To celebrate the rich history of Sittingbourne’s brick industry and clay in North Kent, local housebuilder David Wilson Homes recently encouraged the next generation of Sittingbourne to take a deep dive into their areas local heritage. The housebuilder, who is building at nearby Applegate Park in Borden, organised a brick making workshop for Sittingbourne Scouts with local Outdoor Studios.
The activity, which took place on Saturday 10th June, saw 15 scouts take part in a brickmaking workshop, hosted by Martin Brockman of Outdoor Studios. The day included an overview of the brickmaking and clay industry in North Kent, a demonstration of a brick being made, and famous figures and places in and around the local area who popularised this industry. The day then concluded with the scouts letting their creative flair free by carving a brick and decorating a tile. The leader of the workshop, Outdoor Studios, who operate throughout Kent, provide a range of workshops for creative and experiential learning. The activities focus on the local environment and industries including brickmaking, tree nursery, kiln-firing, and most recently, the impacts of climate change in the area.
Natalie Perry, Sales and Marketing Director for David Wilson Kent, comments: “The workshop aimed to inspire the next generation of children to learn about their local area and industries by practical means. This session aligns perfectly with our values of engaging with education in our community, especially when there is a local link with something like brickmaking here in Sittingbourne. It has been great working with Outdoor Studios, who provide an invaluable hands-on experience during their workshops, and we hope that the scouts have left the day having learnt the processes of brickmaking which they can link back to building in their local area such as Applegate Park.”
Gary Chadwick, Scout Leader of 1st Sittingbourne Scouts adds: “The students had a fantastic time learning all that goes into brickmaking at the workshop, and it was wonderful to see their creativity flourish by decorating and carving the bricks at the end of the session. It is incredibly encouraging to see a local housebuilder and arts studio work together to nurture the learning of the next generation in Sittingbourne, so thank you so much to both David Wilson Kent and Outdoor Studios for the running and organisation of the day!”
Martin Brockman, Artist at Outdoor Studios concludes: “Here at Outdoor Studios our passion is to provide workshops for creative experiential learning exploring the environment, landscape and place, and this workshop did exactly that! Young people want to be able to gain as much hands on learning as possible, and the chance to visually see the process of making things that they encounter every day. A big thank you to David Wilson Kent for organising the day and I hope the scouts left the workshop feeling creative and inspired!”
