In 2025, local creative practitioners, Jo Tytherleigh (grower and chef), Hanna Collins (photographer) and myself (poet and walk-leader) were commissioned by Tamar Valley National Landscape as part of the national Nature Calling project to welcome refugees and asylum seekers into the Tamar Valley to encourage them to start their own story in this protected landscape.
The project Rooted: A Journey through Land, Story and Belonging included three walks around different parts of the Tamar Valley and two sessions at Harewood Farm, Calstock, where the group grew and shared locally grown food. Through writing, photography, artwork and sound recordings, participants were supported and guided to capture their experience in the Tamar Valley, along with the benefits that interaction with Nature may bring.
The groups arrived at each walk by train on the Tamar Valley Line, accompanied by members of the team from Devon and Cornwall Refugee Support including Wellbeing and Education Lead Tressa Thomas and Wellbeing Manager Suvi Rehell. The walks were also attended by Bryony James, Community & Engagement Officer for Tamar Valley National Landscape’s Tamara Landscape Partnership Scheme (supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund), Charlotte Dancer, Information and Communications Officer, and…
The aim was to welcome new communities and groups of people into the Tamar Valley, to discover just how special this area is for both Nature and people.
The £2 million Nature Calling project, funded by Arts Council England, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) and National Landscapes in England, was a ground-breaking new art programme that amplified new voices and created innovative artwork in collaboration with communities close to National Landscapes.
Author photos by Hanna Collins (2025)
The project spanned the seasons. Beginning at Harewood Farm on 1st May, the project continued with a walk under the hot June sun and two walks in the wet autumn. The project itself ended on a Harvest festival.
All three practitioners received training in working with refugees from Devon and Cornwall Refugee Support and learned to live in the present moment. Most of all, the project sought to put the participants central in the experience and to help them feel as welcome as possible. The writing tasks on the walks – as well as Jo’s introductions to various flora and fauna – had the effect of adding purpose, opening ourselves to our senses and attending the landscape around us.
One participant attended all three walks. Otherwise, the groups differed each time. On two of the three walks, passers-by stopped to enquire who we were and expressly told us we were welcome there.
A celebration took place at Methodist Central Hall, Plymouth on 18th December with an exhibition of Hanna Collins’s beautiful photography.
Find out more about our work on the Nature Calling and Tamar Valley National Landscape websites.
Matt Bryden Poetry 