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To view the 'GeoMap' please click the image to the left. As the project develops there will be more 'work in progress' images available to view in the 'thumbnail gallery' below.
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The Forest of Dean Local History Society has been awarded a grant of £107,200 by DEFRA’s Aggregates Levy Sustainability Fund administered by Natural England to produce a spectacular piece of sculpture.
Geologists are fairly certain that this is a unique project, with certainly nothing like it in the UK, and even in the world.
The Geomap will be a geology map of the Forest of Dean. Instead of bright colours on a piece of paper, the rock strata will be represented by the actual rock types, taken from both operational and disused quarries.
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It will be a 900 square foot rock map in surface view. It will be flat and polished, but not shiny, so that the public can walk on it. On the map, the most important mines and quarries will be marked by discs of different colours set into the rock. The major rail systems and possibly some important Tramroads will also be marked on the map.
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Plaques mounted on stone will provide information about the geology and the mines and quarries shown on the map. The Geomap will demonstrate the link between the geology and the quarrying and mining industries in the Forest of Dean, and will celebrate these great industries both of the past and the present in this unique area.
Planning permission has been granted for the Geomap to be situated at New Fancy on a flat grassy area opposite the Miners Memorial which the History Society erected in 2005. An overall view of the Geomap will be obtained from the high viewpoint accessible by a footpath and there will be disabled access.
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The idea of the Geomap evolved from discussions between David Owen of the Gloucestershire Geology Trust and the Secretary of the History Society, Dr. Liz Berry and her husband Professor David Berry. Liz and Dave then put together the grant application on behalf of the Society and they will be overseeing the ongoing work with a sub-committee with full support from the Society’s Chairman and the rest of the committee.
As partners, the Forestry Commission, Gloucestershire Geology Trust, Forest of Dean District Council and Coleford MCTI Partnership will all be offering their expertise as the project progresses.
The Geomap will be completed by March 2008. The project will be of great educational value for both the local community and the wider public, as well as a unique and beautiful work of art.
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Project Contact: Averil Kear - Press Officer
t: 01594 563165
e: a.kear@homecall.co.uk
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