working in heritage, the countryside & digital communication
Ruth B Kerr
#freelance #portfoliocareer #manyhats
Work Examples
I wear many hats, but all my work comes down to understanding people and how to engage them with great stories.
Museums & Heritage
Milestones' Audioguides for Schools
employee
The lead heritage professional working with Acoustiguide Ltd. to produce content for the UK's first KS1 and 2 audioguides supporting the National Curriculum, which won an Interpret Britain Award. Milestones living history museum in Basingstoke is Hampshire Cultural Trust's flagship museum.
Trail & Trail Sheet - The Weaver Fairy Folk of Whitchurch Silk Mill
freelance
Whitchurch Silk Mill came to me with an idea for a permanent outdoor trail. I developed their concept, creating characters and biographies. I commissioned slate doors and added bespoke icons linked to each character, painted in colours from the Mill's brand palette.
The Memory Lounge -
Milestones, Hampshire Cultural Trust
freelance
The Memory Lounge is a 1960s roomset, created primarily for immersive reminiscence with older people.
I developed and piloted a programme of 8 reminiscence sessions and accompanying craft activities, working with a local care home. Volunteers received a day of training as well as ongoing involvement in pilot sessions and mentoring. I also supported the programme team to source relevant artefacts for display and handling.
Text & Design - Welsh Guards Collection
freelance
The Welsh Guards Collection asked me to produce a new permanent panel for each section of their museum. Liaising with the curator, I wrote and designed 10 panels.
Text - Hampshire Cultural Trust
freelance
HCT commissioned me to produce interpretive text for the temporary exhibition which initially accompanied the statue of Licoricia, a medieval community leader, in Winchester.
Interpretive Text, Curation, Labels, Images, Flipbooks, Interactives -
Eling Tide Mill Experience
part freelance, part employee
I researched and wrote all interpretive text for both buildings (the Mill and the new Visitor Centre) including flipbooks and content for 3 digital displays. Curated displays, wrote object labels, and sourced all images including commissioning photography, illustration and technical drawings.
Visit England assessed the site's interpretation as 'excellent'.
Countryside & Rural Sector
Heritage Guidance & Assistance - BASC
Workshops across the 4 nations and other support for in BASC's submission to the UK Governemnt for wildfowling to be recognised as living heritage.
Farm Discovery Co-ordinator - The Country Trust
freelance
I plan and deliver visits to working farms for disadvantaged school children in Hampshire. The visits are tailored to support understanding of food production and farming.
Measuring Impact - South Stoke Farm
freelance
Created resources to capture feedback at an Open Farm Sunday event and wrote evaluation report for the Farm and their landlord.
Promotion, Engagement & Evaluation -
NGO Educational Trust
freelance
Writing content and designing pull-up panels for events and leaflets for promotion. Planning engagement activities for events, and measuring impact.
Activity Sheet Toolkit - Hampshire County Farms
freelance
Hampshire County Council Farms were looking at ways to support their tenant farmers in engaging with their communities. I created a suite of support for them, including a display on the history of County Farms, and a toolkit for producing quality family activity sheets for events like Open Farm Sunday.
Activity Booklet - NGO Educational Trust
freelance
Design and content for an 8-page activity booklet for 7+ years which provides follow-up activities for after an NGO ET workshop.
Social Media & Comms - Gamekeepers' Welfare Trust
freelance
I've been creating and curating content across social media for the GWT for c10 years, and in more recent years have taken on media releases, e-newsletters and Tweed Times, GWT's annual review in print.
Digital Comms: social media
I've managed social media accounts for a range of organisations across several sectors.
Social Media Management - Pear Tree 400
freelance
Pear Tree Church, Southampton is the World's oldest Anglican church. In the lead up to their 400th Anniversary they looked to social media to engage with the local community and build interest and momentum in their celebration events. I created their Facebook Page, which grew at c25 Followers per month, and managed their existing X/Twitter account, which increased by 70% in the 11 months I managed it.
Digital Comms Officer - AMCIS
Employee since Oct 2024
I work part-time and remotely for the Assoc. for Admissions, Marketing in Independent Schools, creating and scheduling content across 3 social media platforms.