Step into Nature and Heritage within York’s City Walls was an event that encouraged people to discover connections between nature, heritage, and historic spaces within the city via a self-guided walking trail with various activities and displays along the route. The event was a partnership between several heritage and environmental organisations in York including St Nicks and Green Corridors York who invited me to produce a short film to accompany the event. This film highlighted sites along the trail where nature thrives amidst and alongside heritage and was shown at several locations on the trail and in promotional communications.
As well as producing and editing the film, I did most of the photography/videography work. A key challenge was getting sufficient images of York’s wildlife within the four weeks available for the shoot. How might we get more than the bees and other pollinators most obvious during the summer? My answer was to seek contributions from others – those also passionate about wildlife who had captured images of it throughout the year. Through a social media campaign and direct requests, I was able to include stunning images of peregrine falcons, otters, foxes and more all captured within the city walls. The resulting film then became both a showcase of the wildlife within the city and people’s enthusiasm for watching and photographing it. And including web links and social media handles meant viewers could also discover contributors’ other images.
I also used aerial photography to situate nature within the city through shots that began with natural areas filling the frame then pulled back and up to reveal their location in the city itself.
Step into Nature and Heritage within York’s City Walls was a partnership between All Saints Church North Street, the Churches Conservation Trust – Holy Trinity, York Minster, City of York Council, Friends of York Walls, York Museums Trust, River Foss Society, National Centre for Early Music (St Margaret’s Church), St Nicks and Green Corridors York.