Shoots of Hope- Growing Native Trees to Connect the Landscape in Devon Wildland

The Community Tree Hub here at Hill Crest grows native trees from locally collected seeds. We are very lucky that a group of friends and volunteers regularly help by collecting the seed and planting up the trees in The Tree Hub nursery. The Tree Hub gatherings happen throughout the year, where we spend time tending to the trees and carrying out nursery maintenance such as weeding, watering and potting on. Spending time together is a great way of sharing ideas and planning our planting projects that are happening across Devon Wildland, the first of which happened in the winter of 2022!

At the moment we have the following tree species growing in the Tree Hub:

• Oak

• Holly

• Hazel

• Rowan

• Birch

• Alder

• Hawthorn

• Blackthorn

• Field Maple

• Wild Cherry

• Wild Service Tree

• Guelder Rose

• Alder Buckthorn

• Dog Rose

• Scot's Pine

• Yew

Our nursery tables are old discarded desks which have been kindly donated by a local primary school and the University of Exeter. Traceability and biosecurity are important to us and we make all our own compost on-site, and the pots and trays are all reused.

It's great spending time together and sharing some food and lots of tea and cake! This reciprocity, where we are collectively taking action to help tackle the climate and biodiversity crises can really help to mitigate eco-distress.

If you are a landowner in Devon Wildland and would like help with a tree planting scheme or would be interested in rehoming some of our saplings please get in touch. Similarly, if you would like to join us and spend some time in the Tree Hub, you'd be very welcome!

Stop Press:

A huge Congratulations to our friend and all-round 'tree guru' Jon Covey (above left) for being awarded a BEM in the 2023 King's Birthday Honours for all his work at Moor Trees and his exceptional work over many years in growing tens of thousands of trees, which have been planted across South Devon. A huge achievement.

Also thank you to him and Jon Brock (above right) for being so generous with their time and wisdom in helping to set up the Tree Hub here in Devon Wildland.

What's the 'story' of my PhD? A concise summary:

Disability and social inclusion in urban nature-

A case study of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole, England

Background

There is a growing body of evidence to suggest that time spent in and with urban nature can benefit people’s health and well-being. As a society, England is becoming increasingly urbanized. According to 2019 figures an estimated 83% (56.3 million people) of England’s population lived in urban areas, compared to 17% (9.6 million) of the population that lived in rural areas. Urban nature is deemed specifically important as a ‘low-cost and accessible health and social intervention’ for people within their own communities. But can these benefits be fully realised by all members of the community, including disabled people? And do these benefits arise through all forms of urban nature that we encounter, from formal ‘manicured’ parks and gardens to wilder urban nature reserves and ‘disordered’ or ‘feral’ spaces (e.g. abandoned railway sidings, urban wastelands)?

Aims and rationale

This PhD will explore how disabled people perceive and interact with varied forms of urban nature and how this impacts their lives, in potentially positive and negative ways. It will examine how urban areas can be more nature friendly without disadvantaging disabled people, by talking to disabled people and hearing their lived experiences of living alongside nature in the case study area of Bournemouth, Christchurch, and Poole (BCP).

BCP is a unitary local authority which recently came into being in 2019. Due to its coastal location, BCP consists of both urban blue and green space and took part in the Future Parks Accelerator which was a partnership between local communities and Local Authorities to create “healthy, thriving, climate resilient cities and towns”. The Parks Foundation is an independent charity that works alongside BCP council to enhance the green spaces in the area. Coupled with these innovative approaches to green space management in BCP, there are projects in the area that have been shown to be examples of nationally recognised ‘excellence’ in how disabled people can access green spaces. Conversely, BCP is an area of significant disparity with neighbouring areas amongst the most and least deprived in England, which has important implications for health inequalities within the region.

With space in urban areas often under pressure from competing interests, how nature finds a home in urban environments can be widely contested. How urban nature settings can be designed to benefit human and non-human nature in an inclusive way will therefore be explored in this PhD.

Often outdoor experiences for disabled people are carefully choreographed. Loaded with risk assessments and perceived accessibility needs, the nature experience of a disabled person can become so sanitised that the health and well-being benefits of being in nature are diminished. Where urban nature settings are available in BCP, we will investigate whether they are accessible (recognising varied domains of access) and what makes for an enriching urban nature visit for disabled people.

