Blog: community engagement trainee

26 August 2026

My name is Lenny, and I am a Community Engagement trainee with the North Pennines National Landscape team, working on the Land of Lead and Silver project.

For my first day, I was told to be at the Stanhope office for 10am to do paperwork, go through the induction, get set up with my new laptop etc. Sounds like a nice easy start.

I then received a message: “Be here for 8am, bring boots and waterproofs, you’re going on site.”. Ermm … on site? I knew the project was about lead mining. Were they sending me down a mine? Was this some kind of initiation? Will they run away and leave me?

I was nervous but dutifully turned up at 8am, booted and waterproofed. (I did, however, sneak a headtorch into my pocket. I ain’t being left in the dark!) I spent the day at Allenheads, not down a mine but with volunteers doing building maintenance and consolidation.

Gary, from Heritage Consolidation, asked if I’d like to try lime pointing. Four hours later I was still working away – I loved it (and Gary said I’d done a good job). What a first day – learning a new heritage skill, learning about local history, and working with talented people!

The rest of the time has been just as action-packed and exciting. I have:
• been down a mine (I had my trusty headtorch) at Nenthead accompanying schoolchildren.
• done some spoil heap scavenging with the children and found a lovely little piece of purple fluorspar. I was very pleased with it until a child said “Look at this”, and showed me a chunk the size of her fist (not jealous at all).
• helped complete some condition surveys and have taken photographs of a mining shop for photogrammetry which creates 3D models of buildings so there is a record of mining buildings across the North Pennines.
• assisted in the planning of podcasts, which involved a trip to the Fitzhugh Library in Middleton-in-Teesdale, to research Richard Watson, the Teesdale Bard, and the pack ponies which carried lead across the Pennines. (By the way, the Fitzhugh Library is an incredible archive of local history, run by volunteers and is well worth a visit).
• worked a shotgun mic, while an expert was interviewed about metalliferous plants for a podcast.
• learnt about metalliferous plants.
• worked at Bowlees Visitor Centre, walking the High Force and Bowlees Geotrail where I saw a deer and was stared at and circled by a robin for about 20 minutes while I had a rest and a snack.
• visited the Northumberland Archives to help research miners and their families who had been in an asylum.
• learnt about palaeography.
• read “Life of a Crank” by Caldwell Harpur, learnt about Lenish, and started translating his diaries into English.
• got so interested (see: obsessed) with translating that I was asked to deliver a short presentation on Lenish and the process I use to translate it.

And that is just the very high highlights! I am constantly exhausted from all the exciting new things I am learning, and not just within the Land of Lead and Silver project. I’ve been learning about geology (from an actual geologist), archaeology (from an actual archaeologist), peatland restoration, adder conservation, and how to recruit and manage volunteers.

All this in the first 2 months. I cannot wait to see what’s next (in fact, I know a bit of what’s next as I’ve been planning a wellbeing arts and crafts programme so watch this space.)

The Land of Lead and Silver project is led by the North Pennines National Landscape team and funded by The National Lottery Heritage Fund, thanks to National Lottery players, and Historic England.