"Look at it this way"

  " Everything is held together with stories. That is all that is holding us together, stories and compassion." Barry Lopez I heard yesterday evening via  Robert MacFarlane  that the author  Barry Lopez had died on Christmas Day at his house in Oregon: somewhere he and his wife were renting after the house he had lived in for decades had been affected by wildfires earlier in the year, which had also tragically destroyed a building containing an archive of his writing and documents. Barry Lopez passed away yesterday evening, making his last great journey. His work –– graceful, meticulous, ethical, compassionate, from Arctic Dreams to Common Ground to Horizon & far beyond –– shaped & will go on to shape countless lives, hearts & landscapes... 1/9 pic.twitter.com/SgvTZS9v0N — Robert Macfarlane (@RobGMacfarlane) December 26, 2020 I have blogged about Barry's writing numerous times here, and on my other blogs. I bought his 'Arctic Dreams ' book back in e

  I am currently putting together an updated unit on the Fenland landscape. Elements of this will be used in 2021. This image here is of the 'famous' leaning tree in Ely which I've photographed many times over the years. The Fens Biosphere project has received funding to support its work and has a new website. It aims to have the Fens declared as a biosphere. A Biosphere is a special status awarded by UNESCO to a unique and valuable landscape. Biospheres connect people, economies and nature to create a secure future we can all look forward to. They are about developing new ways of living, exploring new ideas and working together. The key characteristics of the area are suggested below: The geographical boundaries of the Fens Biosphere have been built around the following key aspects of this landscape: The peat soils, the ‘black gold’ of the Fens. Within the proposed boundary the dominant soil type is peat, intermixed with silt soils. Peat has become a scarce resource du

South Georgia at risk...  I've been following this story for the last few months. The huge iceberg called A68a which broke off the Larsen C Ice Shelf in 2017 has been drifting northwards since then.  It is now being pushed by the Antarctic circumpolar current and is on a collision course with South Georgia. This would cause environmental catastrophe for the ecosystems, including a massive penguin colony and other activities including scientific work. A68a now sliding into view on the edge of latest @CopernicusEU Sentinel-1 image (11 Dec 2020). Zoom into the detail at https://t.co/pFjLIgehvt . @BAS_News pic.twitter.com/ZDjqh8yWlb — polarview (@polarview) December 12, 2020 Full details are here in this excellent Reuters Graphic website  resource , which includes some great images naturally. Notice the inclusion of Manhattan for scale on the image above. This is not going to be pushed out of the way... If the berg lodges at the island’s flank, it could remain a fixture for up to 10