Writer Louisa Adjoa Parker has launched new piece of work capturing the landscapes and lives of the Dorset National Landscape. The evocative prose called ‘This patch of land’ is one of 5 pieces of work launched by the national Nature Calling project on 15th January 2025.
Dorset National Landscape is thrilled to share brand new writing by Louisa Adjoa Parker. Louisa is a southwest writer of English-Ghanaian heritage. Her work, which includes poetry, fiction, prose and ethnically diverse history, has been widely published.
Louisa Adjoa Parker was commissioned to create new work as part of the ground-breaking Arts Council England and Defra funded Nature Calling programme. This national programme has been specifically designed to listen to communities and ensure our landscapes are a place for everyone.
The work, which Louisa describes as “something in between poetry and prose”, was created after a deep exploration of the ancient landscapes of Dorset alongside conversations with a wide cross section of people who live and work in the area.
Louisa Adjoa Parker said:
“I lived in Dorset for 25 years and have always loved being out in the landscape and learning as much as I can, but the commission for Nature Calling gave me the opportunity to find out so much more. I heard from children and young people, farmers and land managers, people with accessibility needs, artists, storytellers, and archaeological or wildlife experts, and this brought the land to life; each and every conversation helped shape the piece. What shone out most for me was how enthusiastic people were to talk about their relationship with landscape and nature – I hope that Nature Calling will help more people to feel confident about visiting and enjoying these places.”
Alongside Louisa Adjoa Parker’s work for Dorset National Landscape, the National Landscapes Association is today releasing new work by BBC 6 Music favourite, Manchester’s OneDa, MOBO award winning Still Shadey from Croydon, up and coming poet Ayesha Chouglay and poet, educator and proud Lutonian Lee Nelson. The work inspires and reflects on new feelings of connection to England’s most iconic places.
Tom Munro, Dorset National Landscape said:
“Louisa set out to listen to the unheard voices of people who live and work in the landscape. We are delighted with the way she has unlocked the stories they hold and their feelings about how the landscape shapes their lives. ‘This patch of land’ is an evocative reflection of the rich patchwork of lives and landscapes that make this area so special.”
In 2025 Nature Calling is bringing together the 34 National Landscapes in England, local arts organisations and community groups from within a 30-minute journey time of their nearby National Landscape in an ambitious new national arts programme. They are working together to co-create artworks inspired by these iconic places and the results will be shared with the public in a Season of Art from May – October 2025, reaching an audience of tens of thousands.
John Watkins, Chief Executive of the National Landscapes Association said:
“I’m thrilled with the quality and range of written and spoken pieces we’re releasing today as part of the Nature Calling programme. The pieces are incredibly poignant, they are moving and meaningful and beautifully conjure up what the writers felt and thought whilst in a National Landscape. Our aim, through Nature Calling is to support people from all walks of life to find new ways to connect with their National Landscapes on their terms – either for the first or the thousandth time – to discover and share their unique connection. There is truly something for everyone amongst these pieces.”
Kate Wood and Bill Gee of Activate Performing Arts, Co-Executive Artistic Producers said:
“All these writers have made such thoughtful and fresh responses to these old and special landscapes, they are a brilliant start and inspiration to the larger programme of major commissions that will be revealed in the Spring that will engage so many people both who live within and without the National Landscapes.”
National Landscapes include places synonymous with British culture, such as Willy Lott’s Farm in Dedham Vale National Landscape – familiar as Constable’s ‘The Hay Wain’; the iconic silhouette of Pendle Hill in Forest of Bowland National Landscape – instantly recognisable in the north of England as the centre of the Pendle witch scare of 1612; and Bodmin Moor in Cornwall National Landscape – the brooding location of classic novels Poldark and Jamaica Inn.
There are 46 National Landscapes across England, Wales and Northern Ireland. They cover 15% of England, 20% of the coastline and are home to 10% of the UK’s farmland. Teams across these instantly recognisable locations – the nation’s nearby countryside – are uniting to inspire visitors old and new to find exciting ways to engage with their local landscape in 2025.
Nature Calling is coordinated by the National Landscapes Association and executive creative producers, Dorset-based Activate Performing Arts, with principle funding from Arts Council England and Defra. Poetry School are supporting the work nationally and geographically spread National Landscapes will operate as key hubs of activity including Chilterns, Dorset, Forest of Bowland, Lincolnshire Wolds and Surrey Hills.
Dorset National Landscape is working with local arts producers Activate Performing Arts and artist Becca Gill and her Radical Ritual team.
Find out more about Nature Calling in Dorset
Read about Louisa Adjoa Parker and ‘This patch of land’
Discover the other Nature Calling writers on the Nature Calling website