Scottish Heritage Angel Awards 2016 - Jess Smith - Tinkers Heart
Nominated for Category B: Caring and Protecting - Volunteer-led involvement in saving/restoring heritage sites and buildings, Argyll
Before Jess’s involvement the quartz stones in the shape of a love heart that make up Tinker’s Heart were being trodden on by highland cattle and disappearing into the mud. Jess managed a campaign which gained recognition in the Scottish Parliament and worldwide media which has led to the site being recorded as a site of national significance. Tinkers Heart, though modest in form, is a site of strong culture and heritage for the traveller community where, for centuries, they gathered for weddings, christenings and burial ceremonies, Scottish Traveller Jess Smith and her campaign to restore and conserve a unique part of Scottish Traveller heritage.