The idea of a sculpture trail at Thornhill Carrs started with Ross and Sue McKinlay's story about their daughter, Emma. Ross and Sue, both sadly lost their daughter Emma in 2017 after 3 years battling with a rare illness and the family decided to fund a trail as a memorial to Emma. Emma had a love for walks with her family around their local wildlife reserve, enjoying the simple pleasures of nature. She also had a passion for art which was often inspired by the beauty of nature.

A number of hard working volunteers and staff came together to put in hours of work to complete the installation of the sculpture trail. Sam Willis our Living Landscapes Officer for the Dark Peak has been the lead in the project. Lorraine Botterill who has worked in timber carving for a number of years, is the skilled professional behind the carving of the sculptures and the bench. Artist Rachel Hudson has been involved in the creation of Thornhill's new interpretation boards and sculpture art boards, with help from Lucy Kucharik who wrote the beautiful pieces of text. Peak Park ranger Anna Jennings has also been involved in the project, prior to the installation of the sculptures she had been running a 6 week art walks project at Thornhill. Members who took part in the 6 week project had a go at mindfulness activities such as print making, creative writing and wildlife ID. This then lead to the creation of the bench, where members of the art walks project helped with the design and carving of the bench. The beautiful bench features animals and plants that could be found around the reserve such as long-tailed tits, knapweed, bramble, dormouse, kestrel and badger.

The sculpture trail highlights our 'missing animals' such as pine marten, wild boar, red squirrel and osprey; all of which have suffered from habitat loss or persecution and are animals we would love to see make their way back to Derbyshire.

Both Ross and Sue are inspired about rewilding and the trail brings Emma's memory together with the hopes for a brighter future in nature.

Thornhill Carrs is an example of rewilding at its best and we're working to create a wilder landscape in Derbyshire by creating and restoring habitats and connecting landscapes for wildlife. Wouldn’t it be a joy to see osprey circling the skies of the Peak District or red squirrels leaping from tree to tree in the woodlands?

We want to say a huge thank you to Ross and Sue McKinlay for inspiring the Trust to create a trail for Emma and to help create a beacon of hope for a wilder future at Thornhill Carrs.

If you would like to visit Thornhill Carrs and see the beautiful sculptures for yourself, check out our reserve page. To hear more about Thornhill Carrs you can listen to our latest podcast episode.

Thornhill Carrs Reserve   Podcast Episode 08