Disabled people have often been marginalised in the climate crisis debate, with many mitigation measures having a practical, often negative, impact on disabled people. It is imperative that disabled people are not similarly marginalised when society explores and adopts measures in urban environments to tackle the biodiversity crisis. Disabled people are well used to living a life of rapid adaptation and problem-solving, and some of the broader environmental justice literature identifies that if disabled people are involved in the planning and implementation stage of any new intervention, their lived experiences can offer unique insights and perspectives. This PhD will therefore also examine whether and how disabled people are involved in the co-design, planning and implementation of urban nature settings within BCP.

Design and Methods

Through an in-depth qualitative case study of the Bournemouth, Christchurch, and Poole (BCP) area, the PhD will have two key phases:

Phase 1 will involve semi-structured interviews with a purposive sample of key informants in BCP, including decision makers involved in shaping BCP’s urban nature spaces (e.g. the local council and key environmental charities) and disabled people’s organisations (DPOs) working in the local areas.

Phase 2 will involve a combination of semi-structured interviews followed by go-along interviews to hear from a purposive sample of BCP residents who identify as disabled, to explore how they relate to and interact with varied urban nature settings in BCP, and the biographical, embodied, socio-cultural and physical dimensions that shape this.

Outcomes and Impact

This PhD project will be impactful and translational amongst disabled people living alongside urban nature, as well as potentially inform policymaking, particularly in relation to the implications of the planning, implementation, and maintenance of urban nature settings as part of the wider ‘Groundswell Project’ (Funded by UKPRP and MRC). ‘GroundsWell' is a project that aims to involve local communities in Urban Green and Blue Space innovations which can benefit human health and well-being; with a specific focus to prevent and reduce inequalities that affect non-communicable diseases (NCD) in urban settings.

Here is a summary poster I recently produced for a Post-Graduate Researcher Conference; Faculty of Health & Life Sciences, University of Exeter.

For a clearer high-resolution version please click here:

Morley_Kate_poster23

.pdf

Download PDF • 3.93MB

KEY REFERENCES IN POSTER:

1. Wheeler BW, et al. 2015. Beyond greenspace: an ecological study of population general health and indicators of natural env. type and quality. Int J Health Geogr. 2015 Apr 30;14:17

2. Outdoor Accessibility Guidance. 2023. Paths for All & Sensory Trust

3. Bell SL, et al. 2017. Everyday green space and experienced well-being: the significance of wildlife encounters. Landscape Research Vol. 43 8-19

4. Bell SL, et al. 2018. The “healthy dose of nature: a cautionary tale. Geography Compass. 2018 Vol 13.

5. Wolch JR, et al. 2014. Urban green space, public health, and environmental justice: The challenge of making cities ‘just green enough’. Landscape & Urb. Planning, 125, 234-244

6. Hudson H. Moving from Disability Rights to Disability Justice. Blog Post. World Institute on Disability. Accessed 06.2023. https://wid.org/moving-from-disability-rights-to-disability-justice/

7. Kosanic A, et al. 2022. An inclusive future: disabled populations in the context of climate and environmental change. Current Opinion in Envir. Sustainability 2022 Vol 55.

8. Njie B & Asimiran S. 2014. Case Study as a Choice in Qualitative Methodology. IOSR Journal of Research & Method in Education (IOSRJRME) Vol 4:3, 35-40

9. Dicicco-Bloom B & Crabtree BF. 2006. The qualitative research interview. Med Educ. 2006 Apr;40(4):314-21

10. Carpiano RM. 2009. Come take a walk with me: The “Go-Along” interview as a novel method for studying the implications of place for health and well-being. Health & Place 2009 Vol 15:1, 263-272

11. Hunter RF et al. 2022. GroundsWell: Community-engaged and data-informed systems transformation of Urban Green and Blue Space for population health – a new initiative. Wellcome Open Res 2022, 7:237

Making Sense of Things by Making Things

Sometimes in life, it can feel that there are so many issues to 'get stuck into' that if you care deeply, your ability to see a brighter future gets obscured. Eco-distress and 'activism burnout' are shadows that often haunt my life. Sometimes it feels that no matter how much you care and 'do', it is never enough... Over the last few years, it feels as though we have been living in a 'Crisis of Crises'; Climate Crisis, Biodiversity Crisis, Cost of Living Crisis, Housing Crisis, Mental Health Crisis, and the list goes on... all of these are on top of a (hopefully) 'once in a lifetime pandemic;' as well as multiple injustices, it can be hard to feel much hope.

I was really inspired by the wonderful Elin Bååth, Swedish activist, ecofeminist, teacher, artist, politician - and witch when she said;

"Politics is extremely draining to me and nothing I ever enjoyed. But I enjoy living on this green planet, so therefore I felt like I had no choice other than taking on some responsibility for protecting her. But I don’t think it is healthy to stay there too long. Rather, I would love to see more people go that path so that we could all take turns in fighting the front lines of the earth. Our activism needs to be as sustainable as the world we are trying to create."

