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Setting sail in September...
Follow the Twitter feed for more news.
STORIES IN THE LAND: CELBRATING HUGH MILLER & THE CRUISE OF THE
BETSEY ( 6th -12th September)
The Friends of Hugh Miller and the Royal Scottish Geographical Society
(RSGS) are chartering a traditional sailing boat for a week in September 2014,
to follow the journey of discovery taken by Hugh Miller in the summer of 1844
on the sail boat, the ‘Betsey’. The project will celebrate the life and
achievements of a great Scot, a great geologist but also a remarkable observer
of the social history of the time.
We have recruited an intergenerational mix of geologists, geographers,
artists, writers, ecologists, storytellers, theologians and historians
(including Gaelic speakers), which will reflect Hugh Miller’s remarkable
ability to think across disciplines. Geology, landscape, people and story will
be at the heart of the journey which will begin in Oban on 6th September.
Our floating manse, art studio and scientific laboratory is the sailing boat
‘Leader’ built in 1892, which sleeps 19 people including 5 crew (see www.trinitysailing.co.uk).
Public events
Public events are planned in Cromarty, Fort William and Oban and on the
islands of Eigg and Rum. Working in partnership with the Scottish Geodiversity
Forum, SNH, the Scottish Geoparks, the National Library of Scotland, the
National Museum of Scotland and others with an interest in landscape and
geology, we are planning to advertise a ‘Hugh Miller Festival’ throughout the
month of September. Cromarty Craftworkers are currently designing an ensign for
the boat and this will be used as a logo to badge/identify events which are
part of the festival. This means we can tap into things that are already
organised e.g. the re-launch of Fossil Grove in Glasgow.
We are also developing materials for primary and secondary schools, and
plan to have live links to the boat during the voyage if possible! – see below.
Two new RSGS interdisciplinary resources for primary schools and S3
which focus on ‘Learning about Scotland’
RSGS is developing two exciting new resources to link with the Cruise of
the Betsey in September, which focus on learning about Scotland. The Secondary
resource targeting S3, which has been written by RSGS Tivy medallist, Alan
Parkinson, involves different departments (drawn from geography, science,
english and history) working together over a period of 6 weeks. The programme
combines opportunities for indoor and outdoor learning. Working in partnership
with Education Scotland, we are currently recruiting schools who are interested
in taking part in the pilot which will take place in September/October 2014 to
coincide with the Betsey re-enactment.
We are also working with Sallie
Harkness of storyline Scotland (author of the much-admired RSGS Droving
Storyline materials) to create a primary resource about landscape and geology
which has a focus on Hugh Miller. Primary schools in Cromarty, Edinburgh, Oban
and Eigg have already agreed to take part in the piloting.
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