Today’s exhibition at Kennaway House was very busy:
Beach Management Plan > Exhibition
The Lost Cliffs of Sidmouth > Exhibition
There was a particularly interesting section – with local writer Jo Earlam launching her latest project:
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TH!NK FOOTPRINT
an environmental awareness project inspired by a trace fossil footprint left at Sidmouth 240 million years ago and now on display at Sidmouth Museum
The idea of ‘Think Footprint’ was inspired by a trace fossil reptile footprint on display in Sidmouth Museum, that was found beneath cliffs close to Sidmouth in recent years. The footprint was left by a pre-dinosaur reptile, called a rauisuchian, 240 million years ago. It’s all the remains of the creature’s time on earth, but still a link to it having walked in the geographic area that is now the famous Regency resort with its stunning coastline, part of the Jurassic Coast World Heritage Site.
Local children’s author Jo Earlam is writing a story based on the footprint that imagines the character of the reptile that left it, doing so as a deliberate message about treating the environment with care and for whoever saw it, to “think” about their own footprint they will leave.
“I was looking around the museum seeking inspiration for a children’s story connected to the exhibits,” said Jo. “The footprint kept calling to me, a momentary step upon the earth’s surface all that remained of this sentient being and its place in the world, yet still a connection. “I began to reflect on this and the ‘footprint’ that our modern society leaves, and the inescapable truth that however lightly we tread, individually we will all leave more than one tiny print, and collectively mankind is making a massive dent that we’re only now realising the true significance of.”