Nature Calling has been a landmark arts project encouraging new audiences to better understand and connect with their local natural landscapes, improving wellbeing and inspiring a sense of belonging. Six of England’s National Landscapes commissioned art projects and writers for a ‘season’ of creative happenings during 2025.

In Dorset, Nature Calling gave us a fantastic opportunity to work with writer Louisa Adjoa Parker, artistic director Becca Gill and her Radical Ritual team and producers Activate Performing Arts to help communities make new connections with the outstanding landscapes in Dorset.

We were delighted to work with community groups in Yeovil, on the northern edge of the National Landscape and are looking forward to exploring more Dorset landscapes with them over the coming years.

  • 200 people were involved in creating the artwork, using paints made from natural materials
  • 27,000  people viewed the Giant artwork when it was revealed on hillsides in Cerne Abbas, Yeovil and Corfe Castle
  • 46,000 viewed the new Giant online

Read on to find out how this remarkable Giant was created and the community groups and artists involved ….

© Robin Mills

Louisa Adjoa Parker: 'This patch of land'

The first commission for Nature Calling in Dorset was a piece of prose poetry written by Louisa Adjoa Parker who wanted to explore how a range of people connect to the landscape. “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 and every conversation helped shape the poem. 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 to visit and enjoy these places.”

Louisa wrote ‘This Patch of land’ with these voices in mind and the poem inspired the soundtrack of the Consequences Giant.

Read 'This patch of land'

Becca Gill and Radical Ritual: Consequences Giant

Inspired by the enduring mystery of the Cerne Abbas Giant, Radical Ritual Artistic Director Becca Gill and team worked with  community groups in Yeovil to devise and create a monumental new mythical creature for the Dorset National Landscape. Made through fun, collaborative community workshops, the temporary Consequences Giant created was an impressive 30×40 metres and with music, poetry, and ritual visited three ancient hills of Somerset and Dorset in September 2025.

Artistic Director Becca Gill and the Radical Ritual team gathered with people from Yeovil to investigate folk traditions, surrealist art-making, and collaborative storytelling. These led to making a monumental game of ‘Consequences’, a collaborative creative activity that originated with Surrealist artists. Communities from Yeovil contributed a section each to the artwork without seeing the previous contributions. When the whole game was revealed to everyone who joined in, the result was a surprise that no single participant could have created alone.

  • The HEAD was created with artwork by young people from Fairmead School and Yeovil College
  • The HEART was created with artwork by people from the global majority, brought together by Thrive and Yeovil Together 
  • The LEGS were created from artwork by able2achieve and Cambian Lufton College
  • The FEET we created by pupils from Birchfield Community Primary School

Radical Ritual artist Grace Emily Manning worked with the groups to create artwork was made from chalk and plants from the local landscape to create natural pigments, connecting to the land’s geology, plant-based inks and dyes from local flora such as nettles, brambles, alder bark, and woad and charcoal made from site-gathered wood. Natural fibres and biodegradable materials will be used for the canvas and drawings to ensure environmental sustainability.

Award winning author Sita Brahmachari lead the community workshops, using in stories and song. She worked with all the groups to explore feelings of belonging to the landscape and connections with nature.

When the new Giant was unveiled alongside the Cerne Giant in September, a soundtrack created by composer Douglas Dare was played to welcome the new Giant to Dorset.

We are so grateful to the groups who took part with such energy and enthusiasm – a Giant THANK YOU to you all! The gallery below captures some of the joyful moments of their time with us.

Photo credits:

  • Radical Ritual
  • Robin Mills
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