FORTHCOMING EVENTS
7th June 2011: The Government has published it's response to the Lawton Report on "Making Space for Nature" (http://archive.defra.gov.uk/environment/biodiversity/documents/201009space-for-nature.pdf). The White Paper (http://www.defra.gov.uk/environment/natural/whitepaper/) "The Natural Choice: securing the value of nature" supports Prof Lawton's recommendation for setting up a series of 12 Ecological Restoration Zones through establishing a series of Nature Improvement Areas (NIAs) to explore the opportunities for restoring and connecting nature on a significant scale with £7.5million of funding.
Michael Markieta (Ryerston University International Work Experience Scholarship student, Canada) is visitng WRi for 6 weeks (May-June 2011) to work on identifying possible GIS solutions to the developing wind farm-wild land conflicts in Scotland.
Jin Su Jeong (PhD student, Extremadura, Spain) is visitng WRi and CSAP for 3 months (June-August 2011) working on webGIS-enabled approaches to the location and design of rural buildings integrating spatial information and stakeholder knowledge with participatory mapping and environmental assessment.
Early August 2011: On the Wild Side - applying the lessons of wildness assessment in Scotland, Sharing Good Practice event, SNH Battleby Centre, near Perth
SNH published its Wildness in Scotland's Countryside policy statement in 2002. Since then, a number of studies of wildness and wild land have been prepared and assessments of impacts on wild land undertaken. This event will bring together a wide range of stakeholders to review the methodologies, effectiveness and use of this work, and to share experience and lessons learnt.
http://www.snh.gov.uk/news-and-events/events/event-details/?id=606
PAST EVENTS
13 - 14th May 2010, Scotland's Wild Landscapes - New Ways Forward. SNH Battleby Centre, near Perth.
A conference and discussion forum organised by the Centre for Mountain Studies, Perth College UHI, in collaboration with Leeds University (Wild Land Research Institute), Lochaber College UHI, the Scottish Wild Land Group (SWLG), Scottish Natural Heritage, the Cairngorms National Park Authority and
The John Muir Trust. http://www.wildlands.info/
Wednesday 25 November: School of Geography Seminar Series
The Wildland Research Institute: Kick Starting Wilderness Research at Leeds
Steve Carver, (School of Geography, UoL)
4pm Geography Lecture Theatre
Wednesday 21 October
Wildland Research Institute: Setting the Agenda 2010-2020
Charles Thackrah Building, Clarendon Road, University of Leeds
Summary of Events [PDF]
The Future Looks Wild - WRI makes it onto the front page of the October issue of the Reporter, the staff newsletter of the University of Leeds. See http://reporter.leeds.ac.uk/544/s1.htm
Steve Carver recently attended the EU/WildEurope conference on “Wilderness and Large Natural Habitat Areas in Europe” held in Prague on 27-28th May 2009 where he presented a keynote speech on “Where is wild? Definition, pattern and opportunity in Europe”.
The WRi is currently undertaking mapping work for the John Muir Trust to develop a reconnaissance level map of wildland in Scotland for planning and policy purposes.
Steve Carver is a member of a 10 strong group of motorcyclists planning to ride from the USA border to the Wild9 conference in Merida, Yucatan, Mexico, a distance of over 2500 miles, to promote sustainable transport.
WRi has secured funding from the World Universities Network (WUN) to set up an International Wilderness Research Network (iWRN) focusing on the application of spatial information technologies to key challenges in wilderness and wildland research.
