Nature restoration past and present: changing attitudes to the natural world

This proposed project is critically important within the context of the urgent need for public engagement with issues of climate change, biodiversity loss and the management of our environment for future generations. Its central aim is to draw on the unique resources cited here, including creative and scientific specialists and remarkable collections, to generate new knowledge though an innovative art and science methodology that will educate and inspire. Situated in rural West Wales, the location creates unique conditions for this study; an environment where economic imperatives of farming and use of natural resources, together with cultural ideas such as ‘landscape’, have co-existed for centuries. Focussing on the historic landscapes of the Tywi Valley, the herbarium, archive and library collections at the National Botanic Garden Wales, together with document archives at the National Library of Wales and paintings at Amgueddfa Cymru, the project will investigate how societal attitudes to nature and landscapes have changed over the last several centuries in Wales, leading up to the current concerns regarding the climate and biodiversity crises. By documenting and representing the changing ways in which people have valued this natural environment, the intention is to enhance understanding and appreciation of current species decline, landscape depletion and the urgent need to restore nature for the benefit of all. Changing perspectives on the natural environment evident from natural history collections and landscapes history will enable diverse and new audiences to reflect on the critical importance of biodiversity and our relationships with the environment