Make Your Way
Encouraging active travel in the Clyde and Avon Valley through art and heritage
Make Your Way is a new project encouraging people in the Clyde and Avon Valley to walk and cycle more whilst exploring the rich heritage of their local area.
Focussing on the communities of Carluke, Glassford, Lanark, Larkhall and Stonehouse, the project includes multiple hands-on ways for people to get involved in their local landscape, history and favourite walking and cycling routes. See the maps that were created in each of these communities through the project, by clicking on the links under 'Other Resources' to the right, or on the links below this article.
To kickstart the project, local meetings were programmed for each community in September and October 2016. They were a chance for people to speak to the Make Your Way team about their local area including favourite routes and features that fed into future route planning. These were followed by a series of school and community focussed workshops and events which focussed on what people knew about their local landscapes and found different ways of getting people to engage with what was on their doorsteps, as below.
If you would like to get involved in any of the events, or have information you would like to share about your area then get in touch with the Make Your Way team via This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. / 0141 237 8592. Meet the Make Your Way team by visiting the image gallery at the bottom of this page.
You can keep upto date with the project via the Clyde and Avon Valley Landscape Partnership website, on Twitter @ClydeAvonValley or on Facebook @ClydeandAvonValley and by using #MakeYourWay.
‘Report it Forward’ - join the Citizen Journalism volunteer task force
Social reporters are storytellers who can use a wide range of content such as blogs, sound bites and podcasts to get their message across. They provide a commentary on events and experience to share with a wider audience.
The Make Your Way team will be recruiting local volunteers with an interest in reporting, filmmaking and community building. Through a series of workshops volunteers can learn about digital storytelling and develop their skills as reporters through a range of content including blogs, sound bites and podcasts. Watch the video at the bottom of the page for tips on how to create your own Citizen Journalism short films.If you, or a group you are involved in would be interested in becoming a Citizen Journalist you can register your interest via the signup form under 'Find Out More' on the right of this page, or get in touch with the Make Your Way team, on This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. , or contact Laura Frood on 07713 585 584. Download the Citizen Journalism How To Guide under 'Other Resources' on the right. Take the ‘Dorodango’ Mud Dumpling Challenge
The Make Your Way team invite you to get involved in the ‘Dorodango’ Mud Dumpling Challenge, taking place between now and 1 February 2017. Japanese Dorodango, or ‘Mud Dumpling’, is a process involving creating balls of mud, which are then highly polished and built up in layers. This unique activity for young and old allows you to rethink the potential of the soil beneath your feet and consider the rich history of the soil and landscape of South Lanarkshire.
The challenge is to make 500 Dorodango, so if you want to make 1 or even 21 why not get involved? You can make your own Dorodango by watching the video below or by following the step by step guide, on the link to the right under Other Resources. Once you have your Dorodango finely polished and presented then post a picture to Facebook or Twitter with the tag #MakeYourWay. The Make Your Way team can collect your finished Dorodango and they will be exhibited together in March. You can also request a Dorodango workshop or find out how to host your own Dorodango Party by getting in touch with the Make Your Way team at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or contact Michael (07843 145 128). Do You My Map?
We believe that the finest maps are made by the people who know the area best. The secret short cuts, the hidden wildlife, the undercover hideouts and untold stories. We want to know the places which you go in the Clyde and Avon Valley and are asking people of all ages and backgrounds across Carluke, Lanark, Larkhall, Glassford and Stonehouse to document their journeys through a Citizen Mapping exercise. If it is a little known path; a beauty spot with a curious tale; an uncharted historic site; or simply your favourite place in the whole valley, let the team know about it and share your love of your local area.
All you’ll need in order to take part and submit your personalised map is to open a Gmail account. This will allow you to access My Maps; enabling you to create routes and mark spots of interest. It could be where you like to go at the weekend, what fish you caught in the river or where you made a treehouse as a child; it is up to you what content your map will have. Download your My Maps guide by clicking the link under Other Resources on the right. What is in a name?
A simple yet evocative question. Place names can reveal much about the character, past and present of a place, from paths to bridges, or woodlands to rivers. Through the use of social media and workshops the Make Your Way team will explore ‘common names’ which residents of today give to certain woodlands, walkways, picnic spots, waterfalls, green spaces and meeting points. Many of these names will have been passed down the generations, however different generations may have different associations with particular places. ‘What is in a name?’ aims to present these findings through signage and mapping that will provide opportunities for new conversations to be sparked and old stories to be retold anew.
Share your pictures and names for places in your area via social media using the tag #MakeYourWay If you, or a group you are involved in would be interested in taking part in a guide walk please get in touch with the Make Your Way team, on This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. , or contact Michael (07843 145 128). What can we see? Where can we go?
Throughout the Clyde and Avon Valley there are notable viewpoints that allow people to see the expanse of the valley and its’ waterways, but often in more urban areas these views and experiences are lost, out of sight and often out of mind.
The Make Your Way team want to take you on a walk with a difference. Through the use of periscope headdresses participants will work in pairs to guide each other on a walk through their town which will aim to reconnect people with their wider landscape, framing views, focusing on details often dismissed on a daily basis. If you, or a group you are involved in would be interested in taking part in a walk please get in touch with the Make Your Way team, on This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. , or contact Michael (07843 145 128). Artist Residencies in each location
Six artists have been tasked with creating new community focussed art installations in the five #MakeYourWay locations, in February and March 2017.
The installations, which will be unveiled at the end of March, will complement a series of new paper and digital maps highlighting local routes and offer peoplee a new way of looking at their local communities.
The artists are keen to create artwork that is meaningful and unique to the communities they are working within. The Make Your Way team are connecting the artists with groups in each area, but anyone interested in getting in touch can make contact through This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
/ 07843 145 128.
The artists for each area are:
Kevin Morris, Artist in Residence for Carluke, kevinandrewmorris.daportfolio.com
Ewan Allinson, Artist in Residence for Glassford, www.ewanallinson.com
Daniele Sambo, Artist in Residence for Lanark, www.dansambo.com
Allison Smith, Artist in Residence for Larkhall
Kate McAllan, one of two Artists in Residence for Stonehouse, www.cargocollective.com/katemcallan
Martyn Mckenzie, one of two Artists in Residence for Stonehouse, www.martynmckenzie.com
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Local maps will be also available highlighting the fantastic network of walking and cycling routes present in each local community.
Meet the Make Your Way project team:
The project is being delivered by icecream architecture, a people focussed art and design company, and SYSTRA, a sustainable travel consultancy. It has been funded by Smarter Choices, Smarter Places grant and is part of the Heritage Lottery Fund supported Clyde and Avon Valley Landscape Partnership scheme.