The Society of Wildlife Artists

The ambitious SWLA Massingham Heath Project launched in May with a successful first residency based at Oliver Birkbeck’s farm in Norfolk. Thirty-five artists have asked to be involved, eighteen of which were selected for the May trip, with the remainder set for visits later in the year. The residency was based at the beautiful glamping site on the estate, the impressive barn becoming Art HQ and the hub for sharing the work created through the week. 

Host and landowner Olly Birkbeck introduced the group to his farm, driving the artists around in a covered trailer and enthusiastically sharing details of how he came to restore the heath and his plans for further projects to increase the biodiversity of this already rich landscape. The heath and meadows are at the heart of the SWLA project but the context of the working farm is an important part of the story. Productive agricultural land is softened by wide field margins and surrounded by species rich hedgerows linking copses and woodland, encouraging natural pest control and reducing the need for pesticides. Joining the artists were Tim Baldwin and Nick Acheson. Tim is a Friend of the SWLA and runs the scheme, as well as being the local brains behind the project. A very knowledgeable naturalist, Tim has watched the restored habitat thrive over the seven years that he has lived in the village and he provided an excellent insight into species lists and changing landscape. Naturalist, author and Norfolk Wildlife Trust Ambassador, Nick Acheson, has been commissioned to write the text for the project book, and his encyclopaedic knowledge was in demand as well as his keen eyes and ears. Nick will make multiple visits to meet with artists and spend time on the site. 

Artists were quick to get to work and soon the group WhatsApp was pinging with excited news of wildlife sightings or advice about invertebrates as more and more fieldwork and paintings were created and shared with the group. The very dry Spring had supressed much of the plant growth but there was still plenty to inspire around the restored heath, meadows and working farm.

Having so many experienced eyes trained on the area was bound to pay dividends. A new plant species for the restored heathland (hairy rock cress) was spotted on the first day and many scarcer birds soon revealed themselves and found their way into sketchbooks and paintings. A particular success was finding the dingy skippers at two locations across the estate. One site was around an old chalk pit known to have a colony some years ago but recent surveys and advisor visits had failed to find them. Good numbers of this scarce butterfly were recorded over several days which delighted Olly and caused him to remark that he had not appreciated just what expert naturalists many of the artists would prove to be.

The dry weather continued which aided the artists, allowing for full days spent at work and often stragglers being chivvied to get back to join the evening meals. An army of volunteers looked after the catering and ​‘housekeeping,’ no mean feat with so many hungry artists and were also on hand to help with the events during the week. The SWLA is indebted to everyone who worked so hard to make the residency a success.

Sunshine ensured an excellent turnout for the ​‘meet the artists’ art trail. Two short routes were mapped to allow visitors to enjoy the landscape and find artists at work along the way. It was a huge success, with people staying far longer than they had anticipated, delighted by the experience and talent that they discovered on the trails. The following day Simon Griffiths and Carry Akroyd provided very well attended art demonstrations, the audience fascinated to see Simon sculpt a tawny owl in the morning and Carry create a screen print of a hare in the afternoon. 

The residency ended with a fantastic exhibition in the beautiful barn. A huge amount of work was on show — the walls were covered in paintings and drawings, with tables of sketchbooks and several works in clay. More than 200 people who found their way up the track to the barn were delighted by the display. The enjoyment and engagement from the visitors to all these events was heart warming and reflected the importance of art in raising awareness of habitat and conservation.

This is just the start of it, with two more residencies planned to include a celebration of the Heath on the 16th and 17th August in Great Massingham village with another art trail, exhibition, talks, workshops and guided walks, there will be lots to do and see. Information will be shared in due course.

This is a huge project which is being run on a very modest budget, with a lot of volunteer help and generosity from the artists. We have already received generous donations from supporters in the village and visitors to the May events. We are very grateful for a significant donation from James Holden in memory of his late father Bryan, who was a founding member of the ​‘BB’ Society (dedicated to the memory of the artist and countryside writer Denys Watkins-Pitchford) and had a profound love of the English countryside. James’s support kick-started this project and allowed it to grow into a year long, multi visit documentation of the heath and ensured that we can publish a large format full colour book. We do need to raise further funds to secure the residencies and help the artists with travel costs. Any donations in support of the project will be much appreciated- if you wish to donate please click here.