A new wildlife gallery will be opened at Towneley Hall on Monday.
The Wild About Burnley Gallery is a collection of interactive resources showing all that is good about Burnley’s rivers, flora and fauna.
It includes a large piece of artwork called “Calder Life”, depicting the River Calder, which will be officially unveiled by the Mayor and Mayoress of Burnley, Coun. Andy and Mrs Lorna Tatchell.
The painting is by local artist Jon Turner of no6 Creative, and the new Towneley Gallery is part of the Urban River Enhancement Scheme with the Ribble Rivers Trust, in partnership with Burnley Borough Council with the support of the Heritage Lottery.
Mr Graham Gavaghan, ecologist at Towneley Hall, said: “The Calder Life painting brings to life the underlying story of River Calder, from its source all the way to Towneley Hall showing beautiful examples of all the wildlife species found here. Whether young or old it’s the kind of artwork we can use to describe and explain to people more about the environment we all share.”
The 6ft by 3ft panel is painted in arcylics and is a key feature of the new Gallery with its interactive and educational resources which is the culmination of months of work by Mr. Gavaghan, Burnley Council Rangers and graphics teams with the support of partners including Ribble rivers Trust.
The new museum exhibits include scenarios and dioramas of local habitats and an interactive play and learning zone where children and grown-ups alike can get to know the diverse ecology of our area.
Victoria Woods from the Ribble Rivers Trust, said: “Calder Life depicts many natural river features together with example of wildlife and ecological impacts. Plus it beautifully sums up the theme of the exhibition. It is marvelous to see full sized example of wildlife close up and displayed in their natural settings including the elusive water vole now a protected species and the moles in their holes.”
Sarah Hilton, Head of the Heritage Lottery Fund North West, said: “The Urban River Enhancement Scheme is fantastic news for Burnley and will have transformational effects for local people and the environment.”