COMMUNITY - belfasthills.org

HERITAGE, GEOLOGY & RIVERS AWARENESS

Evidence of the rich heritage of the hills is still present today. There is a great need however, to educate people about it. Likewise the Belfast Hills have a rich variety of underlying geology – clearly seen in old and existing quarries throughout the area. Many people are aware of the biodiversity of the hills, but the geodiversity is often overlooked and generally under-appreciated. The Landscape Partnership Scheme produced publications on townlands, […]

ORAL HISTORY PROJECT

Consultants were hired to interview 20 people who lived, worked or enjoyed using the Belfast Hills in days gone by. The stories collected have been organised into themes and made available to listen to online, keeping these stories alive for future generations to enjoy, and get an insight into life in the Hills in a past era. A book on oral history relating to Cave Hill had already […]

INNOVATIVE ARTWORK & INTERPRETATION

A number of art works were already present in the Belfast Hills, mostly mosaics and carved wooden benches in keeping with the natural settings. Through this project we facilitated the opportunity to introduce new, more innovative and ambitious artwork that will help interpret elements of the Belfast Hills. Five different art pieces were planned with designs by local communities through workshop sessions and local artists. The art works reflected different elements […]

SIGNAGE AND INTERPRETATION

People out and about in the Belfast Hills were surveyed at various times from 2009 to 2012 and asked about the sites they used, their opinions of them and if they thought any improvements could be made. The most common improvement asked for was signage. This signage consisted of interpretative panels providing information about aspects of the site, and directional signage showing people where to go. To provide a coherent […]

COMMUNITY BUILT & NATURAL HERITAGE

A community questionnaire was sent to over 500 different groups in the council areas of Belfast, Lisburn, Antrim and Newtownabbey where people’s interest in taking part in various projects and providing suggestions about sites in the hills that are important to them was tested. Meetings with individual groups as well as an open community meeting were also held to get input on community priorities. Many groups were interested in local […]