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

The ‘Old Friends’ installation creatively and playfully explores the deep interconnectivity between people and nature, inviting them to Nest Like Birds, Lunch with Insects, and Whisper Secrets to Bees

Wild Eye, an ambitious collaboration between Yorkshire Wildlife Trust and the art-science-climate organisation Invisible Dust, has worked with local communities, conservationists, and scientists, to create the multisensory works.

They invite passers-by 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.

‘Old Friends’ is a term used to describe the microbes that protect human health by regulating our immune systems.

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.

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.

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.

As part of the Old Friends launch, 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 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.

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.