Dartington Hall Trust Impact Review 2010

impact review 2010

Dartington impact review 2010

There was a clear concept from the very start: combining this life of practical things and this life of the mind and spirit.

Dorothy Elmhirst

a place of 1,200,000 visitors

85 years ago a visionary couple set up a centre for educational, artistic and social experiment on the beautiful Dartington estate in Devon. They were called Dorothy and Leonard Elmhirst and their project was called the ‘Dartington Experiment’.

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Ever since, Dartington has built a reputation as a pioneering force for creative and progressive thinking.

website visitors

1,000,000 public events

The roll-call of outstanding people who’ve played their part in the ‘Dartington Experiment’ is impressive: Igor Stravinsky, Imogen Holst, Benjamin Britten, Ravi Shankar, Bernard Leach, George Bernard Shaw, Aldous Huxley, James Lovelock, Rabindranath Tagore, Rupert Sheldrake, Hazel Henderson, Jonathon Porritt, Michael Young and Vandana Shiva.

www.dartington.org

The list of landmark events associated with Dartington is equally remarkable. It was at Dartington that the postwar Labour manifesto was penned and it was here that the Arts Council was conceived.

Today, Dartington focuses on three charitable areas: the arts, social justice and sustainability.

Our enterprise activities support our charitable programmes.

While much has changed since the Elmhirsts’ time, the ethos established by those two remarkable people is as powerful today as when they first created the Dartington Hall Trust.

For more information on the Elmhirsts and the history of Dartington see our website www.dartington.org or contact the Dartington Hall Trust archive: www.dartington.org/archive

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Foreword by the Chair of Trustees

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Foreword by the Chief Executive

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Arts

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Social Justice

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Sustainability

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Commercial Enterprises

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Dartington impact review 2010

(clockwise from top) Students on the Sustainable Horticulture course at Schumacher College Ayanna Witter-Johnson in residence at Dartington Mary Bartlett runs classes in Craft Education Singing for the Brain session at Foxhole

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This has been a year of great change.

The new coalition government’s austerity measures and spending cuts jostle with the rhetoric on building a ‘Big Society’. Bankers bonuses are back whilst the poor are getting poorer. As the economic power of the western world wanes, new economic powerhouses China and India, with their mass production and exports, further threaten the sustainability of the planet.

The arts are braced for tough times but rallying, stating the case for their importance now more than ever.

Social commentators are warning that our most marginalised and disadvantaged citizens are getting left behind.

Climate change remains high on the agenda yet global action is still not materialising.

As the world at large is changing, so is Dartington. As committed to experimentation, education and enterprise as our founders the Elmhirsts were, our plans involve expanding our programmes in the arts, social justice and sustainability.

Today more than ever, the ideas and activities born and nurtured at Dartington have impact in the wider world. Students of the Devon

School for Social Entrepreneurs are tackling social issues from Torquay to Peru; Schumacher College alumni are active in over 85 countries; and arts projects born here are travelling to audiences from London to New York to LA, taking in venues from prisons to opera houses.

Foreword by the Chair of Trustees Sir David Green

We face enormously challenging economic times and in common with all charities we are working much harder for the income that allows us to continue and extend our work. We need to think creatively and find new models to develop and fund our activities.

Dartington is indebted to many enlightened individuals and institutions for their support this year and in previous years. I would like to take this opportunity to thank each and every donor for their support and confidence in the ‘Dartington Experiment’.

If you are inspired by Dartington, the work we do and the people we work with, there are many ways you can support us.

From becoming a member, to sponsoring a bursary student, from watching a performance, to shopping at the Shops at Dartington – all of this helps us to continue to make a difference in the world.

www.dartington.org/support

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Dartington impact review 2010

It is a real privilege but also a huge challenge to lead an organisation whose mission is to experiment.

Foreword by the Chief Executive Vaughan Lindsay

Bringing together three complementary and interlinking programmes – arts, social justice and sustainability – in a unique rural setting, Dartington is known as a place of experiment, education and enterprise. It is a home for independent thought: a place where risks can be taken, and where ideas from the margins can be nurtured and brought into the mainstream.

I believe that now more than ever what we do at Dartington has resonance and impact far beyond this magnificent estate in South Devon that we call home. At a time of great social change, social enterprises like Dartington can lead the way in finding creative solutions to our more intractable problems.

This year’s review tells the stories of the people we have the privilege of working with at Dartington – those who have the courage to go out and make a difference in the world.

I hope they will inspire you as they have inspired me. I know that it is people such as these, with their creativity, ideas and determination, who will help us respond to the challenges of today.

At this crucial time of change at Dartington, now more than ever we need your support. Our future plans are bold and require significant investment.

In the arts, we are developing Space, a creative arts centre which will reaffirm our reputation as a place where new work is conceived and created.

In social justice, one of our innovative experiments, the Abundant Life project, will provide a new model for community living for older people.

