If you're anywhere near St Andrews on 22nd April, please join us to discuss what we can do - locally, and nationally - to address climate change and to support the ecosystems on which each of us entirely depends. All are welcome.
@transitionstandrews@transitiondundee@nebriefing@ustasustainable
Over a decade of celebrating key figures in the form of fondant icing on the Alternative* Cole Christmas cake - from this year's Wallace and Gromit, to Anton Chekhov, our late Queen, Greta Thunberg, the @hollyhockflock_ , the Corona virus (distasteful, sorry), Freddie the Dolphin (I think?!), our neighbours over the Channel, the Tour of Britain, Nelson Mandela (if you squint), and I'm not sure where the pic of David Bowie got to... (I'll not give up the day job.)
*Made entirely free of dangerous sultanas and orange peel
This year's Alternative Cole Christmas Cake (for those who are afraid of raisins) in honour of Jonny Cool's new book all about the incredible doctor, playwright, social activist and more, #AntonChekhov, much like our daddy @jdcolephotography . Jolly holidays all!
(And if you're interested in reading more about the book.../uk/chekhovs-sakhalin-journey-9781350367470/.)
#prouddaughter #incrediblejourneys #sakhalin #chekhov
Fancy purchasing some #woolly gifts for family and chums before Christmas? Pop along to @ovalfarmersmarket tomorrow (25th November) between 10am - 3pm, where @hollyhockflock_ will be making their annual visit up from the #NewForest. All of the wonderful woolly things on offer (from gloves, slippers, shawls, to an #elephant!) are courtesy of my Mum's flock of #gotlandsheep, roaming in rich pasture in @newforestnpa . Come and say hi (& I'll be about until 1ish)!
#newforestmarque @newforestmarque #craft #local #farmersmarket #madewithstories #farmtofork or maybe #farmtofeet
A near-full bag of #plastic & all sorts of #rubbish collected by @hollyhockflock_ & @jdcolephotography whilst I dipped in this beautiful bay. We left so much more there....rubbish created by me and most of us, somewhere, at some point. Perhaps we can want, and use less? And pick up more?
@surfersagainstsewage@sevencleanseas@action4conserv #Pembrokeshire #plasticwaste
Skies.
#magic #merklenburgvorpommern #greifswald #peatlandsmatter #wetlandsconservation #travelbytrain
With thanks to @jdcolephotography & @swantjefurtak , for the inspiration. And Prof Hans Joosten, for hosting me @greifswaldmoor .
Recently I've been learning first-hand how important domestic #peatcutting is for many households in the #OuterHebrides, faced with the #costoflivingcrisis. @swantjefurtak and Frankie Turk of @repeat.earth have made a beautiful documentary conveying more reasons why people cut peats in #Ireland and the conflicts they experience when doing it. The key message of the documentary: respecting people's connection to these ancient ecosystems is key to their #restoration.
There's always more than one side to the story.
'In Death is Life' is free to watch through @waterbearnetwork - /watch/in-death-is-life
@greifswaldmoor #peatlandsmatter #noonesizefitsall
The 2022 alternative Cole Christmas cake (for those with a dried-fruit phobia). Continuing the theme of strong female leaders, somehow semi-captured in icing, if you squint. RIP Elizabeth. #peacebewithusplease #onwards #itsoktonotlikechristmascake
If you're passing through @ovalfarmersmarket today between 10am and 3pm and need to restock on your woollens @hollyhockflock_ is making its annual visit to London. My shepherdess mum rears a jolly (an assumption!) flock of #gotlandsheep on biodiverse meadows in the #NewForest and makes beautiful all-sorts from their wool. #prouddaughter #supportcraft @newforestnpa@newforestmarque
Here's another picture from our #Perupeatexpo on the swamps, science and people of the Peruvian Amazon peatlands. You can wander around the exhibition until the end of October @standrewsbotanicgarden , or virtual (forever?) @ . To spread the word about the exhibition & the fantastic work going on at the St Andrews Botanic Gardens, the Centre for Energy Ethics recorded a podcast with the Director, Harry Watkins. I could have kept asking Harry questions for days. Take a listen: /media/share/pb-3ze76-10ea48d. #urbanforestry #natureconnection #biodiversityconservation #climatemitigation #biosecurity #powerofcommunication
Last Saturday, a photography exhibition compiled by Katy Roucoux, Althea Davies and myself (all lecturers @sgsd_universityofstandrews ) opened at the @standrewsbotanicgarden , funded by @britishecolsoc & with invaluable help from numerous other great folk. The photographs were taken during many days of fieldwork in the steaming swamps of the Peruvian Amazon, and showcase the people, plants and processes of these globally-important peatlands. All of the images and their stories, along with other peaty resources, are and will remain available in our virtual gallery: /. The photos will be on display at the gardens until the end of October.
As a taster, here is one of my favourite images…
Harvesting Mauritia palm shoots - Indigenous Urarina women harvest the young shoots from Mauritia flexuosa palms growing in a peatland palm swamp close to their community. Harvesting is done in the driest season of the year which, even so, involves wading across a flooded forest floor. Palm fronds are cut from the growing point of the Mauritia palm using a machete, and from this raw material women spin fibres before weaving them into textiles. Palm-fibre textiles are synonymous with Urarina identity, and in particular women’s identity and role in the home and community. The textiles have cultural, social, and monetary value and are central to the transmission of knowledge between generations.
#uniofstandrews #standrews #botanicgarden #standrewsbotanicgarden #fife #peatlands #swamps #peruvianamazon #geographyteacher #tropicalpeat #internationalpeatlandsociety @repeat.earth@rgs_ibg@naturescot
