Online Workshop - Friday 29th May
What do you love about Coigach and Assynt? In collaboration with Coigach & Assynt Living Landscape, Countryscape are working with local communities to identify and celebrate what's special about these landscapes. People's favourite places, experiences, stories and more will be used to create two Sense of Place Toolkits (one for Coigach and another for Assynt). The toolkits will provide practical resources for helping businesses, organisations and community groups make the most of being part of these special places - taking inspiration from the landscape 'on your doorstep' to build a strong brand for the area.
It's a very different approach to the more traditional, top-down methods used by Visit Scotland and others, because it places importance local knowledge, passion and pride. And that's why it's so important for you to get involved! The workshop will feature fun and interactive sessions through which you can:
- Share what you love about your local area
- Discuss what makes your area different from other neighbouring places
- Develop ideas for supporting the local economy, sustainable tourism and community-led initiatives
What is a sense of place?
A ‘sense of place’ is the term used to describe the emotions and experiences we associate with places. It’s how places make us feel. A sense of place is what gives an area its identity and makes it different from elsewhere. It is made up of the different landscapes, wildlife, history, people, sights, sounds, smells, tastes, memories and many other things that contribute to our experience of a place.
The Sense of Place approach, pioneered in the early 2000s, has been used across the United Kingdom by protected areas and institutions such as National Trust to help people identify and promote the special qualities of different landscapes. It also has a strong commercial aspect and is used by many businesses for the purpose of selling products (we'll share some examples of this during the workshop).
Who are Countryscape?
Countryscape is both a creative agency and a landscape consultancy. We’ve developed many sense of place toolkits, including the Forest of Bowland sense of place toolkit in 2005 and in 2015 a toolkit for Scotland’s first Biosphere Reserve: Galloway & Southern Ayrshire.
How to get involved
Join us on Friday 29th May for an online workshop to discover what the communities of Coigach and Assynt love about their local landscape. Your input will help to shape the project and determine what goes into the two Sense of Place Toolkits. The workshop will be fun, informal and a great opportunity to catch up with members of your community. You don't need to prepare anything in advance, just come along and get stuck in!
Due to the ongoing Coronavirus crisis we will be hosting the workshop online using Zoom. It will include the following sessions:
9:30 – 11:00 ¦ Workshop focused on what makes Coigach special
11:30 – 13:00 ¦ Workshop focused on what makes Assynt special
14:00 – 15:30 ¦ Workshop bringing together the two previous sessions to discuss both landscapes
Please complete the registration form below to express your interest in the workshop. We will follow up with an email containing more details.