TWO student volunteers participated in a collaborative project between Tavistock Museum and The Wharf this summer.

Students James Ronan and Ashley Waite, supervised by Dr Ann Pulsford, Friends of the Wharf chair and Tavistock Museum volunteer, worked on the museum archive of photographs, which are being scanned and stored as electronic files in a project led by Kevin Dickens with computer expertise provided by Steve Lockley.

James and Ashley were both awarded small bursaries by the museum for the work and went on to develop their own projects from their own interests. James has produced a powerpoint presentation on aspects of the industrial archaeology of Bere Ferrers and Bere Alston, which he will be presenting at the Wharf next year as part of the successful 'Teatime Talks' programme.

The talks attract large audiences and will be valuable experience for James in developing skills for his future career.

Ashley, who is interested in film making, has produced a promotional video about the Wharf from the recent range of musical, educational and entertainment events. The film has been uploaded to YouTube and has received good feedback.

Ashley will be leaving Tavistock at the end of September to start his course in film-making at the University of Sussex. James and Ashley hope to continue with filming in Tavistock next year and to produce a film on Tavistock Museum for YouTube.

Tavistock Museum and the Wharf will be offering similar opportunities for volunteer students next summer. Tavistock is fortunate in having a host of volunteers who work in a wide variety of roles to keep many facilities running.

Anyone interested in volunteering can contact Dr Pulsford on [email protected]">[email protected] who will pass on offers of help to the appropriate organisers.