In sustainability, we will build on the international success of Schumacher College by offering new practical courses in how to lead more sustainable lives.

To support this expansion, Schumacher College will move into a new campus in the heart of the estate.

Although we will face challenges ahead, what will keep us going is our people, our values and most importantly our spirit of enterprise. We hope that you will join us on this exciting new journey.

Dartington is open to all: we simply ask that you share our values – passion, independence and respect – and our desire to make a positive difference in the world.

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David Francis Director of Arts

It is right that this review focuses on the people who are involved with Dartington: their stories are simply the best way of demonstrating impact.

ARTS SOCIAL JUSTICE SUSTAINABILITY

ARTS It is right that this review focuses on the people who are involved with Dartington: their stories are simply the best way of demonstrating impact. The fact that the Arts has exceeded box office targets in the film and live arts programme, once again had 1500 people engaged in the Dartington International Summer School and has been a key partner in developing major new creative works is impressive. All this serves to highlight the impact, through sheer scale, which Dartington achieves year on year.

But our impact goes far beyond facts and figures. We are a major contributor to the local cultural mix and bring a high quality range of work to our audiences. As well as showing work we encourage people to come and make work: professional artists make work alongside ‘non-professional’ artists in our Craft Education studios and the same is true at the International Summer School when a community from all over the world gathers at Dartington to make and perform music together.

Our commitment to showcasing emerging talent gives young artists much needed performance experience. We regularly programme the work of recent

www.dartington.org/arts

graduates and provide a platform for talented music students from across the region (in partnership with South West Music School).

Looking back over the last year our impact has reached far beyond Dartington: performers from Colombia, the US and Nigeria met our audiences in spaces on and off the Dartington estate, both on-line and live.

However, there is real potential for us to have even more impact.

Throughout the year we’ve been developing Space, our new creative centre which will launch in 2011 and reaffirm our reputation as a place where new work is created.

We have also continued to develop our programme to position Dartington as the home where the arts, social justice and sustainability meet. This makes our programme distinctive and attracts artists and audiences who wish to challenge and be challenged. However, our challenge is to create a programme which is also accessible and enjoyable – after all audiences come to Dartington to have a good time, be engaged and be entertained.

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Dartington impact review 2010

I’m trying to do something new and contemporary...

I’m going to see what I can achieve.

Nurturing musical talent Tobie Tripp

Violinist, guitarist, pianist, singer-songwriter Tobie attended the South West Music School — a Dartington-led ‘virtual’ school for talented musicians — and went on to win a scholarship to the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama. www.swms.org.uk

I picked up a violin at the age of five. I tried out lots of different instruments but the violin just stuck. It can convey such a mix of emotions; make you happy or sad.

Without SWMS I wouldn’t have won the Liz Lawrence Award (helping gifted musicians with their studies). I’m going to spend the £1,000 prize on a new bow.

I’ve always loved to perform.

I get nervous but performing to an audience makes everything worthwhile.

I’ve had moments when I think I can’t do this anymore.

But with support I’ve always got through that. I love music and it’s always going to be a part of me.

I sent a recording to the South West Music School and was lucky enough to get an audition.

SWMS runs in parallel with normal school and I was a pupil from 14 to 18.

You have a mentor and play with different ensembles including an orchestra. There are three-day residential courses at the end of school term all over the South West.

My violin technique was appalling at the beginning but they saw my potential. My tutor took me back to basics and helped build me up again.

The music school opened up my mind and my creativity.

I’ve left with so many great contacts.

Dartington was an amazing place to study composition.

The atmosphere was incredible, particularly in the Great Hall.

It was peaceful and gave me time to think.

I don’t consider myself as amazing but the recognition is really encouraging. I was offered a place at Trinity College of Music but have taken up a scholarship at the Royal Welsh instead.

I’m trying to do something new and contemporary.

I’m interested in lots of different styles such as classical, gypsy jazz and drum ‘n’ bass. I’m going to see what I can achieve.

SWMS opened up a whole range of possibilities for me.

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It’s a lot about confidence.

You can hide in a big choir but we get people to feel more confident about singing on their own.

Helping turn music students into virtuosi Kate Ashby

Stile Antico Along with her two sisters, Kate Ashby first attended Dartington International Summer School as a child. In 2001, she and her sisters co-founded Stile Antico, a vocal ensemble now signed to leading record label Harmonia Mundi. The group’s Song of Songs album topped the US classical billboard charts in 2009. www.stileantico.co.uk www.dartington.org/ summer-school

We’re a vocal ensemble of 12 singers, performing 16th and 17th century music all over the world from New York and Mexico to the BBC Proms in London.

We caught the bug for early vocal music at Dartington International Summer School when we were children. We attended a range of classes – even doing a bit of African drumming – but enjoyed the vocal ensemble sessions the most.

It’s a very democratic form of music. There’s no conductor so we work together. Each voice is important; no one is chugging away on accompaniment.

