Berry Head National Nature Reserve
Berry Head – “400 million years in the making, and still the story continues” – so goes the tagline that features on signage, print, audiovisual presentations and graphics that are all part of the Berry Head On the Edge Project.
Funded by Sea Change, DCMS and the Heritage Lottery, this multi-faceted scheme has led to the creation of a comprehensive suite of new visitor facilities for the Torbay Coast & Countryside Trust’s (TCCT) flagship site.
A common graphic and stylistic language was used throughout the scheme from the point of arrival to the visitor centre exhibition to the site leaflet, guidebook and website. Memorable taglines and key words help ensure that visitors are introduced quickly to the major themes and stories of the site. Rocky textures and shapes reflect the limestone origins of Berry Head and striking colours hint at the limestone flora and the pageantry associated with the Napoleonic forts.
Layered use of media allows visitors to explore stories in greater depth. For younger audiences there are themed spotter sheets, rubbings to collect and a character-led audio trail around the site.
A dedicated AV room in the visitor centre plays a regularly changing programme of films with themes such as geology, history and seabirds. There’s also a general introductory film which projects onto three walls, gradually building a moving ‘scrapbook’ of stories about Berry Head.
One of the more innovative elements of the scheme involves the use of RFID (radio frequency identification) technology. Special ‘story cards’ rigged up with small RFID tags trigger multimedia applications when placed next to touchscreens.
An interactive website www.berryhead.org.uk integrated with social media presences on flickr, twitter, YouTube and facebook, allows users to engage with Berry Head away from the site itself. This includes a introduction to the site’s stories, a species recordingfeature and a printable itinerary called ‘my Berry Head adventure’.
Out and about care has been taken to minimise installations, especially within the Scheduled Ancient Monument. Tasteful zinc etched plaques interpret the original roles of buildings, and the occasional interpretation panel sits neatly on stone cairns.
View the slideshow / View the Berry Head website
