Talks and Presentations

  • Make Mine a Moritorium

    As I noted a few days ago, I went to listen to an I-SEE seminar by Richard Denniss.  It was an enjoyable event, delivered with some style, although I thought that we were reminded once too often that Australia was a continent....

  • Natural Disconnections in Plymouth

    This is my second post about the Natural Connections event in Plymouth last week.  As I noted on Thursday morning, I set off for the meeting with a heavy heart, as the format of the programme suggested they'd learned nothing about organising a...

  • Our green desert

    This was the phrase used by Simon King in his compelling and engaging, but unsettling, talk at the Bruton Eco-school roadshow the other week.  He was referring as much to Somerset as to England more widely, comparing the here and...

  • Living in an Uncertain World

    This was the title of last Tuesday night's I-SEE lecture by Richard Pancost, Director of the University of Bristol's Cabot Institute. His seminar abstract was that: "Our future Uncertain World (sic) is not one of which we have no knowledge – we have...

  • What Jonathon Porritt didn't say at UWE

    I've just watched JP's recent lecture at the University of the West of England (Bristol) UWE – you can access it via this NAEE blog post.  Whilst what he said was of interest, especially the sooth-saying element of his talk:...

  • Alternative pedagogy in the East End

    I have written a few posts now (see this, this and this) about Natural England's recent Near and Far conference.  It obviously made quite an impression on me – not wholly positive it has to be said.  I have been asked,...

  • At last, some real outdoor learning

    Friday and Saturday morning found me in (two different) Wiltshire fields under ephemeral cirrus cloud, amid bird noise and warmed by a strong breeze.  I was with about 40 other people on each occasion at [i] the launch of Wiltshire Wildlife Trust's Wild Connections...

  • The best bit of near 'n' far

    For me, the best bit of the Far 'n' Near conference was the presentation by Matt Stevenson on Attention Restoration Theory.  This was an afternoon session on methodology, and the three other talks were all almost as good. I enjoyed the talks...

  • It may be near 'n' far – but what is 'outdoor learning'?

    I can't remember whether I asked the question of myself during the recent near 'n' far conference presentation by the team from Natural Connections, or whether they asked it themselves.  Sadly, my notes are rather unconnected on that point.  It's a good...

  • That little tent of blue

    I never saw a man who looked With such a wistful eye Upon that little tent of blue Which prisoners call the sky, And at every drifting cloud that went With sails of silver by. In his introductory remarks to...