Dartington felt like a real paradise. Our school didn’t devote much time to music, so having the space to sing here has been really inspiring.

The summer school has a unique atmosphere. Everyone is united by a shared love of music, which creates a real sense of community. Ages range from 14 to over 80 and we’ve made a lot of friends along the way.

Many of us were lucky enough to receive bursaries to study masterclasses at Dartington. We certainly would have found it more difficult financially without them.

(opposite) Kate Ashby (right) with her sister Emma

The Sting tours were great fun.

We were spotted at the 2005 Early Music Network International Young Artists’ Competition and were asked to tour with Sting around Europe and the Far East. He was very supportive and really loves early music repertoire.

We’re now coming back to Dartington International Summer School as teachers, leading the very courses that we studied.

It’s much harder work running a course but having been students gives us a good insight into what works. Fortunately, our courses are usually oversubscribed and we’re booked in again for 2011.

We hope that our students at Dartington take away something for life not just for a week. It’s a lot about confidence.

You can hide in a big choir but we get people to feel more confident about singing on their own.

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My job is to create interesting relationships with communities and that’s what Dartington does. It’s the perfect place.

The prison opera Tim Yealland

Education Associate Tim Yealland, English Touring Opera’s outreach and education director, has staged community productions with groups including refugees, people with special needs, and now — in partnership with Dartington — prisoners. www.englishtouringopera.org.uk

I wanted to do a project in a prison. Lear was perfect: it’s the bleakest setting and there are issues around guilt and redemption.

It was a totally new thing for HMP Channings Wood in Newton Abbot, but 20 prisoners volunteered and we had around 60 in the audience.

We couldn’t have done it without Dartington. They financed half of the production and students from Totnes’ KEVICC (King Edward VI Community College) created the musical background at Dartington’s rehearsal facilities, Space.

A few months before, a concert at the prison had almost provoked a riot just because somebody was out of tune. I was a bit apprehensive but the prison audience was really ‘held’ by Lear.

The men were very proud.

They had seen the work through and performed in front of inmates.

They saw education as a positive thing. Opera is not seen as a macho art form and to do it in prison is a big thing.

My job is to create interesting relationships with communities and that’s what Dartington does.

It’s the perfect place.

Italian opera used to be a popular art form. People shouted and jumped on stage but it’s become highbrow. We throw anything into our productions – dance, song, film and design – to try to get back to what it was.

Earlier this year we workshopped a new opera Promised End in Space, Dartington’s rehearsal facilities.

It’s now touring the UK after premiering at the Royal Opera House.

We never hold formal auditions. For Lear we rehearsed for one week, building the production around the group’s skills.

We’re discussing a community opera with Dartington and together we will be staging Turtle Song, a project for people with dementia.

The cast of inmates included a pimp and a murderer but I was struck by the shared humanity. We are all people, but through circumstance they had got caught up in a world over which they had very little control.

It’s about coming together and making meaningful things happen; helping people find creative as well as literal voices.

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Celia Atherton Director of Social Justice

Social Justice has been key to Dartington’s work since the beginning.

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SOCIAL JUSTICE From hosting discussions central to the birth of the NHS, to bringing children from very diverse backgrounds to live and learn together, we have a proud backdrop to the current ambitions and work of the Social Justice programme at Dartington.

We are committed to a fairer society that enables everyone to live fulfilling lives. Three approaches define our style: we are customer-driven – ensuring that our customers’ needs are at the heart of all that we do; we promote creativity to encourage independent thought and new ways of thinking and acting; and we are committed to collaboration, recognising the value of teamwork and partnerships.

Our methods focus on education, demonstration and debate.

Our enterprises are: The Abundant Life Project, a new vision of, and provision for, older age, inspired by the values of our founders the Elmhirsts.

Devon School for Social Entrepreneurs providing training and opportunities which enable people with entrepreneurial ideas to achieve positive change in their communities.

Research in Practice supporting a network to use evidence-informed practice to improve the lives of children, young people and families.

Research in Practice for Adults promoting the use of evidenceinformed policy and practice in adult health and social care.

Wanting to do good is not enough: evaluating impact is crucial, especially when resources are scarce. We help people to use evidence (whether research evidence or customer feedback) and evaluation techniques to demonstrate how they have made a difference to people’s lives.

We challenge stereotypes that limit the ability of others to live fulfilling lives, not least in older age. We think about how we and our neighbours can join together to improve our local communities by helping our most marginalised members join the mainstream.

We believe in raising our voices and asking questions about how we are living now – and encouraging others to do so too.

And we insist on talking about the big issues that really matter, and about which so many of us have choice and influence.

www.dartington.org/social-justice

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organisations in Research in Practice and Research in Practice for Adults network

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UK’s th School for Social Entrepreneurs established at Dartington

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We’ve set up two girls’ schools and plan to open one for boys in 2012. We also hope to open an eco lodge to raise funds.

