The hills are alive: combining the benefits of natural environments and group singing through immersive experiences

This project uses immersive virtual reality technology to bring to life a key moment in the formative history of the UK's National Trust. The main outcome of the research is an immersive and interactive virtual reality installation where individuals can participate in a group singing event on a Lake District mountain summit in virtual reality, commemorating the 1923 gift of land to the nation in memory of those who lost their lives in the Great War 1914-18.

The project draws together the various threads of the challenge in a unique way, uniting memory, place and performance in a compelling realisation of the power of immersive experiences to transform historical events through cultural participation. Current research identifies important health and wellbeing benefits associated with both fell-walking and group singing, and this project provides opportunities not just for able-bodied participants to enjoy the multiple wellbeing benefits of singing on mountain summits, but uniquely will provide opportunities for those otherwise unable to access such activities to do so through an immersive virtual reality experience.

This project also seeks to develop relationships with cultural heritage partners in the Lake District and beyond, and to develop a workflow for the capture and virtual reality reproduction of choir performances in inaccessible but culturally significant locations, to permit the application of the technology in a wide range of installations and exhibitions in the future.

The immediate beneficiaries of this project include the project choir established to rehearse and record the musical materials during the capture for VR, those members of the general public who participate in the VR installations, the National Trust, Keswick Museum, the ensemble Mouthful, and the local communities of the Lake District and wider public in general. In the future, the results of this study will also benefit other custodians of potentially inaccessible but culturally significant locations, such as the North York Moors National Park Authority and National Parks Wales.

Participants in the study will benefit in a number of ways. Having the opportunity to work with Mouthful, an inspirational UK a capella ensemble, and to perform in a group on a Lake District summit in a technically innovative way will make for a very exciting and memorable experience. Participants of the VR experience will also directly benefit from the uplifting and unique experience of listening to a choir sing on top of a Lake District summit, or even becoming involved in the performance themselves as co-performers. Especially for those members of the public with challenges of mobility, the project will provide an unprecedented opportunity to participate virtually in an exciting and meaningful cultural event. There will also be an indirect general benefit for local communities and the wider public in general, through the commemoration of the 1923 gift of land by the FRCC, and its role in transforming the way that the British public's relationship to the land changed after the Great War 1914-18, facilitating wider dialogue about and awareness of the value both of outdoor activities and group singing.

Third Sector partners will also directly benefit from this project. Completion of the project will allow The National Trust to meet their strategic aims, including 'Experiences that Move, Teach and Inspire', 'Growing Support' and 'Restoring a Healthy, Beautiful Natural Environment'. The project is expected to: demonstrate an increased engagement with the location in participants; secure significant Advertising Value Equivalent (AVE) in local media, with the potential for national media interest; help explore the potential for engaging new audiences by working with organisations involved with mental wellbeing in Cumbria; and help start a conversation with wider visitors to the Lake District about the nature of these mountains as war memorials, and to help change behaviours that cause damage and show disrespect to the natural environment. Keswick Museum will also benefit from such an innovative exhibit which will reach and engage new audiences in the curatorial work they do and draw members of the public into the museums' other galleries, helping not only to access the museums' wider collections and role in the community, but helping members of the public to view the museum as an innovative and exciting place of discovery and technological advancement. Finally, as professional artists on the project, Mouthful will benefit from the opportunity to present their artistic work in a completely new format for public engagement, and from the increased profile of their artistic work.