Nature, words and #naturewords
photo: Finn Beales For 27 years Hay Festival has brought together writers from around the world to debate and share stories in the staggering beauty of the English and Welsh Borders. Hay celebrates great writing from poets and scientists, lyricists and comedians, novelists and environmentalists. As usual, wildlife and environmental groups are closely associated this year.
Hay Fever is the young people’s festival within a festival, and welcomes nature enthusiasts Nicola Davies from the Really Wild Show, Piers Torday, Tom Moorhouse, Katie Scott and Virginia McKenna. RSPB garden safaris and workshops are on every day, although many have sold out. Click the link for the full programme.
Hay on Earth is a programme for sustainability, and includes a day-long forum on Thursday 21 May exploring global sustainability issues.
Hay Fever is the young people’s festival within a festival, and welcomes nature enthusiasts Nicola Davies from the Really Wild Show, Piers Torday, Tom Moorhouse, Katie Scott and Virginia McKenna. RSPB garden safaris and workshops are on every day, although many have sold out. Click the link for the full programme.
Hay on Earth is a programme for sustainability, and includes a day-long forum on Thursday 21 May exploring global sustainability issues.
NATURAL LIGHT’s #naturewords campaign is featured on Saturday 30 May when Laurence Rose introduces Robert Macfarlane, the author of best-selling Landmarks. It was Robert who first broke the Oxford Junior Dictionary story. Landmarks was published in March and celebrates the language of landscape. “It opens with my dismay at the nature words deleted from the OJD which I see as a symptom of the natural and the outdoor being displaced by the virtual and the indoor” says Rob. The event is in association with the Woodland Trust who have decided to champion #naturewords at Hay this year. The National Trust joins with the Woodland Trust on 27 May to debate whether ancient trees should have the same protection as great buildings.
Several other literary stars who have supported the campaign are taking part in the Hay programme including Nicola Davies, Melissa Harrison (At Hawthorn Time, 25 May), Tony Juniper, Helen MacDonald, Michael Morpurgo and children’s illustrator Jackie Morris. Jackie’s beautiful book Queen of the Sky, about a peregrine and a girl who live on the west Wales coast, is featured on 31st.
On 24 May Canadian explorer John Hemming celebrates the Amazonian feats of three famous naturalist-explorers of 150 years ago: Alfred Russel Wallace, Henry Walter Bates and Richard Spruce. Closer to home, Britain’s shoreline is explored by Patrick Barkham (Coastlines, 28 May) in association with National Trust Wales.
On 24 May Canadian explorer John Hemming celebrates the Amazonian feats of three famous naturalist-explorers of 150 years ago: Alfred Russel Wallace, Henry Walter Bates and Richard Spruce. Closer to home, Britain’s shoreline is explored by Patrick Barkham (Coastlines, 28 May) in association with National Trust Wales.
By Mark Robinson (Flickr: Foraging Badgers) http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0) via Wikimedia Commons Tough issues are tackled over two days on 28 and 29 May. On the Thursday the Chief Veterinary Officer for Wales, Christianne Glossop, debates one of the most contentious issues in the countryside today: badgers and bovine TB. Later that day Bill Oddie will hopefully lighten the mood, although Bill is himself an outspoken champion of the badger’s cause, so who knows? The following day, economist Dieter Helm will argue that the environment is an economic asset and should be treated as such, and Tony Juniper (What Nature Does for Britain) will develop the idea of “natural capital.” Prepare for some serious humour when Marcus Brigstocke tackles climate change later on 29th, before Jules Pretty addresses extinctions – in nature, and among human traditions and languages.
Click here for the full Hay programme, or visit our What’s On page for just the green bits.
Click here for the full Hay programme, or visit our What’s On page for just the green bits.
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