Becoming a social entrepreneur Freddie Branson

Amantani UK Leaving university after one term, Exeter-based Freddie attended Dartington’s Devon School for Social Entrepreneurs (SSE) to learn how to lead and grow Amantani UK’s education projects in Peru. www.amantani.org.uk

I travelled through South America for five months.

3,400 metres up in the Peruvian mountains, I discovered rural children were spending up to eight hours a day walking between home and school.

They were tired and missing out on community life.

I helped to found a girls’ boarding school in Ccorca.

The children attend the town’s school in the mornings, spend the rest of the week with us and go home at weekends.

The parents say that it’s saved their children from wild dogs, bulls and men.

If you teach a girl then you teach a family. It became obvious that girls were the ones to start with.

We talked to parents. They wanted their children to study but not lose community skills, accumulated over thousands of years. So we teach things like farming and weaving.

I did one term at Bristol University but it was obvious that I wouldn’t go back. One way of learning is through university but through the School for Social Entrepreneurs I’ve learned a huge amount, fast.

The Devon SSE course has been amazing. It’s made a big difference. It gives you the space to focus on your organisation and work out where it’s going.

The course is progressive.

It’s ‘learning by doing’ and has given me the tools and confidence to do things.

We have ‘witness and expert’ sessions. Someone talks about their experiences and a lawyer or other professional provides the background.

When I got back to Peru they said ‘What have they done to you?!’. I had project management charts, budgeting tools and a strategy. It was a lot more professional.

There’s a big difference in the children. Their Spanish, self-esteem and belief in their identity have all improved.

I’m quite proud of what I’ve done but I don’t think I would be proud if I stopped now. We’ve set up two girls’ schools and plan to open one for boys in 2012. We also hope to open an eco lodge to raise funds. Ultimately, Peru is where my heart is.

For more information on Devon SSE visit www.dartington.org/sse

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It was good to know that we weren’t alone.

Moving forward together Change Projects Unique to Research in Practice and Research in Practice for Adults, Change Projects promote evidence-informed practice and ultimately improve outcomes for children, families and adults.

Organisations work together to gather current knowledge on an area of social care and produce a set of practical materials to help promote an evidence-informed approach to that topic nationally. www.rip.org.uk www.ripfa.org.uk

Research in Practice for Adults Change Project: Self-directed Support Change Cards provide information and guidance for ten emotions felt about the massive change adult social care faces with the move to self-directed support.

Everything out there talked about what it meant for our customers, but what does it actually mean as staff to put that into practice? And that’s what the Change Project was all about, helping staff. ...the Department of Health put us as an example in their new toolkit, for communications... So we’ve actually become a national example and that’s something that we’re really proud of, but we wouldn’t have been able to do that without the Change Project.

Do we want a manual?

Definitely not. We wanted something interactive...

I’m really proud of being involved with Change Cards...

I don’t think we’ve ever had anything like this to help people deal with organisational change in the way that this does.

Sherone Phillips Service Improvement Manager, Luton Borough Council

www.changecards.org

Research in Practice Change Project: On the path to success: Promoting engagement in learning at Key Stage 3 Disengagement from school shouldn’t necessarily be understood as a lack of interest in learning. The project aims to tackle this problem, both to prevent disengagement and to promote reengagement.

The Change Project focussed my thoughts and created the opportunity for reflection.

Working with other Local Authorities was really helpful in understanding the different approaches that colleagues are taking to promote the educational achievement of children in care.

Making the time to read research findings has enabled me to think more strategically.

We have worked with a wider range of colleagues who have in turn developed their own role and given greater consideration to the needs and strengths of children in care.

Deborah Booth Virtual School Head, Devon

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Sherone Phillips Service Improvement Manager, Luton Borough Council

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People from right across the spectrum are interested in living at Abundant Life.

Building an active life in older age Tony Thurgood

Engineer Tony Thurgood is involved in Dartington’s Abundant Life project — a pioneering community for older people which is envisaged for the Foxhole site on the estate. www.dartington.org/ abundant-life

I’ve lived in Devon for 22 years, spending most of my time in the South Hams. The coast, the moors, the lifestyle… it’s where I’ve always wanted to be.

There’s no way I can afford to retire. I’m a freelance engineer and don’t plan to give up work any time soon.

I went to a meeting about Abundant Life and immediately liked the idea.

It’s a community rather than just somewhere to live.

It’s open rather than gated. It’s a living, breathing entity, not a place where people go to die.

I would hope that it’s the third age: a place where older people can keep active and involved.

Pensioners make up a fifth of the UK population. Where are we going to live? How can we contribute?

How can we maintain a good quality of life? Dartington is trying to answer these questions.

I’ve had a triple heart bypass and I know that my health won’t allow me to carry on where I’m living at the moment. In ten years’ time I might need some help.

People from right across the spectrum are interested in living at Abundant Life.

