NATURE MATTERS: CHANGING NATURE
NOVEMBER 2017, STAMFORD

Nothing in nature stays the same. From the microscopic to the mountainous, from milliseconds to millennia, the natural world is constantly changing. Humans are perhaps the greatest agents of change, driving it for our needs and wants. This complex threading of natural and man-made change can be both enriching and destructive. In this year’s conference we explored change from different perspectives and how we present that change through art, science and literature. The opening event saw Patrick Barkham in conversation with Sir Tim Smit, co-founder of the Eden Project, comparing how they have inspired change through words and actions. Over the following two days we heard about the great changes that have happened through deep time, in the oceans and on our farmland, about the hidden worlds that reveal themselves through technology, and how our perception of nature has altered through human history.

In the Art Gallery, the John Clare Exhibition, compiled by Carry Akroyd, meshed the world of the great nineteenth century poet of the countryside with modern depictions of nature.

Understanding change is vital; only by appreciating that nothing stays the same can we plan how to live sustainably in the future.

A write up of the event can be found on our blog, which you can read here.