ENGAGE Update

It hasn’t been the best of weather recently for arranging photography trips out on the Trail.  Nevertheless, the ENGAGE group of St Helens College photographers have been out and about.

We were overwhelmed by the response to the survey of Trail users and supporters.  It certainly highlighted the diversity of perceptions, views and thoughts surrounding our focus and pilot area of the Liverpool Loop Line.  Thank you to all who have offered their feedback.  It has initiated many ideas and indicated definite focus directions to approach photographically.

Our focus now is to produce a series of online and downloadable digital booklets incorporating the images captured and the words and stories offered from the survey.  Primarily, the three areas of exploration through the digital booklets will address the ‘Hidden History’, ‘Marks Made’ (Tackling vandalism and antisocial behaviour) and ‘Biodiversity’.  If you have any specific information that you feel would benefit these areas of exploration, then please get in touch. We would particularly like to hear from anyone who has any stories or memories of travelling on the train along the Liverpool Loop Line, or living in the proximity when the line was live?

Ultimately, if the ENGAGE project informs and inspires more people to use and recognise the amazing resource of the Liverpool Loop Line and Trans Pennine Trail, this is a positive outcome to this pilot stage of the project.  Please keep up to date with the progression of the ENGAGE project at www.engagethetrail.co.uk  and www.facebook.com/engagethetrail , or if you would like to make contact email john.callaghan@sthelens.ac.uk

Photographs TL- JC, TR-Radka Dolinska

BL-Tracey Johnson, BR-Ray Price.

Thanks for the responses!

Thanks again is given to all those who have responded to the ENGAGE questionnaire. Nearly 50 responses have been submitted and this has given us a massive wealth of information to work with.  This information, together with the images captured by the ENGAGE group is now being closely scrutinised in order to formulate a presentation of the work created.

Trail Visit 10/04/12

 

Photos by JC

10th of April 2012 A wet and windy day out on the Trail with the occasional glimpse of the sun.  Meeting at the National Wild Flower Centre, we walked down to explore the Trail between the Broad Green to Halewood Area.  All the photos taken by the ENGAGE group are now being compiled.  The next stage of the project will be to edit down and select imagery to formulate a product and presentation of the work created.

ENGAGE Publicity!

The publicity surrounding ENGAGE has been spreading- below is the recent advert/article on the Merseyside travel and transport website www.letstravelwise.org

http://www.letstravelwise.org/newsarticle.php?articleID=3556 

Progression

The ENGAGE group came together on Friday the 23rd of March.  The aim of the meeting was to progress the work and gather further ideas in relation to the responses that have been received.  We now have approximately 48 responses to the questionnaire.  This has given us a massive resource to begin working on, and to visually respond to.  Theme areas were discussed and a potential focus for the layout of a digital booklet.  It is proposed that a digital booklet will give us an achievable goal within the near future and the current time-scale of this stage of the ENGAGE project.  As well as the publication of the digital booklet online and using new media, it is envisioned that this will also give a platform to develop further and future stages of 'ENGAGE the Trail'. 

The idea is that we will use some of the theme areas discussed during meeting, create a series of images (digital pages), then finish any publication (digital booklet) with images/text of volunteers looking after and maintaining the trail.  This would simply highlight some of the positive areas that people have discussed and respond to those who have said negative elements.

Sketch/Design/Example proposed for the potential layout of the digital booklet.

The ENGAGE group are individually considering how they would like to visually respond to some of these theme areas with a future Trail visit arranged for the 10th of April during the Easter break.

Many thanks to those who have already responded to the questionnaire and your involvement in 'ENGAGE the Trail'.

Meeting Notes Friday 16th March 2012

• General discussion to the progression of the project and an opportunity to acknowledge the public responses that have been submitted through the questionnaire.  

Potential image creation options in response to feedback...

• Use of individual words in relation to random images captured.
• Historical context- 'Hidden History'.
• Addressing the human need for space. (Typology)
• Transport Link and routes to work.

It was also discussed to potentially approach and photograph one of the clean up/workdays. 

(Ref: Typology- A systematic classification or study of types.)

Many thanks to all those who have responded to the questionnaire so far.

ENGAGE the Weather

'ENGAGE the Weather' is back on!  Tab at the top of the page.