There will also be small businesses on site such as arts and crafts firms. I think it’s a great idea, provided it’s not tin bashing or vehicle maintenance! I would like to continue my engineering company there and hopefully be involved in the build itself.

We are growing veg and flowers at the Foxhole community garden. Like everything else, it’s a community project, open to all.

I could see the idea happening all over the country, providing the community is involved.

We mustn’t turn the South West into a ginormous old people’s home. I like the emphasis on a balanced community. We don’t want to keep young people out. We must grow businesses and keep them growing. We’ve got to have places where younger people can afford to live.

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Charlie McConnell Director of Schumacher College

Finding creative and practical responses to the impacts of climate change continues to challenge the global agenda.

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SUSTAINABILITY The UN Summit in December 2009 raised huge expectations that at last a global consensus and a plan for action to mitigate and adapt to its effects would be agreed.

It was not.

would move to a new site in 2012 in the heart of the estate and agreed ÂŁ3.6 million investment over the coming five years to enable us to create the new campus and extend our programmes.

Schumacher College has for twenty years been at the forefront of developing ideas and solutions for a more sustainable world.

Albeit small, the College has had an enormous impact. Several thousand influential individuals from 85 countries have attended our courses. They are Transition Town activists, environmental educators, GM campaigners, government advisers, eco builders, sustainable horticulturalists and farmers, social entrepreneurs, corporate social responsibility managers and much more. These are people who don’t just have a deep understanding of the problems and the solutions, but feel a passion to do something about it.

Over this past twelve months we ran 20 short courses ranging from Purpose and Profit to Community Resilience. We piloted a programme in China, ran sessions at the civil society congress in Copenhagen and, with the Salzburg Global Seminars, an event in London. Key to these last two initiatives was working with the creative arts to help people understand and take action on climate change.

And it was because of a growing concern that we needed to reach more people at this critical time that we decided to expand our programmes. Several new staff joined the Schumacher team which, together with new courses, placed further pressures on our current campus. During the year Trustees decided that the College

Our MSc in Holistic Science has gone from strength to strength and we designed a new Masters in Economics. We set up a team concerned with Greenskilling and launched the Dartington Certificate in Sustainable Horticulture. We also established an Open Learning team to create online teaching and learning opportunities.

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All this demonstrates the breadth of what we do at Schumacher but every single person we work with has their own story and is making a positive difference in the world in their own way.

www.dartington.org/sustainability

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I learnt how to work with the natural world without doing it harm.

The green gardener Alison Waite

Sustainable Horticulturalist Alison gave up office life to study a Certificate in Sustainable Horticulture at Dartington’s Schumacher College. She now runs an eco-friendly gardening business. www.schumachercollege.org.uk

I used to work in a garden nursery. It was really distressing to see the amount of chemicals used. They just doused the plants.

My course combined horticulture with sustainability. It’s allied to Duchy College, which is very well regarded. You have a national qualification in horticulture – following a standard curriculum – with a focus on sustainability.

It opened a window onto a whole new world. It’s probably the best course I’ve ever done.

The group was broad too, from young people to pensioners.

I learnt how to work with the natural world without doing it harm.

Sustainability is a bit of a buzzword, a little vague.

But we learnt fundamental skills such as plant science and the effect of clay, silt, sand, nitrogen, potassium, phosphorous and external fertilisers. We studied three days a week, the mornings in class and the afternoons outside on the Dartington estate.

We were taught how to look after the land rather than just grow plants. We also got stuck into practical stuff, such as digging 300 lavender plants into a border.

In horticulture, there’s often no ‘right’ answer. Our tutors had been doing this all their lives, but every now and again they just said ‘I don’t know’.

I’m now a jobbing gardener.

I wouldn’t have had the confidence to do it without the course. It’s a beginning. I have all sorts of ideas, such as setting up a nursery to produce edibles that will withstand climate change.

I’ve sat in front of a computer for most of my working life.

This is the best job I’ve ever done.

I’m learning how to use a scythe but I’m not proficient yet.

I wouldn’t use chemicals but I do make compromises along the way such as using a petrol mower, especially as I’m paid by the hour!

You have to.

We’ve got to have beauty as well as nourishment.

My ideal project would be growing edible and ornamental plants.

Companion planting attracts the bees, essential for pollination.

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The course gave me a lot of thinking time and much more self-belief.

Re-inventing a career Simon Robinson

Transition Consultant Simon Robinson left a high-powered job to study an MSc in Holistic Science at Dartington’s Schumacher College. Having met his Brazilian partner Maria whilst at Schumacher, he is now planning to become a Transition Consultant in Brazil. www.transitionconsciousness.org

I used to be a casino and gaming manager for William Hill, responsible for a £650 million turnover, but I knew that I had to do something different. I read a Guardian article about Schumacher College, went online and everything clicked into place.

I had never heard of Schumacher College before but was blown away to find that it offered an MSc in everything I was interested in: science and spirituality.

