Borderlands, paths in nature, art and ecology. Random thoughts from Nick Jones inspired by a gathering at the Cheviot Centre, Wooler, Northumberland, 24th October 2015.
Part of the pleasure of the annual New Networks for Nature Conference held every November in Stamford, is the opportunity to meet up with friends, colleagues and kindred spirits, from all over this country and beyond. However, when Geoff Sample and Kate Foster went to Stamford, and kept bumping into people from Northumberland and the Borders, they felt it would be good to arrange a northern “gathering” as well, to complement the national event, and to focus on more local projects, issues and inspirations. The first gathering has now happened, and very successful and inspiring it has been.
A great range, depth and quality of diverse presentations gave fascinating and often local insights into different facets of our relationship with nature, in thoughtful and creative ways. The beautiful, ancient geology of the Cheviots; the horrifying rate of animal extinction and global pollution; the bird’s eye view, high-flying; the mysteries of migrating cuckoos; flowers inspiring poetic imagination; recording the hoot of the long eared owl. Running through all, a deep understanding of and respect for the natural world, a strong sense of wonder and humility, a willingness and desire to learn. Working together, with even an ounce of natural wisdom, that is the way forward. Keeping in touch, with each other and with kindred spirits. And all because the question hanging over the day remains unanswered. We know that there must be change, and have an inkling of what needs changing, but how, that we do not yet know. So, still a need to listen, look, make, create, think,…and gather. Nature might help us, but does she care? Why should she?
Perhaps no surprise that this part of the country attracts such a wealth of artists, ecologists, naturalists and scientists. Wide open spaces, fewer people, more wild animals, big, dark skies, these are our inspiration. Some might think, a bunch of Utopian escapists, out for a quiet life. The city’s where it all happens, that’s where the ideas that change the way we see and relate to the world are born and flourish…it used to be cafes on the left bank of the Seine, now it’s the Free Thinking Festival at The Sage in Gateshead.
Both are important, but the assumption that the rural and the natural landscape are superfluous is wide of the mark. This gathering sought to address and redress that balance, making the point that global awareness starts locally, by connecting with nature where we are. Once we lose touch with place we risk losing identity, distinctiveness, diversity, and difference. As I write, the sea “ha” has rolled in along the east coast, and fog has covered much of the country. Everything is grey, blurred, gloomy and indistinct, encouraging introspection, muffling sound and detaching us from our surroundings. Not a bad thing, sometimes.
The problems start when that sameness, that greyness, becomes the norm, becomes universal, overshadowing local colour, and detail. Thus human hearts and souls are anaesthetised, mere numbers lost in the swirling mists of the universal no-place, same-place. Displaced, detached, insensitive to nature, art, beauty or truth. Modern technology envelops us in just such a complex network, such a fog of physical and electronic lines of communications, lines that seek to ignore the liminal, the littoral, edges and spaces in between. The countryside? Somewhere to pass through or over as fast as possible, providing food from factory farming, relaxation for the retired, or leisure and entertainment for the tourism “industry”. Nature? Just “stuff”, surely, to be used, abused, and chucked. So, yes, the world does begin to look more dehumanised, denatured, and dessicated. Everywhere seems like everywhere else, country life is hollowed out, communities weakened or lost. New village developments suburbanised. Market towns, vital links between the rural and the urban, cloned and indistinct.
But all is not what it seems. Nature, indifferent to human concern, is ever quick to adapt, to change, to spot the opportunity. So, she encourages foxes and seagulls to move into coastal towns, whilst floral escapes take root canalside, far from interfering gardeners, and disused railway lines still link town and country, sprouting birches and willowherb, providing cover, passage and food for birds and squirrels. New networks for nature, perhaps ?
Nick Jones
borderlands network 