Words, Pictures, Wildlife… Introducing Sandown Bay Story Quests!
Families! Now’s your chance to be Biosphere Pioneers, discovering Sandown Bay’s wild and not so wild spaces - through words, pictures, things to do, things to learn, ways to get moving, and all with the help of a shrew, a rock pipit, ivy bees and gulls, a tiny boy and a whole heap of other everyday wildlife.
Ta-DAH! Introducing Story Quests!
Ta-Dah! Here’s introducing three FREE new illustrated ‘Story Quest’ booklets from The Common Space. Each story trail is specially designed by Isle of Wight children’s book writers and illustrators to help families read about and explore the Isle of Wight UNESCO Biosphere’s natural and built heritage in and around the spectacular Sandown Bay.
Trails, Tales and Tails…
There are three adventures for you… meet Shrewbert the Shrew and Iris the Rock Pipit at the Blue Fountains of Browns and follow their noses/beaks to where willows walk and where rockpools grow on trees, or head to Sandown Battery and Lake shores to help Ivy Bee, Gully and the National Poo Crew clear up after a big storm. Meanwhile, over by the newly wilding ponds and copses of Branstone Farm, Newchurch, pick up your wildlife ID guide, head out with Bran the Biosphere Pioneer and top off your day with a cherry-picked picnic.
Story Trail 1 - Shrewbert & Iris or Iris & Shrewbert! Top to Toe Tales and Trails exploring Browns and beyond by Claire Hector & artist Lucia Para
The Sandown Bay story trails were produced by The Common Space, the Island’s public realm reviving not-for-profit organisation, in partnership with the National Literacy Trust and are based on the charity’s nationwide Story Quest initiative.
Story Trail 2 - Fold out your fantastic guide of things to do, see and hear on the Sandown Battery Trail. By Jules Marriner & Sue Bailey, the team behind the Isle of Wight Story Festival
Claire Hector at Arc and The Common Space explained,
“we were asked to produce this first set of story trails to help the Bay’s Resilience team promote discovery, literacy and family activity in and around our local environment in Sandown Bay. Each booklet and trail is very different in design and format but each illuminate hyperlocal knowledge, overlooked but extraordinary wildlife as well as forgotten history and possible futures. It’s been brilliant to be able to put the Island’s elm streets and the Battery’s ivy bee wall, real lion roars and the Browns starlings and their favourite poplars into paint and print.”
Story Trail 3 - Bran of Branstone created and illustrated by Zoe Sadler will help you explore Branstone Farm's new and emerging greenspaces and comes with a fold-out wildlife ID guide.
Lois Bateman at the National Literacy Trust said,
“we know that when young people think of reading, often they imagine sitting on their own with a book – and this doesn’t appeal to everyone. That’s why our Story Quests are so impactful – they encourage children and their families to see reading in a new light by exploring their community spaces and getting active.
It’s been a privilege to bring this initiative to the Isle of Wight and work with The Common Space to create story trails that celebrate the unique natural beauty and culture of the island. Each story represents the area’s natural diversity which will inspire the local children to get into nature and be excited by reading. By nurturing these positive interactions with literacy-based activity, we can help children to develop the skills they need to succeed in life.”
Biosphere in the Bays Days…
The trails will be at the heart of three special days this summer as part of the upcoming and exciting Biosphere in the Bays Days (more on that soon!) so come and collect your copies and explore there and then. The booklets will then be free to collect from Sandown Library and other Bay locations.
Three to collect…
• Iris and Shrewbert or Shrewbert & Iris – A Trail with Two Tails by Claire Hector & Lucia Para & Mooksgoo
• Sandown Battery Story Trail by Jules Marriner & Sue Bailey
• Bran of Branstone by Zoe Sadler
The Sandown Bay story trails each include a map to help you navigate!
Pick up your free Story Quests from Sandown Library from Monday 19th June then keep, return or pass them on to your friends. You can also pick up copies from the Isle of Wight AONB team at Branstone Farm’s Biosphere Centre and Boojum & Snark on Sandown High Street, Dinosaur Isle and the Wildheart Trust. The Sandown Battery Story Trail and stickers will also be available to pick up from the National Poo Museum’s Outdoor Loo!
A shrew’s eye view of Sandown’s rewilded edges and town skylines. Shrewbert meets the wild and human life at Browns in his search for Iris the Rock Pipit. Each trail highlights where people meet wildlife meet built and human stories.
If you can’t pick up a copy in person, don’t worry! Each trail will also be found online on The Common Space Issuu pages and on the National Literacy Trust and Isle of Wight Biosphere websites.
We’d love to hear if you’ve enjoyed the trails. Share your adventures and photos and ideas for more, on social media using #StoryQuest #IWBiosphere #TheCommonSpace #BiosphereintheBays
THANKS TO….
A very big thanks to the National Literacy Trust and Community Action Isle of Wight Bay Resilience team! Thanks to funding from Arts Council England and the National Lottery, we have two story trails for Browns and Battery Gardens, while over at Branstone, the new trail has been funded with help from Energise Me, Sports England and the National Lottery Trust. Upcoming, Biosphere in the Bays will be thanks also to Isle of Wight AONB Partnership and Arts Council England!
Ian Boyd, The Common Space with Sue Bailey and Jules Marriner, Isle of Wight Story Team planning Sandown Battery’s trail at Boojum & Snark’s Co-Working days, hosted by Tracy Mikich.
Lucia Para introduces the Island’s extraordinary wildlife in illustrated talks at Hullabaloo 2022. Image by Julian Winslow.
Explore and Draw! We’ll be back for Branstone Day 2023, joining Bran of Branstone and his inventor Zoe Sadler for the upcoming Biosphere in the Bay Days!
