An important area of our work involves helping local people to discover and enjoy their local environment and heritage. We have been producing interpretation with and for local communities for many years; in fact this is where both TellTale directors began our careers.
Why community heritage and interpretation?
Working with local people can simply be about celebrating their local area, or increasing local pride and well-being. It can be linked to community development or integration or designed to have physical and/or mental health benefits.
Community interpretation often means working with non-heritage partners. That is one of the reasons we enjoy it.
Community interpretation can be about developing tourism that works for the host communities. We can help local people to plan and create a heritage attraction and develop the skills to manage it.
Visitors to a new area often seek and value contact with local people.
We can help people share their stories in ways visitors will enjoy.A local person with a story to tell can be hugely compelling and make a lasting impact.
Sometimes our community heritage work is about facilitation and consultation. We may get involved in identifying and balancing the needs and interests of different users to ensure that local places really work for local people.
Community Group participants at TellTale workshop for Tees Valley Wild Green Places Project.
Conversations and consultations
Much of our community work happens in small, sometimes very small, groups. It can involve listening to stories over a cup of tea or helping keen volunteers develop their tour-guiding skills.
We are skilled facilitators with many years experience of running community workshops, focus groups and other consultation processes.
