Newt Sculpture Tribute to Carymoor Founder

Susan Boyce, Hamish's daughter, with the artwork

A sculpture made of reused objects has been installed at Carymoor in memory of our charity’s founder.

The Great Crested Newt sculpture, made by Cranmore artist Fiona Campbell, pays tribute to Hamish Craig, who passed away last year.

Hamish, a retired teacher and wildlife expert, was first called to the site that would later become Carymoor in 1996 when the landfill had not yet been capped off, because Great Crested Newts had been found and the landfill manager wanted advice on the best course of action.

Hamish and his family set up a charity and leased part of the capped landfill for habitat creation, and so Carymoor Environmental Trust's journey began. Twenty-three years later we still regularly find Great Crested Newts on our nature reserve.

The new sculpture, which was funded by Hauser and Wirth gallery in Bruton, has been placed next to our ‘newt tank’ – an old military bomb incineration tank now filled with water that many of our resident newts call home. The artwork is made entirely from reused objects including bottle tops, buttons and old garden tools.

Rupert Farthing, Carymoor CEO, said: "The use of reused and scrap materials for the sculpture is very much in line with Carymoor’s ethos and the sculpture encapsulates how waste and nature have been brought together on our inspirational site. It’s the third piece we have at Carymoor by Fiona who has a great ability to capture nature using found and reclaimed materials. 

“We are sure Hamish would very much approve and we are pleased to have this sculpture as a lasting tribute to all he achieved at Carymoor. Hamish's daughter, Susan (pictured), was involved from the start of the project to create the newt sculpture. Susan became a Carymoor trustee in 2018 and it is fantastic to have her continuing Hamish's legacy."