Guest bloggers: This blog has been co-written by various members of the group which sums up the ethos of a small team who have transformed the former Barnsley Main site in recent years. Visit the community section of the Barnsley Museums website to learn more about Barnsley’s diverse heritage. We’re always looking for guest bloggers so please get in touch!
First, Val Hardcastle one of our regular green-fingered volunteers writes
Covid changed all our lives, mine because of my age: I was sent home from work, put on furlough, then six months later the business I worked for closed all its shops leaving me looking for a voluntary job.
Twiggs were looking for litter pickers and as I live near the Dearne Valley Country Park, I thought that would suit me. After picking I was taken to Barnsley Main where I was asked to join the team, and as I love gardening I jumped at the chance: I could combine litter picking with gardening or should I say fighting back the nettles.
My work is mainly in the Timber Yard where all the timber for the mine was stored before the mine closed. Most of the ground has waste slag from the mine not far below the surface but we persevere and have planted cuttings and plants from our own gardens besides those that have been donated.
We have sectioned the area into different planting schemes: herbs and fruit, bulbs in another, a wonderful poppy display, a fernery that the rabbits love! a shrubbery and a wild area where the nettles dominate. Every week we are delighted to see what’s grown and survived, especially this summer where we haven’t had a drop of rain.
Spirits are raised as soon as we get to the ‘pit’: the friendship, fresh air, the birdsong and the camaraderie all help to make it a pleasure to be there.
David Dewey, a long standing volunteer, has seen his role change over time:
Voluntering opens unepexcted doors. As a founder member of BMHG, I have been involved since 2016 and am now the Group’s teasurer as well as helping with the design of sign boards and contributing to the photographic record of our progress.
In May 2022, we hosted the Yorkshire Drone Flyers on site and I was invited to have a go. I could immediately see an exciting potential for expanding my photographic hobby. A week later and a secondhand drone came onto the market. The rest, as they say, is history. As well as opening up an aerial perspective to my photography, I’m now learning to create and edit short videos. Just seasrch for ‘Oaks Drones’ on YouTube!
And in addition to the creative side, new friendships have been formed, new interests shared and a strange new world discovered.
The new miners’ garden at Barnsley Main
An unexpected opening emerged from an advert spotted in a gardening magazine which led the group to being involved in a Citizen Science project and then further research and a ‘Miners’ Garden’ with lead partner Phyona and Brunel University:
On April 1st 2023, following the award of the Women in Innovation programme the New Miners’ Garden for Barnsley Main has been designed. The garden includes more than 20 species of plants, split between hyperaccumulators and industrial crops that help in the recovery of metal from the soil and its regeneration.
But let’s take a step back…
In the summer of 2020, Dr. Lorna Anguilano of Brunel University, London, launched a citizen science project with her colleague, Dr. Uche Onwukwe. The project included the analysis of soils and the planting of a small set of hyperaccumulator seeds. This was to collect information on the types of contamination found in UK soils, what they might be linked to, and how plants could help in cleaning up the soil.
Now, we have mentioned these hyperaccumulators twice so far, so what are they? Hyperaccumulators are plants that respond to the stress of living in a dirty soil by taking this dirt, e.g. old mining excesses like metals, and moving it up into their leaves or stems. This action helps their roots to grow in a much healthier environment. It is also this action that helps us as the plants can be harvested with the metals in them and ultimately the metal can be then recovered.
Following this study of the soils and the plants at Barnsley, the researchers in the meantime started Phyona [www.Phyona.co.uk], a spin-off company from Brunel University. Phyona went on to apply for an Innovate UK funding to create a pilot site at Barnsley, and from that, the New
Miners’ Garden was created. Phyona reports:
“Fighting the heat and the drought on top of the soil contamination, the plants are growing slowly and gradually cleaning their surroundings. Every month, we will come to check the growth, harvest, measure the metal uptake and recover the metal compounds. We will also process the biomass to create mulch and a nutrient-rich solution that can be used to regenerate the soil in the garden. Stay tuned to see what happens next.”
Finally Joshua Daniels, local film maker and historian, tells us more about the Heritage Lottery Funded project which has been underway since January
Last year, the BMHG applied for a grant from the National Lottery Heritage Fund, to digitalise the work done by the group and also preserve the stories of Barnsley Main. The bid was successful, and there has been a lot of hard work undertaken this year to bring together the various components of this year-long digitalisation project.
After meeting BMHG at the Worsbrough Local History Day last year, I was commissioned to undertake the projects. This included: creating a documentary of the history of Barnsley Main Colliery; an oral history archive of miners in Barnsley; interviews with BMHG volunteers; three heritage walks; a website; a YouTube channel and two student workshops.
I will also be delivering two more heritage walks around Barnsley Main and I’ve also made another documentary – this time, on Dearne Valley Country Park. The film will be shown publicly in Worsbrough in October, and then made available to watch online for free.
Could you be part of the team protecting, preserving and promoting our local history?
We always welcome new volunteers and if you have time or a skill to share then pop up for an informal chat. Roles are varied and time commitment is very flexible.
Below are some opportunities:
- A number of flexible roles as well as people who are willing to just help out generally.
- Help mowing etc, particularly during the summer.
- People with lived experience of mining to help with conversation and story sharing on a regular or ad hoc basis for Open Days, in the museum, etc.
- Hosts for visitors to the site and museum from Easter to October, welcoming and serving refreshments.
- Volunteers who enjoy gardening, nature and habitat maintenance whatever their level of skill or knowledge.
- A person with experience of writing grant funding applications (based at home).
- A qualified first aider, or someone willing to undertake relevant training, and to be avaiable for occasional Open Days and public events.
Whether you can spare a few hours a week or just offer on an ad hoc bais, we would love to hear from you.
E-mail: barnsleymainheritage@gmail.com
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