As part of Water and Stone a programme of illustrated talks took place in CAST’s black box screening space. In a presentation entitled Dynamic Planet, Dynamic Granite, Dr Beth Simons discussed the ways in which granite forms and characterised the variations found in Cornwall.

Dr Beth Simons is a Cornish geologist with a PhD and a number of publications on the mineralogical and geochemical variation of granites in southwest England, including the relevance for extraction of critical metals for the low carbon economy, such as lithium. Since 2017 she has worked for INGOs and a UN agency in humanitarian shelter response to disasters and conflict, with a recent focus on supporting local building cultures. She collaborated with David Paton on the Tracing Granite project commissioned for the Groundwork programme (2016-18) and compiled the Geological Glossary published on the Groundwork website: groundwork.art/tracing-granite

The talk was documented by filmmaker Ollie Smith.

Water and Stone was supported by FEAST, Helston Town Council, Cornwall Heritage Trust and The Curry Fund. The project was also supported by Cornwall Council’s Community Chest small grants scheme, with individual grants from Councillors Guy Foreman (Helston South & Meneage) and Mike Thomas (Helston North).