HSS presents: A Rewilding Journey!

To mark the 150th anniversary of Halifax Scientific Society - Natural History Group, we present an exciting opportunity to hear three captivating perspectives on rewilding from our guest speakers:

Peter Cairns, Executive Director of rewilding charity SCOTLAND: The Big Picture, with a visually stunning presentation that takes us on a fascinating and thought-provoking journey. Peter talks about the vision to create a vast network of rewilded land and water across Scotland, where wildlife flourishes and people thrive.

It wasn’t so long ago that vibrant, wild forest stretched across much of Scotland. Beavers and cranes were at home in extensive wetlands. Salmon and trout filled the rivers. Lynx, wolf and wild boar stalked wooded glades. Today, although it’s easy to be seduced by the raw beauty of the landscape, Scotland has become one of the most ecologically depleted nations on Earth. Our large carnivores are all gone, our soils have become impoverished and across millions of acres, a bare, denuded landscape supports very little life.

It doesn’t have to be this way. A bold vision for the future is slowly emerging where native woodlands regenerate at a landscape scale; where damaged peatlands are restored; where rivers run freely and where oceans are full of life. This is the vision of a wilder Scotland.

SCOTLAND: A Rewilding Journey showcases the country’s beauty and drama, but also poses an intriguing question: What should Scotland look like?

To find out more visit https://www.scotlandbigpicture.com/

Lucy Jones, Journalist and Author of Losing Eden: Why our Minds need the Wild:

Presented by Lucy Jones, acclaimed author and journalist, a fascinating exploration into our deep connection with nature. Do we need the wild to be happy?

For centuries, we have acted on an intuitive sense that we need communion with the wild to feel well. Now, in the moment of our great migration away from the rest of nature, more and more scientific evidence is emerging to confirm its place at the heart of our psychological wellbeing. So what happens, as we lose our bond with the natural world? Might we also be losing part of ourselves?

Lucy takes us on an enthralling journey through this new research, to the cutting edge of human biology, neuroscience and psychology, and discovers new ways of understanding our increasingly dysfunctional relationship with the earth.

An urgent and uplifting rallying cry for a wilder way of life – for finding asylum in the soil and joy in the trees – which might just help us to save the living planet, as well as ourselves.

To find out more visit https://lucyfjones.com/

Our third guest speaker is from The Yorkshire Rewilding Network, who want to bring Rewilding to the forefront in Yorkshire by connecting like-minded people across the region. Whether you’re actively rewilding or learning about it for the first time, this network is a place to share ideas and experiences, find out about projects near you, learn more about ways that you can get involved and be inspired to take action.

The charity is establishing a national rewilding network and information hub. We are working closely with them to expand support for rewilding at a more local level to create a more diverse and balanced community of plants, animals and humans across the nation.

People are crucial to this. Rewilding embraces everyone’s connection to the land – whether you live, work in, or visit Yorkshire’s varied beautiful landscapes, we want you to experience a rich diversity of natural life that brings health, cultural and economic benefits to all.

Learn more at https://www.yorkshirerewildingnetwork.org.uk/

Event Venue & Nearby Stays

Square Chapel Arts Centre, Square Road, Halifax, UK, United Kingdom