As well as spending time in nature one of my main joys and ways of sustaining my activism is by getting creative and using Craftivism. Wikipedia defines Craftivism as:

"... a form of activism... that is centred on practices of craft - or what has traditionally been referred to as "domestic arts". Craftivism includes but is not limited to, various forms of needlework including yarn-bombing or cross-stitch. Craftivism is a social process of collective empowerment, action, expression and negotiation. In craftivism, engaging in the social and critical discourse around the work is central to its production and dissemination."

I find Craftivism a particularly effective tool in my activism. Craftivism requires you to slow down... Sarah Corbett (the founder of the Craftivist Collective) talks about gentle protest as a way to mindfully engage with an issue, create a deeper understanding, visualise a brighter future and create a work that will engage and portray 'the message' in the most effective way.

There is a fine line between art activism and craftivism. I've been lucky that my local community have engaged with my creative communications, whether that be by using craft in my role as Parish Councillor/Parish Nature Warden or in the wider Devon Wildland Initiative.

I tend to use needlecraft and woodcraft in my projects as well as recycled materials which can in themselves tell a story. My favourite craft is Pyrography where wielding a pen that is heated to 400-550 degrees C requires me to really 'be in the moment', as well as having an intimate observation of the grain of the wood and how the species of tree, really influences the process and the finished result. The process of reflection and creation is now something I'm hoping to use in my academic studies where the process is becoming as important as the end result.

Here are some examples of the use of craft in my activism and communications in the last couple of years.

Ghost Hedgehogs

Inspired by a project in Dorset, every hedgehog killed on the parish's roads was marked using a Ghost Hedgehog. The wood was reused from a previous building project. The Ghost Hedgehogs really created a conversation about how our hedgehogs are in decline and how people can help them. It also alarmed people about the sheer number of hedgehogs killed in one 'season'.

As well as placing a Ghost Hedgehog, each casualty was logged on the Big Hedgehog Map.

I have to admit I was beginning to get a bit depressed at the prospect of making yet another Ghost Hedgehog, but it was a really fascinating way of logging where the hedgehogs were crossing.

People have started noticing the plight of the parish hedgehogs and together with the Ghost Hedgehog campaign as well as articles in the local parish news, Facebook and newsletters residents are taking action to help this beloved species.

Hedgehog Highways

Using the template for the Ghost Hedgehogs I decided to make some Hedgehog Highway holes. The hole needed to be a minimum 13cm x 13cm As you can see 5 Hedgehog Highway holes initially went out (followed by several more) which helped create space for hedgehogs to move through the local village. This was a much more uplifting project!

Monsty- The Monster Drink Can Monster

Doing litter picks throughout the parish it became very obvious that Monster Drink cans were a particular problem, with 76 being collected in just 2 months. I decided to save a few and make the Monster Drink Can Monster which one of the local kids named 'Monsty'. I was particularly keen for people to start noticing litter and as a rural parish with a very fast B-road litter picking is pretty hazardous! But thanks to Stella (see below) and our local residents picking up litter near their properties, the culprit has seemingly got the message and litter has reduced (for the moment, at least)!

Stella- The Beer Can Fairy

Milk Shed Nature Signs

Butterflies

Amphibians and Reptiles

Hedgehogs

Owls

Bees

School Sensory Garden

A space at the local school was revamped and a sensory garden was created for the children to use as an outside space for learning and a place to relax for the teachers. The theme was based on the book 'A Song of Gladness' by Michael Morpurpgo and Emily Gravett which reflects on the Covid19 pandemic and how a greater connection to nature can foster new hope for a brighter future. The wildlife-friendly planting was inspired by advice from the RHS, Thrive and the Sensory Trust who also had a great resource of signage. As Monsty had become a bit of a local celebrity one of the teachers asked me to co-create a new 'Rubbish Pupil' with the children and they were encouraged to bring in some plastic bottles and together with an old hanging basket and some bubble wrap; Violet the Rubbish Pupil was born. Spending time with the children and talking about the need to take action to reduce litter and connect to nature was really good fun and rewarding.

A slice of a wind-blown birch tree was pyrographed with the Ego/Eco diagrams. I use this piece in my nature connection sessions.

Hopefully, by sharing these examples, others might be inspired to use creative methods.

Further information:

Paperback Edition: How To Be A Craftivist: the art of gentle protest - Craftivist Collective (craftivist-collective.com)