Wild Eye to launch new sculpture trail along Scarborough's Cinder Track
Wild Eye, an collaboration between Yorkshire Wildlife Trust and the art-science-climate organisation Invisible Dust, is thrilled to announce a series of six new outdoor artworks by UK artist Emma Smith, which explore the deep interconnectivity between people and nature.
Created in collaboration with local communities, conservationists and scientists, the multisensory works, called Old Friends, are installed along Scarborough’s Cinder Track, inviting passers-by to pause and rest in the natural environment.
The pieces form part of Wild Eye’s art and nature trail, connecting with further public artworks in Scarborough and Whitby.
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 and 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.
Emma said: “Old Friends creates possibilities for greater proximity with nature, which has been shown to support human willingness to fight for nature.”
Emma worked closely with 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 wildlife through a bio blitz, learn sustainable foraging, create natural pigments, and design habitats using local materials.
Community involvement also included hands-on activities such as Dorodango workshops, which engaged students from Northstead Primary School and residents in crafting polished earthen spheres embedded with seeds to be incorporated into one of the stone sculptures.
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 wildlife experts who shared insights into the area’s biodiversity.
Schools and community groups are also taking part in turf-building and planting events as part of the installation.
The artist has created a public poster trail, working with 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 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: “Old Friends’ perfectly embodies the ethos of Wild Eye, showcasing how art and nature can work together to benefit both communities and wildlife.”
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."