Orkney and Shetland Community Digital Heritage project

The aim of the Challenge funded project was to work with elderly members of the Orkney and Shetland Community, teaching them how to use digital technology, such as tablets and smart phones, and at the same time record their knowledge and stories about places in the landscape. This was done using the app Fieldtrip GB, developed by EDINA, based at the University of Edinburgh. The captured data was uploaded to a website, created specifically for the project, and which will form a lasting legacy. We will also continue adding data to this website, as we are hoping to gain additional data in the future. The project was very successful and many elderly people in Orkney and Shetland got involved and have shared their stories with us. Working on the project gave us so many positive experiences and we very much enjoyed being out and about in the community, meeting with groups of interested people who had memories to share and a curiosity that allowed them to explore the technology. With the Fieldtrip GB app uploaded to our newly purchased tablets, we went on walks with the project participants. When we reached an interesting spot, an old building for example, the app connected with the GPS built into the device and recorded our location on a digital map. The app also allows you to take photographs, record details about the place in writing or by voice recording. All this data was then transferred to the interactive map on our webpage. Ragnhild Ljosland, who is based in Orkney, described some of her experiences in the following words: I had some glorious days out with people in different islands: A sunny day in Sanday, meeting with the Sanday Afternoon Club, for example. The U3A (University of the Third Age) group in Kirkwall were also involved, as well as Orkney Heritage Society. I walked around in Flotta and cycled around in Papa Westray, taking up a strategic position in the shop to let people know I was there and what I was there for, and boldly knocking on doors. It then snowballed so that once I had spoken to some people, they would suggest who I could contact next. Some people had so much to tell that we could have gone on forever, which was really delightful! In Papay, Jim Rendall had lots of stories to share, including his own memories and folklore stories. In St Boniface Church, there is an old panel which is clearly different from the rest. Jim Rendall said that his mother always told him that this is because that particular panel is made of Spanish Armada wood. The Spanish Armada gold is buried in the one spot in Papay where you can’t see the sea! Johnnie Meil (91) from Dyke End in St Ola had a lot of memories to share from the Second World War. He remembered, for example, the night that Isbister by the Brig of Waithe was bombed. Barrage guns were then put all around Scapa Flow to keep bombers away. Johnnie lived by the Scapa Flow shore, and this is how he experienced the barrage: ‘With all the noise of the barrage, when you put on the wireless for the 9 o’clock news the voice of the presenter faded away and you couldn’t hear it for the thunder of the barrage guns! That was a fair good racket! This went on for a few minutes until the planes went by.’ These are just some examples of the stories we recorded in the Digital Heritage project. We were interested in everything from ‘unofficial’ place names, to little snippets of information, to folklore, to personal memories. Andrew Jennings, who is based in Shetland summarised his experiences in the field as such: Just as Ragnhild, I had some splendid experiences interacting with folk, learning their stories and sharing experiences. Most people probably don’t realise just what a large area Shetland covers, or how many isolated, outlying islands it has. It was certainly a challenge to get round it all. Nothing daunted I managed to visit most of the islands, including Whalsay, Fetlar, Yell and Unst and I found eager folk on all of them. Only Foula and Skerries escaped, due to the weather making travel impossible. I did wait at the airport for the Skerries flight, but nothing doing. Shetland is a long stretched out piece of land and it’s quite a distance from South to North, from Quendale on Mainland to Haraldswick in Unst is nearly 100 miles - I found contributors in both these places and in many places in between. Shetlanders are nothing if not keen on their culture and heritage! Although they were perhaps a bit wary at first about using the new technology, particularly if they were in their golden years, once they realised how easy it was to collect stories and take pictures, they quickly became enthusiasts. There were many highlights and I’d like to share a couple. On the 16th June, I took the ferry to the island of Whalsay. I wanted to meet up with some older folk learning about genealogy, a local fascination, at the Learning Centre in Symbister House, which is also the local school. The genealogists had been forewarned by the local tutor of my arrival. After a brief explanation, everyone was keen to get their hands on the Hudls and head out doors to take photos and make recordings.  Whalsay has a very active local history association and the chair was present. She was very excited about the prospect of collecting stories about her home island. In fact she was really keen to photograph and record a story about the Laird’s toilet, a large, imposing edifice which dominates the school. I headed north on the 26th of August for a two day visit to Shetland and Scotland’s most northerly islands – boggy Yell and beautiful Unst. On the first day I visited several sites on Yell including the 16^th century Old Haa Heritage Centre at Burravoe. There I met Nita who was looking after the place and selling home bakes. Nita was very interested in the Hudls and what they might be able to use them for in Yell. I spent a couple of hours with Nita and a couple of visitors to the heritage centre, demonstrating the Hudls and how to use the iPhone. Nita told me stories about the Old Haa and the Inuit Inukshuk they have in the garden. She is very keen for me to return and give another demonstration next year. After leaving the Old Haa I headed for the ferry to Unst. At the Heritage Centre and Boat Haven in Haraldswick I enjoyed a great session with Rhoda and Minnie. They were full of stories about Unst during the war and when it was home to a large RAF population protecting us from the Soviets. Shetland’s island communities are special, but so are those on the Shetland Mainland. The largest group I visited were the 8 custodians at the Quendale Mill, in Shetland’s Sooth End. These enthusiasts have spent many years restoring this watermill to its former glory. They proved equally enthusiastic about the project. These Sooth Enders were particularly keen to download the Fieldtrip GB app on to their smartphones. Once done, they were off, discussing how to collect stories, genealogy and map unusual things in the landscape. Shetland is full of stories and full of enthusiastic Shetlanders keen to record and share their heritage. Now they have the means! By Alex Sanmark, Ragnhild Ljosland and Andrew Jennings, Centre for Nordic Studies, University of the Highlands and Islands.