Groundbreakers series of events throughout June
When:
—
Venue:
External
Groundbreakers: A Living Maps Network events programme focused on the history and heritage of the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park site for the 10th anniversary of the Park opening. Sponsored by the Raphael Samuel History Centre
For more information and to register for any event in the series go to Eventbrite (www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/livingmaps-presents-groundbreakers-tickets-320925114657). These events are free but Living Maps appreciates donations. Places are limited so book soon!
A natural history of Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park
Tuesday, June 14th, 6.30pm
Naturalist-led guided walking tour exploring the natural history, flora and fauna of the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park.
Booking essential via Eventbrite
The Olympic Park includes a diversity of natural habitats including wetland, waterside and 'wasteland'. Its wildlife varies from planted trees to the uninvited 'weeds' of cultivation. This walk will take in both, as well as the birds, and possibly the bats, of the site, telling how they got there and the stories behind them; how they got their names, their folklore and the uses they have traditionally been put to. The Olympic site was proclaimed as the greenest ever and included both habitat creation and 'wild' planting in its design. In this two-hour walk, starting at Pudding Mill station and ending at the Timber Lodge, we will be looking at the wildlife that this new development has introduced, as well as some of the original inhabitants that managed to survive it.
Sponsored by RSHC to celebrate the launch of the Groundbreakers trail and guide to the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park.
Hidden architectures of change in the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park
Wednesday, June 15th, 6.30pm
London Festival of Architecture online panel discussion involving authors, historians and academics involved in creating an online map and guide to the history of the Park site. Panellists include Juliet Davis (Cardiff University), Bob Gilbert (Livingmaps Network), Jim Clifford (University of Saskatchewan) and Clare Melhuish (UCL Urban Lab) Chair: Phil Cohen (Livingmaps Network).
Free but booking is essential via Eventbrite
A contemporary archaeology of Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park
Friday, 24th June, 2.00pm
Archaeologist-led tour of the Park exploring the history of the Park site from the Neolithic to the present-day.
Free but booking is essential via Eventbrite
Join writer and Groundbreakers contributor Dr Jonathan Gardner for a walking tour of the Park that takes in some of its lesser known archaeology and history from the Neolithic to the present-day. Challenging the idea that this place was simply an ‘industrial wasteland’ before the Games came, the tour takes in sites of both the recent and distant past to reflect on how ten years of Olympic and Paralympic legacy compare with what happened here decades, centuries, or millennia previously. The tour will last around two hours and incorporates highlights from the Groundbreakers trail including the site of a Bronze Age Village, lost rivers, a Cold War Civil Defence training village and many more.
Sponsored by RSHC to celebrate the launch of the Groundbreakers trail and guide to the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park.
Mapping the history of the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park
Wednesday 29th June, 6.30pm
Living Maps Network online discussion on the history, archaeology, and ethnography of the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park site. Join archaeologist Dr Jonny Gardner, ethnographer Professor Phil Cohen and public historian Dr Toby Butler who will be discussing five years of research and activities that went into the process of creating a new online map and guidebook to the history of the Park site (www.livingmaps.org/groundbreakers).
Free but booking is essential via Eventbrite
Contact name:
Katy Pettit