A collection of our short films produced with local filmmakers, many of which feature local residents. Watch to find out more about the environmental and climate-related issues facing our community, and the people working to make a difference. These films are also a celebration of the people who make our area so special.
The Diversity of Ecosystems (2019)
A fantastic short, animated film about biodiversity produced by local film maker Liz Gilson with support from SENS. Please do share this link with your friends, colleagues, family to help them understand what is at stake & what we need to protect in our local environment.
Sustainable Staveley films (2017)
We released several films across summer 2018, starting with ‘In Good Heart’ on farming and ‘Blades Will Sprout’ on allotments on 1st May 2018, ‘Young Voices of Staveley’ and ‘Making and Doing’ on 1st June 2018, a film ‘Making Dens’ on housing and Creative Connections on Carnival on 1st July 2018. You can watch all of the films below.
The main grant for this project came from Locally Important Projects (LIP) funding, via South Lakeland District Council.
Our remit was to produce a set of films and to engage in discussions within the community on sustainability matters, to contribute to a vision of Staveley in the Future.
The aim was to use talented local film-makers who already had an understanding of climate change issues and were prepared to work with the local community to produce something creative and challenging, to provoke discussions and action in the future. The films are intended to be used and shared by all.
We’d love to hear your feedback via Facebook or by email – sensstaveley@gmail.com
In Good Heart
A short film by Land and Sky Media, featuring an interview with Adam Crowe, reflecting on sustainability and the future on farming in an uncertain world.
An introduction from Adam: ‘I reluctantly agreed to let Dom, the filmmaker, into a day of my working life, knowing full well that what the camera saw wouldn’t be airbrushed to perfection, and that what I said in the interview I would have to live by.
The film features the small flock of Devon Closewool ewes that with my partner Helen I have just founded in order to provide targeted grazing in orchards in Cumbria. They’re a good thrifty native breed and their purebred lambs are growing well on pasture even with the long drought this summer.
We have left the traditional grasses and herbs to grow tall before putting the sheep in to allow for flowering, and as a result we have found the sward more resilient to the incessant heat and lack of rain, as well as having the pleasure of working among buzzing, thriving wildlife.
But that’s me doing the morning rounds on a rare dry day in December, shortly after we bought the sheep, and at the very beginning of our farming journey, as well as working on the tenanted family farm that I grew up on.
It made me nervous letting somebody film me in my naïve beginnings, but I wanted to represent an approach to farming that I believe to be capable of both producing good food and addressing some of the problems generated by industrialised agriculture.
The film could capture only a few moments and our good intentions, but I hope it imparts a sense of our commitment as well as beautifully showing the landscape we’re working in.’
Creative Connections
A short film by Land and Sky Media about Staveley’s unique creative community, from the new bridge opening ceremony to the extraordinary Carnival.
Blades Will Sprout
A short film by Sarah Thomas, reflecting on the redevelopment of the village’s allotments and the green-fingered growers who sustain them. It’s full of tips for producing food despite tough conditions on a Northern fellside site. Before viewing this film have a look at this brief slide show charting the redevelopment of the site by a dedicated group of local residents.
Young Voices of Staveley
The pupils of Staveley School discuss their village, the issues that matter to them and their vision for the future in this short film by Jon Randall.
Making and Doing
Two intrepid reporters set out to discover how their village is preparing for the future in this short film by Land and Sky Media.
Making Dens
This film, by Land and Sky Media, explores issues related to housing in a small village like Staveley. Two local residents offer their thoughts on achieving the right mix of housing types to meet the needs of different residents and ensure a vibrant, sustainable community.
It also looks at how ‘affordable’ housing can be defined and what it means in practice. Does this way of thinking about housing apply to your village or community?
Wearable Arts (2015)
This project came about after a weekend course run by Centre for Alternative Technology (CAT) course for communities. The communities were encouraged to use the arts and creativity to get the messages of climate change and sustainability out to a wider audience.
A pilot series of 3 films were commissioned in Oct 2015 around the Wearable Arts event in Staveley, the subject of which was ‘our changing climate’. This film project builds on that experience.
Please share these films with others, and we would love to hear your feedback via Facebook or by email.