Pebbles Community Project

The Mayor and Mayoress of Dover, Cllr and Mrs Rix, and others from Dover Town Council attended the Pebbles screening event at the Silver Screen Cinema in Dover.

The meaning, history, geology and importance of the English Channel pose many questions and in 2016 Dover Town Council commissioned Dover Arts Development to deliver the Pebbles Project to deepen understanding and appreciation of Dover’s coast among the local community and visitors to the town.

The project is an example of the positive outcomes that happen when science and art work together bringing their different strengths and methods to help build understanding and knowledge about our landscape and environment.

The screening event was another milestone in the development of the Pebbles project, which started with the launch of the Dover Totems that way mark the route from Athol Terrace to the top of the White Cliffs and tell the story of Dover, from the chalk coccoliths under the ground to the plants and flowers found on the chalk grassland and the local sea birds that fly above the landscape. Together the Totems form one of the nine CHALKUP21 trail structuresall outstanding modern structures on our local coastline.

The screening event brought into focus the breadth of the Pebbles project’s reach which involved local community input. Mel Wrigley from the White Cliff Countryside Partnership spoke about the unique history of Dover’s chalk cliffs and the English Channel and local artist Ben Hunt showed a film animation based on his work with Mel inspired by the seashore. Mel and Ben spoke about the workshops they had done with local schools and which the children had hugely enjoyed. More project work will be shown to the public during the summer.

A Parable for Endeavour‘ the recent film by Helen Lindon, Joanna Jones and Clare Smith of Dover Arts Development and largely set on Dover beach was then shown for the first time in the Town as part of this event.

Our picture shows the Mayor and Mayoress, Councillor and Mrs Rix in the Market Square, Dover just before the Pebbles screening event.