Wild Eye's new sculpture trail along Scarborough's Cinder Track

Created in collaboration with local communities, conservationists, and scientists, the multisensory works are installed along Scarborough’s Cinder Track, a historic decommissioned railway and popular walking and cycling route. They invite passersby to pause and rest in the stunning natural environment, serving as dwell spaces for both humans and wildlife. The pieces form part of Wild Eye’s art and nature trail, connecting with further public artworks in Scarborough and Whitby. The project brings together leading artists to create new artworks that celebrate the incredible nature found on the Yorkshire Coast, while raising awareness of the need to protect it against pollution and climate change.

‘Old Friends’ is a term used to describe the microbes that protect human health by regulating our immune systems. Close contact with the natural world increases the good bacteria in our bodies. Research also shows that greater physical contact with the natural environment increases our likelihood of protecting it for the future.

The series features six interconnected artworks that blend sensory, ecological, and communal experiences. These include a sensory garden supporting pollinators, a gathering space with nature-inspired seating for foraging and rewilding, and a bio-adaptive stone sitting circle for children, connecting to local geology. Resting spaces for people and animals incorporate seed balls for rewilding, while nesting areas celebrate the life cycle of trees and the role of dead wood in nature. Lastly, whispering and listening holes in a viaduct offer a unique soundscape of Scalby Beck and invite visitors to connect with nature in an intimate, traditional way.

Artist Emma Smith said, “‘Old Friends’ creates possibilities for greater proximity with nature, which has been shown to support human willingness to fight for nature. Through the work I am interested in making space to connect with and reflect on the symbiotic relationships of life.”

Emma Smith worked closely with local experts and communities to ensure that Old Friends supports both people and the diverse species using Scarborough’s Cinder Track as a natural corridor. Workshops along the track invited attendees to explore local wildlife through a bio blitz, learn sustainable foraging, create natural pigments, and design habitats using local materials. Participants’ contributions were integral to shaping the concepts for the sculptures.

Community involvement also included hands-on activities such as Dorodango workshops, which engaged students from Northstead Primary School and local residents in crafting polished earthen spheres embedded with seeds to be incorporated into one of the stone sculptures. These spheres will gradually erode, dispersing seeds around the track.

Key organisations such as Gallows Close Community Centre, Coast and Vale Community Action, SPARKS, and Friends of Dean Road and Manor Road Cemetery provided valuable support, alongside local wildlife experts who shared insights into the area’s biodiversity. Local schools and community groups are also taking part in turf-building and planting events as part of the installation.

As part of the Old Friends launch, the artist has created a public poster trail, working with local Barrowcliff Primary School children to produce a series of botanical drawings that illustrate a Cinder Track Seed Mix of plants found by the track. The seed mix will be distributed to local communities from the Grow Scarborough seed bank at Scarborough Library.

Later in the spring, a free cycle hire scheme will be available at Gallows Close Community Centre, offering bikes and disability bikes for audiences to explore the track.

Martin Slater, Deputy Chief Executive at Yorkshire Wildlife Trust, said, “At Yorkshire Wildlife Trust, we strive to empower Yorkshire’s communities to act for a wilder future. Through projects like Wild Eye, we aim to inspire change and celebrate the vital interconnection between people and the natural world.

“‘Old Friends’ perfectly embodies the ethos of Wild Eye, showcasing how art and nature can work together to benefit both communities and wildlife. This series creates multiple opportunities for wildlife to thrive while providing visitors the opportunity to slow down and explore the incredible diversity found along the Cinder Track. Co-created with the community, it fosters a shared sense of ownership and encourages people to connect with nature in meaningful ways; a true testament to the power of collaboration and the profound interconnectivity between people and nature.”

Jeanine Griffin, Associate Curator at Invisible Dust, said, “Emma Smith’s new works for the Cinder Track, developed with the local community and crafted by hand from local stone rich with ancient sea fossils, capture a sense of our relationship with the natural world over time. Her sculptures along this important green corridor offer places of pause and interaction between species, increasing kinship with nature.“

Connecting with existing sculptural and augmented reality artworks in Scarborough and Whitby, the wider Wild Eye project will be completed in late March 2025 with a Roman-style floor mosaic artwork conceived by Turner Prize-winning artist Jeremy Deller, part of a new seawatching station. Together, the installations will create a powerful and thought-provoking contemporary art and nature network that celebrates the region’s incredible nature, wildlife and marine life.

Wild Eye is funded by the Towns Fund drawn from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government administered through North Yorkshire Council and supported by the Scarborough Town Board, specifically assigned to the development of a nature, art and culture offer in Scarborough. The funding aims to promote year-round tourism and assist with local economic regeneration.