The MSc was transformative.

It challenges western science to take a broader view – spanning cognitive science, philosophy, chaos theory, computer modelling and more – and explores subjects such as environmental degradation, communities and spirituality. We think about spirituality being in conflict with science but the course combined the two.

I wasn’t looking to change the world. I wanted to take a break from a corporate career and do something I totally enjoyed for the intrinsic pleasure of study.

You live at Dartington for six months, attending lectures between autumn and spring. Also, one- and two-week modules bring in other students and new ideas.

Our group included a kitesurfer and an architect and people from Burma, Israel, Mexico, Canada, the US and Colombia.

Ages ranged from 24 to mid-50s.

I learned a huge amount. The course gave me a lot of thinking time and much more self-belief.

My dissertation was written in Brazil, and it explores how rainforest shamans heal by communing with the spirits of plants. I went through shamanic training to understand it first hand.

I wrote a book in parallel with my thesis, drawing on my shamanic experiences in the Peruvian Andes and in the UK, which I’m now submitting to publishers.

I had no real idea what I would be doing after the course but I’ve already been invited to lecture in holistic science at Sustentare Escola de Negócios, a university in southern Brazil. I hope to become a transition consultant over there, advising local government and teaching.

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Simon Robinson and his partner Maria Auxiliadora

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Schumacher College opened my eyes and changed my life.

Finding the creative spark to write a book Kit Berry

Author Schoolteacher Kit Berry attended a Roots of Learning course at Schumacher College.

While on the course, she resolved to write a book and has now secured a major publishing deal. www.stonewylde.com

A few years ago I felt myself sliding into middle age.

‘Fat’, ‘single mother’ and ‘school teacher’ defined me. I was thinking, is this all there is?

My school sent me to Schumacher’s five-day Reconnecting Children with Nature course. As a special needs teacher, I wanted to bring these skills into the classroom.

The week turned my life on its head. We learned to see and think like children again. At Dartington, we used all our senses to engage with nature. We played with clay, painted and sang and learned about ecology and Gaia.

We also spent a dawn-to-dusk day on Dartmoor.

It was a magical experience.

I felt myself transforming as the week progressed. On the final day, I had an epiphany: I realised that I should pursue my childhood dream of writing.

Within five months I’d written the first draft of Stonewylde.

The following year I’d lost five stone, fallen in love and selfpublished my novels. I’ve now sold over 17,000 copies.

Stonewylde is set in a rural community in Dorset.

It appears to be an idyllic place of healing and Earth energy, into which comes Sylvie, very ill and seeking refuge from modern life.

I wanted to make it relevant.

It’s contemporary, and shows how power can corrupt even a perfect community. But the real theme is how we can find fulfilment by connecting with nature.

I now have a five-book publishing deal with Orion.

Stonewylde will be in bookshops across the UK in 2011, world-wide rights are being sold and there’s even the possibility of a film deal.

Schumacher opened my eyes and changed my life.

The magic that touched me is touching thousands of others.

Transformative learning in action!

I hope that my books bring Schumacher’s ‘small is beautiful’ idea to a broader audience. There’s a huge movement towards green living and connecting spiritually with nature. I hope, in my own small way, to help the cause of looking after the planet.

ARTS SOCIAL JUSTICE SUSTAINABILITY

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Dartington impact review 2010

As a social enterprise, Dartington operates commercial enterprises which support our charitable programmes in the arts, social justice and sustainability.

ARTS SOCIAL JUSTICE SUSTAINABILITY

COMMERCIAL ENTERPRISES Hospitality Property Dartington Hall

The Shops at Dartington

Set within the inspiring context of our charitable programmes, Dartington’s hospitality arm caters for both business and leisure trade.

From excellent locally sourced food at the White Hart Bar and Restaurant, to well appointed meeting rooms, accommodation around the courtyard and a partnership with Dynamic Adventures offering outdoor activities, leisure guests and business clients alike enjoy a unique experience.

The Shops at Dartington (formerly the Cider Press Centre) is a unique shopping centre in Dartington village, a 20 minute walk from the heart of the estate.

The setting of Dartington helps delegates relax and escape from the pressures of the office, which promotes creative thought.

Dartington’s Property department manages the estate buildings and land. As well as providing an inspiring backdrop to Dartington’s charitable programmes, the estate buildings and land are home to a diverse mix of commercial and private tenants, many sharing Dartington’s values and interests.

Rental income is reinvested in the estate and Dartington’s programmes. Tenants include: a community-focussed market garden working to organic standards; a funeral company which offers coffins made from ecologically friendly materials such as wicker and bamboo; and a leatherwork studio and classroom.

Pat Bailey Peninsula Medical School

Available property is advertised on Dartington’s website.

www.dartington.org/stay www.dartington.org/commercial-property www.dartington.org/shop

Our 13 shops and cafés offer a wide assortment of crafts, fashion, toys, homewares and gift food as well as weekend entertainment.

