SOIL at Sizergh

What's happening at Sizergh

• 'Wonder World: Earth' Children's Trail

  14 February - 1 November, 10:30am-4:30pm

  Travel underground to the murky, muddy earth where it’s dark and damp but bursting with life. Designed with Nosy Crow, this family friendly trail takes you along the Holeslack trail where you'll delve deeper into the magical, marvellous world of soil.

  Brought to you by kind permission of the publisher, Nosy Crow.

  The trail is free, but admission applies.

• Daughters of the Soil

  14 February - 1 November, 10:30am-4:30pm

  Discover documentary photographer Joanne Coates's powerful exhibition about women in agriculture in Holeslack barn.

  Together, these portraits and landscapes create a deeply human narrative about identity, place, and the unseen labour that sustains rural life. This exhibition focuses on the women working the land in South Lakeland.

  The exhibition is free, but admission applies.

• Soil at Sizergh exhibition

  14 February - 1 November, 10:30am-4:30pm

  Head to the Great Barn to see an exhibition from a creative collective of local and national artists, inspired by soil. Artists include Mariana Heilmann, Wim van Egmond and Elizabeth Clough.

• Guided walks and workshops

  Guided Walk: Daughters of the Soil - 14 March, 11am-1pm

  Join us for an inspiring guided walk with acclaimed photographer Joanne Coates, as we explore her site-specific works Daughters of the Soil.

  Call Sizergh's reception to book your free place.

  Sensing Soil Workshop with Elizabeth Clough - 16 May, 2-4pm

  Join a creative workshop to explore how looking at the soil can help us see the world differently.

  Inspired by conversations between artist Elizabeth Clough local farmers and soil scientists at Lancaster Environment Centre, this workshop is an opportunity to explore the relationship humans have with soil, both practically through the cultivation of land and physically through its connection to our bodies.

  Book your ticket here.

  Summer Daze: Cyanotype Workshop and Guided Walk - 20 June, 2-4pm

  Join award-winning photographer Joanne Coates for a midsummer walk and cyanotype workshop.

  Call Sizergh's reception to book your free place.

  Guided Walk: Harvest Reflections - 26 September, 2-4pm

  Join Joanne Coates for a walk and talk discussing her Daughters of the Soil work — how farming, land, labour and image co-exist. You will set off on a guided walk through the fields, hedgerows and a place that hosts a working farm during the harvest period.

  Joanne will prompt observation of seasonal change, patterns of work, and how you might capture or sketch the moment. Along the way, you're welcome to photograph or sketch.

  Call Sizergh's reception to book your free place.

• Lancaster University

  We have been lucky to work with Lancaster University in creating SOIL at Sizergh. Both the soil science and art departments provided expertise, inspiration and creative support which have been fundamental to the production of SOIL.

• Ben Lerwill, author of Wonder World: Earth

  Ben is a multi-award-winning freelance writer and children’s author who has been writing for almost 25 years and continues to work with a broad range of magazines, newspapers, websites and publishers.

  Ben has written 27 books for children (with more on the way) and has been previously shortlisted for the Wainwright Prize for Children’s Nature Writing.

  His children’s books have been featured in publications including The Sunday Times, The Week Junior and National Geographic Kids. The SOIL children’s trail is based Ben’s book, Wonder World: Earth, which was published by Nosy Crow in 2025.

• Joanne Coates

  Joanne Coates is a working-class visual artist based in Yorkshire and the North East, using photography, installation and audio to explore rurality, hidden histories and inequality. UK House of Commons Election Artist (2024) and winner of the Baltic Vasseur Arts Award (2023) and Jerwood/Photoworks Award (2021), her work addresses class, gender and environmental issues. Exhibited nationally and internationally, Coates is a member of Women Photograph, co-founder of Form Collective, and deeply engaged with community participation.

• Wim van Egmond

  Wim van Egmond, once a painter, now uses photography to uncover the hidden beauty of soil life. Through time‑lapse, he transforms microbes and fungi into mesmerizing landscapes. Working with soil ecologist Gerlinde De Deyn, he reveals life moving too slowly for the eye, blending art and science.

• Mariana Heilmann

  Working in London, Marianna takes her inspiration from the city’s constant motion and the unseen systems and microscopic rhythms that connect all life. Her practice, which includes works on paper, sculpture and installation, explores how order emerges from chaos and what it means to exist within Earth’s wider living network. She often draws on scientific ideas about fungi, symbiosis and the vibrant communities within soil. Above all, Marianna hopes her work leaves people with a sense of wonder that drives her every day.

• Elizabeth Clough

  Elizabeth is a Morecambe‑based multidisciplinary artist who works with found, waste and natural materials. Her studio practice and community projects inform one another, rooted in a curious, playful engagement with her environment. She values the stories and qualities held within materials, celebrating the often‑overlooked building blocks of life. Through sculpture, drawing, sound and installation, she explores the connections between nature, technology, science and myth.

• Steve Satterthwaite

  Steve is not only a volunteer on the Sizergh estate, but also an incredible joiner and wood tuner who made the magnifying table and the micro ruler, as well as many other pieces across Sizergh. He is occasionally available for commissions and can be contacted via email - Woodcraftsmansteve@gmail.com.

• Learn more

  Understanding soil is the first step to protecting it.

  • Head to the British Society of Soil Science to learn about the science behind soil and its role in our ecosystems.
  • At Pasture for Life, discover how pasture-fed farming supports soil health and biodiversity.

  You can also delve into the secrets of soil with the Tree Amble podcast, presented by Pete Leeson, who visits land managers and explores how they are working to restore nature in forests and on farms. Some of our favourite episodes include:

  • Episode with Professor John Quinton from Lancaster University, who has helped bring SOIL at Sizergh together
  • Episode on Growing Well, whose original site is at Low Sizergh farm, on the Sizergh estate
  • Episode where National Trust Woodland advisor Tom Hill interviews Professor Lynne Boddy, who has been instrumental in Mariana Heilmann’s work

• Grow more

  Whether it’s a garden, window box, allotment or school grounds, growing your own food can help to reduce pressure of farmland, improve soil health and connect people with nature.

• Composting

  Composting turns food scraps and garden waste into rich, nutritious soil. It keeps waste out of landfill, reduces methane emmissions and feeds the soil with organic matter.

  Head to Compost Connect for some composting top tips.

• Wasting less

  Food waste puts pressure on soil by increasing demand for farming. In the UK, we throw away 9.5 million tonnes of food every year.

  To learn how to waste less, head to Love Food Hate Waste.

• Local action

  Waste into Wellbeing is a volunteer-led project in Kendal. Surplus food is turned into delicious meals at Kendal People’s Café or shared through the community larder. They also run a community kitchen offering training and social events.

  Supporting local, sustainable farms also helps protect soil and reduce food miles. For example, Kristian Smith sells beef from Park End Wetland, and Low Sizergh Barn has a fantastic farm shop full of local produce.

  Growing Well is a charity based at Low Sizergh, helping people recover through horticulture. They run a crop share scheme offering regular boxes of organic veg.

  Kristian Smith sells beef from Park End Wetland.