Otley Wildlife Arts Festival delivers ambitious programme

Wildlife Friendly Otley’s co-chair and festival lead Neil Griffin said: “Once again we expanded our programme, and thanks to the efforts of those involved, and the response of people from all over the area, we can say it achieved its aims. These were to engage people with wildlife in a variety of ways, and to showcase the amazing work of the local creative community.”

The wildlife art exhibition (Image: submitted)

At the heart of the festival was the exhibition of wildlife art at Otley Courthouse, where the quality of work was again widely agreed to be high. Artists and photographers exhibiting included Sheila Barton, Andrew Bennett, Jill Brookes, Kelly Brown, Jenny Challenger, Celia Chambers, Steve Davey, John Giles, Tim Gomersall, Robyn Guppy, Caroline Hall, Karen Hand, Sara Hargraves, Laura Harris, Debbie Harrison, Mary-Clare Hewitt, Jean Higginson, Gerard Hobson, Sally Howarth, Joanne Kemp, Chris Leach, E Leeming, Nella Moore, Brian Morris, Jeanne-Louise Moys, Helen Sky Roberts, Nicola Robson, Isabelle Ruiz, Liz St Clair, River Six, CJ Smith, Marion Tasker, Frances Taylor, Valerie Townsend, Roseann Wain, Helen Walker, and Julie Wood. The Chevin Watercolour Group, Otley Arts Club and Healing Arts were groups that supported the show. The sheer variety of work was frequently commented on, from Gerard Hobson’s best-in-show winning block-mounted linocuts to Marion Tasker’s pastels to David Askew’s precise wood sculptures. The best-in-show prize - £80-worth of framing - was once again provided by Art Works in Courthouse Street.

Tom Heap with WFO trustee Claire Blindell (Image: submitted)

The festival had earlier kicked off with two ticketed events. In conjunction with Ilkley Literature Festival, Tom Heap, well known as a reporter on the BBC’s Countryfile, gave a persuasive talk about how we can be much smarter with our land use, to the benefit of nature and mankind. Later that day, in a joint presentation with Folk at the Farrier, rising Devon folk singer Detta Kenzie gave a superb demonstration of her musicianship and singing. She was accompanied by Tobias Ben Jacob, who also performed his own impressive set; and further support came from excellent local duo Trash Panda. The evening opened with Paul Briscoe accompanying his own recordings of a beautiful dawn chorus on acoustic guitar.

Kate Bradbury with WFO trustee Jo Riggall (Image: submitted)

A fortnight later, the main weekend of the festival got off to a great start with a joint WFO/Otley Camera Club event: Wildlife Photography with Tracy Lund. The international award-winning photographer described her adventures around the world capturing images of gobsmacking nature. The following evening saw Kate Bradbury from Gardeners’ Question Time (amongst many others) talking about how to garden for wildlife, creating a beautiful space full of different habitats that in turn will link with others to create those vital wildlife corridors. This was chosen as fitting in perfectly with one of WFO’s main current campaigns. On the Saturday evening WFO patron, TV presenter, explorer and author George McGavin returned to give a new talk about trees and all the life they sustain, including ours, as they emit oxygen and remove carbon and pollution from the atmosphere. The following morning he visited Tittybottle Park to film a video about the 180 year-old oak that is currently scheduled to be chopped down in December.

The festival featured the now traditional factual short talks programme, with the usual wide range of wildlife topics. Local botanist Steve Heaton gave a fascinating insight into the world of Willow trees, and how diverse and important they are as a species. WFO trustees Jane Smith and River Six talked with great passion about Otley’s nature recovery plan, and how the charity is co-operating with partners across town. In the afternoon, Diane Cook talked about Prickly Pigs, the busy Otley hedgehog hospital she and her husband founded, and the amazing work that is being done to save this popular but gravely endangered mammal. Les Arkless then gave an interesting insight into the peregrine falcons – the fastest animals in the world - that have made Leeds city centre their home. Finally, David Preston brought to life the subject of the natural history of Otley Chevin.

Members of Chevin Watercolour Group (Image: submitted) Neil said: “This year we wanted to give people more opportunities to have a go at wildlife-related art themselves, in workshops run by local artists and groups. So there was a collage class with Miriam Laville for example, and a wildlife photography workshop on the Chevin with Otley Camera Club and local ecologist Robyn Guppy. There was also pottery painting with Michelle Jones at the House of Pottery, which even has a special calming sensory room for people who need quieter environments.”

Making sticker art (Image: submitted)

On the Sunday there was a poetry workshop led by Bernie Stinson, who helped people capture the feelings of awe and wonder inspired by the natural world. He also provided paper he had hand-made from Otley greenery for the poets to write their final drafts on. This was followed by a poetry event led by members of Otley Stanza and Otley Writers, which ended with standing room only. It began with a presentation by Lucy Lee of the Yorkshire Peat Partnership. This project has been working on Denton Moor, north-west of Otley, to restore the vital peat bog habitat, and had invited local poets to experience this special place and articulate their responses in poetry. Skipton poet and musician Sarah Smout read a couple of pieces and then treated a surprised audience to a wonderful recording of the sound of the sphagnum moss there. There then followed engaging wildlife poems from the two groups, including a witty one about the poor parenting skills of Otley’s two swans. Sandy Wilson of Otley Writers skilfully made a book of the event, available for £3.50 at https://amzn.to/3BHutOT

The festival closed with a lunchtime recital of music inspired by nature at Otley Courthouse. This was by flautist Laura Barker-Bey and featured a fascinating selection of pieces modern and old played beautifully to an appreciative audience.

Children produced some wonderful leafy creatures (Image: submitted)

Children were more involved than ever in this year’s festival. The exhibition featured the work of children from six local schools: Westgate, the Whartons, Ashfield, St Joseph’s, Pool and Bramhope. Children made drawings, paintings, collages, posters and poems, all on the theme of wildlife, and Westgate held their own exhibition in the school hall showcasing the work of every child in school. Two festival stalwarts ran workshops for children on the Saturday: Pat Foster led arts and crafts (and jokes!) on the theme “Leafy Creatures”; whilst Alex Eve ran another of his ever-popular Sticker Art sessions. Author Nicola Penfold, writer of “Where the World Turns Wild” and “Between Sea and Sky”, worked with children at St Mary’s and the Whartons.

Neil added: “We’d like to thank everyone who came to the festival and those who helped with its delivery. Its success was once again driven by the WFO festival team: River Six, Jane Smith, Jo Riggall, Cath Harrison and Sheila Barton. We’re also indebted to the other hard-working WFO trustees. The festival wouldn’t have happened without the generous support of our sponsors: Wharfedale Naturalists’ Society, Otley Town Council, Sinclair’s, House of Pottery, and Leeds City Council.”