Barbara King Managing Director of The Shops at Dartington (pictured above)

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Dartington impact review 2010

THE ESTATE Set in 1,200 acres, the Dartington estate includes 42 listed buildings and a number of scheduled ancient monuments set in gardens, woodlands and farmland.

The cost of maintaining the estate totalled almost ÂŁ1 million this year.

Open all year round, the estate attracts visitors from all walks of life and is the largest in the South Hams that is freely available to visit.

We welcome walkers, nature lovers, green-fingered gardeners and appreciators of architecture from the modernist to the medieval.

This is an exciting time of change on the estate with the expansion of Dartington’s charitable programmes and more of the land being used for practical demonstration and green-skilling.

Jo Talling Property Director

www.dartington.org/ landusereview

Estate Wardens Will Wallis and Mike Newby

ARTS SOCIAL JUSTICE SUSTAINABILITY

The Land Use Review which is now underway will see us working towards using much more of the estate as a ‘living classroom’.

John Channon Conservation and Woodlands Manager

500,000

sq ft of buildings

90

commercial lettings

800

acres of land rented

£879,000

maintenance costs

33

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Dartington impact review 2010

Grounds and gardens

Conservation and woodlands

Open from dawn to dusk all year round, Dartington’s Grade 2* listed gardens remain a source of beauty and inspiration for visitors from all walks of life. The vision of Dartington founder Dorothy Elmhirst, today the gardens are kept at their best by a team of four gardeners compared to 25 in the Elmhirsts’ time. We ask visitors for a donation of £3 per person towards the considerable costs of keeping the gardens open to the public.

The Dartington estate is used by a range of groups for education and conservation work.

I shall always come here.

I walk the gardens every week of the year, so I couldn’t be luckier.

Mirhane McLaren-Howard Dartington Member

We’ve had many volunteers working on the estate this year including Groundworks South West with their Green Team and BTCV and the young people they work with. You hear some brilliant stories – one of the young guys from the Green Team had been unemployed for a couple of years. He loved the work he did here helping us with clearing and repairing and he’s now been offered a full time job with Torbay Council doing similar work.

Will Wallis Estate Warden

Dartington’s gardens are open all year round Schumacher College students in conversation in the grounds

www.dartington.org/visit

www.dartington.org/ woodlands-and-conservation

ARTS SOCIAL JUSTICE SUSTAINABILITY

Young volunteers from BTCV www2.btcv.org.uk

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Dartington impact review 2010

The course is set on an acre of Dartington woodland.

It’s fantastic to see the land being used as it was intended.

Growing up in the great outdoors Hetti Dysch

The Wilderness Club Hetti Dysch runs a psychotherapy practice and is the founder of The Wilderness Club, a Dartington-based outdoors activities group for children aged between 8-12. www.hettidysch.co.uk

I used to work at a school for excluded teenagers.

Many children had never had a proper childhood. We got them out into the woods and they just lost themselves.

I called up John Channon at Dartington and said ‘this is what I want to do – run woodland activities to help children improve their lives’.

He was incredibly supportive.

Dartington are yes people and they work back from that.

We ran the first sessions with just six children.

Numbers went up right away and there’s a 70% return rate.

We have a good mix of boys and girls from all backgrounds.

The course is set on an acre of Dartington woodland.

It’s fantastic to see the land being used as it was intended.

Rain or shine, the kids don’t mind. We start each session by talking in a circle around the fire. Activities include stalking, building dens, coppicing hazel, making dead wood hedges and planting oak trees. We also make bread, elderflower fritters, garlic bread...

It’s not like a school, it’s a living, expansive, learning community. It’s not a competition – we encourage teamwork. If a child wants to sit by the fire that’s fine; we give them the role of fire keeper. The children also learn about consensus decision-making.

The kids get tokens for doing something well, which they exchange for food at a big fry-up at the end of the course, attended by parents.

A boy who was really struggling at school became more confident and one boy called it the best week of his life.

At the final fry-up, parents are amazed to see the kids looking so relaxed. It’s a little community that’s developed over six weeks. We have all looked out for each other.

Wilderness therapy has become my passion. It’s really therapy through the back door – the outdoors is the therapy. It does it by itself.

ARTS SOCIAL JUSTICE SUSTAINABILITY

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Dartington impact review 2010

Financial review 2009/10 Charitable Programmes Arts Social Justice Sustainability The Place

Total income £2,228,000 £3,475,000 £862,000 £1,303,000

Total expenditure (£2,756,000) (£3,311,000) (£1,168,000) (£1,279,000)

£ 3,500,000 3,000,000 2,500,000 2,000,000 1,500,000 1,000,000 500,000 0 The full financial results for the year are set out in the statutory accounts of the group for the year ended 31 March 2010, which were approved by the Trustees on 11 December 2010. The statutory accounts were audited and received an unqualified audit report.

