Aakash’s residency in January, we’ll be the popular Lloyds Bank Social Entrepreneurs hosting playwright Peter Oswald from 24 March to Programme. Supported by Lloyds Bank and BIG 4 April, and dancer Roberta Jean from 31 March to Lottery Fund, the free places give you a 12-month 12 April, who was featured alongside Akram Khan in personal and professional development programme biennial showcase the British Dance Edition 2014. along with a £4,000 grant to spend on the social Find out more at enterprise. This course is run by the Dartington School in Plymouth and Bristol. www.dartington.org/immerse/immerse-news For more information see Our celebration of Schubert continues www.dartington.org/sse/lloyds-banking-programme As part of our Schubertiade season, the multi-award winning baritone Henk Neven and his pianist Hans Eijsackers are to perform Schubert in the Great Hall on 7 February. As online magazine classic.com says: ‘Every so often a golden-voiced (or is it bronze? I’m never sure) baritone comes along, one with intelligent musicianship, an ease with language (both his own
How are you funded? CP. The Dartington Hall Trust has provided a range of support to get the project going, We’ve secured income from other Trust funds and our local community has funded over 50 per cent of the costs of our first working year through individual donations. It’s not easy and we’re looking at ways to secure LandWorks’ future.
What are Schumacher courses like?
Rob Woodford
You are invited to have a window into the creative process of our Immerse artists in residence: dance artists Aakash Odedra, Roberta Jean & Richard Chappell and theatre makers Peter Oswald, Theatre Rush & Just Jones, following our open call to artists in 2013.
It’s the victims I worry about, you’re not much help to them CP. I don’t think it’s quite that simple. These men’s crimes undoubtedly had victims, but on this project men are able to discuss what affect they have had on others, accept responsibility and believe a life without crime is possible. Therefore you could argue LandWorks helps to reduce victims in the future.
Wow...has it ever kicked off? CP. No.
Meanwhile the opportunities for music college students, graduates and young emerging professionals to learn from the best in their field are overflowing with a rich programme of masterclasses Mary Bartlett teaches student bookbinding for singers and instrumentalists created by the Summer School Artistic Director, Nicholas Daniel, The classes, days or half-days on Tuesdays, an internationally acclaimed oboist who’ll also be Wednesdays and Thursdays are open to all levels of performing and giving masterclasses. experience from beginners to experienced artists. Find out more overleaf or at The first week is for early music lovers and ranges www.dartington.org/arts/craft-education from playing cornets and sackbuts to advanced courses in harpsichord. Classical strings take the stage in the second week with everything from performance psychology to advanced conducting. Our final week, focused on contemporary wind and brass players in particular, also includes an Dartington School for Social advanced course for singers, writers and composers Entrepreneurs - opportunities from Richard Sisson, and Richard Stilgoe, whose Social entrepreneurs and third sector leaders are credits include Cats, Starlight Express and Phantom invited to apply to a free North Devon Social of the Opera. Entrepreneur Programme by 24 February. The Find the full programme and how to apply at action learning programme comprises nine contact www.dartington.org/summer-school days across three months to help you understand
Artist Residencies
LandWorks manager Chris Parsons answers some often-asked questions and rights some misconceptions about LandWorks - a work-based training scheme designed to support current and ex-prisoners to put crime behind them. Based on the estate, LandWorks aims to provide a supported route from prison back into the community and employment, and is now in the second half of its first year. Chris says ‘the questions from the public are as varied as those asking them: some incisive, while others I just assume to be a joke’.
Ground-breaking teachers return to Schumacher College
Lucy Parkes
Will Carrodus
Beginners can try Junk Music, using the tutor’s instruments or make their own from plastic, metal and cardboard. You can sing Tavern songs, catches and partsongs popular in Shakespeare’s London. In Dirty Electronics your performance starts at the workbench, making electronic instruments that you’ll use to create a new work with opera and theatre director Tim Hopkins. And the Bluffers Guide to Conducting is a light-hearted look at the art of waving your arms about with Steve Dummer who teaches you the basics in twenty minutes, and how to look like a professional in forty.
Answering your questions on LandWorks
Arts news
Commercial news
Jane Foster in her Space studio at Dartington
In Nick’s memory his wife Deena is raising funds for the charity Pancreatic Cancer UK. She says ‘It’s the 5th most common cancer in the UK, has the lowest survival rate of the 21 most common cancers yet only attracts 1 per cent of the cancer research spend so I’d like to help to raise awareness of the disease. In May I will be holding a fundraising dinner in Nick’s memory with an auction of promises including art works, therapy sessions, treatments and lessons. I’m also organising a raffle which will be drawn on the night with some great prizes including a stay at Dartington Hall.’ 17 May, Higher Close Refectory, Dartington Hall estate. Tickets available from March. Find out more at www.dartington.org.news-and-blogs