ARTS SOCIAL JUSTICE SUSTAINABILITY

As an organisation we are committed to supporting our core programmes of the arts, social justice and sustainability and sustaining the Dartington Hall Estate. To this end we have worked hard to develop a business model that invests in our core programmes whilst ensuring our charitable

assets, the Dartington estate and Dartington Collection, are sensitively managed to preserve our unique heritage.

Whilst it has been a challenging year for Dartington financially, we are confident that our 5 year strategic plan, together with our

comprehensive 5 year financial and fundraising strategy will invest and transform our core programmes of the arts, social justice and sustainability as well as reconfigure the Dartington estate to reflect our charitable and enterprise objectives.

Total income

ÂŁ15,607,000 Charitable activities Enterprise Voluntary income Investment income

46.3% 43.5% 5.5% 4.7%

Total expenditure

ÂŁ16,843,000 Charitable activities Enterprise Property & investment management Costs of generating voluntary income Governance costs

50.5% 44.4% 3.2% 1.5% 0.4% 39 40

Dartington impact review 2010

Management

Our thanks

Trustees

We wish to thank our many funders and friends whose support allows us the freedom to innovate. The following donors contributed amounts in excess of ÂŁ10,000 in the current year: Arts Council England Dartington International Summer School Foundation Department for Children, Schools and Families Eleanor Barton Trust Friends of the Summer School at Dartington Mrs. W Godfrey-Payton Trust Orchestras Live The 29th May 1961 Charitable Trust The Christensen Fund The EsmĂŠe Fairbairn Foundation The Lankelly Chase Foundation The Leverhulme Trust The Pierson-Lovelace Foundation The Samuel Sebba Charitable Trust Viridor Credits via Ugbrooke Environmental Ltd Cabinet Office Devon County Council HCD Memorial Fund

Sir David Green KCMG (Chair) Gay Cranmer Liz Firth Sir Nicholas Kenyon CBE Patricia Williams Peter Mather Stephen Jones Dame Jo Williams DBE Jo McConville Company Secretary Vaughan Lindsay Chief Executive Officer

Senior management team Celia Atherton Director of Social Justice Rita Cummings Director of Fundraising and Communications David Francis Director of Arts Deborah Heather General Manager, Dartington Hall Barbara King Managing Director, The Shops at Dartington Charlie McConnell Director of Schumacher College Joanne Talling Property Director Karen Williams Director of Finance and Resources

Thanks to all those who have given time to support our work this year: Gerard Lemos Paul Dukes Jeremy Logie Charles Trevor- Roper Julian Seaward Nigel Wreford-Brown Lord Robin Teverson James Naylor Daniel Stokes Jock Douglas Tim Jones Mike Rowe Ed Chorlton Tim Haywood Thanks to all the staff, volunteers and partners whose hard work and commitment enables Dartington to achieve its mission.

Thanks to the following Trustees who stepped down this year: Gerard Lemos (June 2009), James Cornford (August 2009), Kate Caddy (March 2010).

Thanks also to Mark Howell, Adam Powell and Lech Zwierzynski who left the management team in 2010.

ARTS SOCIAL JUSTICE SUSTAINABILITY

Acknowledgements Thanks to everyone who has helped to produce this report and to all the people who gave up their time to be interviewed.

Photography — Clive Tagg Fergus Bisset Alice Carfrae Marcus Crouch Nicky Love Michael Beaton Lisa Tregale Design & Art Direction — Believe in™ www.believein.co.uk Print — Kingfisher Print & Design (FSC certified) www.kingfisherprint.co.uk Printed on 100% recycled paper using inks from sustainable and renewable sources. The composition of the paper is 100% de-inked post-consumer waste.

All pulp used is Elemental Chlorine Free (ECF) and the manufacturing mill is accredited with the ISO 14001 standard for environmental management. Environmental status includes Nordic Swan, Blue Angel and the EU Ecolabel.

Published December 2010

I’m a member because I believe passionately in what Dartington is doing and that it is an incredibly important place... for now... for what it does, for the chaos of these times. It’s a place of almost refuge as well as aspiration.

Mirhane McLaren-Howard Dartington Member I wanted to give my support to the ideas that have been present at Dartington since the Elmhirsts’ time. I just want those ideas to continue, and hopefully with our support they will.

Contact us: The Dartington Hall Trust The Elmhirst Centre Dartington Hall, Totnes Devon TQ9 6EL T: 01803 847000 F: 01803 847007 E: info@dartington.org www.dartington.org Twitter: @DartingtonHall Facebook: Dartington a Pioneering Charity

Elisabeth Narramore Dartington Member To find out more about Dartington membership visit www.dartington.org/ membership The Dartington Hall Trust Registered Office: The Elmhirst Centre, Dartington Hall, Totnes, Devon TQ9 6EL Registered in England as a company limited by guarantee and a charity.

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