Back in October we were delighted to welcome early career naturalists to explore treasures from the North East Nature Archive.
The 1829 Forum is NHSN’s group for aspiring naturalists – students, postgraduates, and all hoping to make a career, or develop a lifelong passion, in the natural sciences. They are often called on to take part in our programme of short ‘1829 Talks’, which take place between 6.29pm (geddit?) and 6.45pm before our main Monday night talks: past talks have featured early-career academics and students from Newcastle, Northumbria and Durham universities, and covered subjects such as pearl mussel beds in Northumberland, camera trapping in Borneo, and Galápagos giant tortoise.
At their most recent meeting, the 1829 Forumers were treated to a tour of some of the most striking things in the archive – items ranging from a sixteenth-century herbal through to twenty-first-century zines about urban wildlife made by young North-east women, by way of original Thomas Bewick woodcuts and a giant oarfish caught off Cullercoats in 1849. Afterwards, they sat down to reflect on what motivates them to study nature, what it’s given them, and what it means to engage intimately with the natural world.
One of the first times I was truly fascinated by invertebrates was watching a wasp in 2018 (later identified as a square-headed digger wasp) digging a nest in a soft birch log. It was in my backyard and spending after a few days fascinated by the excavations I was then able to watch it hunt flies to stock its new nest. The wasps would then emerge every following July.
Fabian Byron
The word ‘Nature’ used to make me think of sprawling scapes of colour, exotic-sounding names of animals in faraway lands and plants that almost seemed sentient. As an avid David Attenborough watcher from a young age I would sit almost eye-to-eye with the television screen, lip-syncing along to box sets I would rent from my city library. This flooded my thoughts with a sense of responsibility too, against the changing tides of species lost, against the current mass extinction, panic at the thought of losing these paradises that I hoped to one day voyage across. The Amazon Rainforest. The Kingdom of Kerala. My age-old dream of battling the Drake Passage to Antarctica. I always associated nature as something far away, either those well-documented havens or, more locally, the rolling hills of the English patchwork countryside. It was only when the urban world fell silent in 2020, walking, looking up and taking a break from the screen-fatigued eyesores we grew to resent, breathing in clear unpolluted air, did I consider local ecology as fascinating. Bit by bit Earth healed from our harshness and the search for greenery began, from bringing in and cultivating houseplants to gaining an appreciation for wild spaces – landscapes that may have looked the same as centuries ago. The untouched, the untarnished and fashion for all the living. Now it extends to appreciating the wildflowers growing in between cracks, the bees and pollinators colonising our planet, and the songs of the birds, a variety heard not seen.
Peri Balu
One of my first memories in nature was going to my local park with my dad. I must have been 4 or 5 years old. We would feed the ducks, look at the horses near the railway, and lie on the grass.
Ellesse Janda
As I got older, about to enter my second year of art college, I decided my heart lay somewhere else. I started a new course studying animal management, which progressed into zookeeping, then to international conservation and finally to UK conservation.
My whole life, nature has served as home. A place where I feel comfort, happiness and meaning to life. My journey with nature has led me from the West Midlands to the mountains of Eastern Europe, the plains of Africa, the rainforests of Madagascar, and now the breathtaking scenes of the North Aast. A place where nature truly makes me feel ‘home’.
Although I have always loved animals (thank you David Attenborough!) I discovered a much deeper connection with plants and fungi through foraging, particularly during lockdown. I discovered I loved keying through ID guides and putting a name to species, I loved the process of collection, preparation, cooking and being nourished by the nature in my local area. It also helps me feel a connection to previous generations, especially women, and I feel a slight feminist call to arms in doing activities like this and having connections to nature like this that may have gotten me burnt at the stake in times gone by! Although I rarely forage these days, I still love the sights, smell, feel and sound of plants and fungi and am so grateful to work in the sector and protect it for future generations.
Ellie Davison
I remember as a young girl going on a trip with my grandparents, who were both huge nature lovers, to Holy Island. We walked around for a good few hours, my grandad pointing out all the different species of birds to us. Of course I was only little and couldn’t remember any of the names, and when I told my dad afterwards he whispered, “they’re all the most abundant species of bird… the LBJ!” I had no idea what this meant but happily walked around for years pointing out “LBJs” to people. Little did I know that it meant ‘Little Brown Job’, because of course my dad had absolutely no idea either. To this day, when I need a breather or to clear my mind, I head to the nearby fields and sit and watch for the LBJs. Of course I now have a much better understanding of what’s what, but they will always be LBJs to me.
Shannon Goldberg
My granny always likes to tell me the story that the reason I’m interested in nature is that she used to carry me around her garden and tell me what the different plants were. I have no memory of this but apparently I would keep on asking ‘what’s that?’. I often find myself now unable to walk past an interesting looking flower without trying to work out what it is.
Isis Nicolson
Through the past few years of working at a desk staring at a computer all day long, being able to get out into Northumberland (usually volunteering at Northumberland Wildlife Trust) once a week or so has felt like it’s kept me sane. There’s something about spending time outside no matter the weather that always makes me feel better.
Nature has always been a place of refuge for me. In times I have been stressed, simply taking myself out myself out on a walk, no matter how urban and how much concrete is around, the sound of a blackbird singing, the sight of buddleia in full bloom helps to ground me. Nature has weaved its way into most, if not all, corners of my life: professionally, academically, socially. I have made friends from bat groups, bird ranging activities, university nature and field trips. We may have different hobbies and backgrounds but our love of the natural world connects the friendship. I am now pursuing a PhD in ecological restoration of post-industrial sites and am fascinated by imagining how much the landscape has changed – what species have come and gone and which persist despite, or even, because of the industrial past. Whether moving to a new city or travelling abroad, noticing a species I recognise brings me comfort and a sense of interconnectedness with the natural world.
Rosie McCallum
My parents took me on holiday to the Lake District for a weekend and it had a massive impact on me, I just remember beaming the whole time. We did one hike up Castle Crag and along to High Spy. I just wanted to keep going and eventually we had to stop because my dad’s legs were giving up on him. It felt so freeing to be above everything and in such a beautiful place. I had gone hiking and camping before but this time impacted me differently. I had been having a difficult time with my mental health and it felt like my eyes had opened up. Now when I go back to the Lake District it feels bitter sweet because I notice the decline of wildlife and ancient forest, but I will always be grateful to the Lake District. As a kid, I could never be made to sit still and focus on one thing. I had trouble in school but I always found peace in nature. For me the beautiful and impressive nature hotspots are great but local nature has been more important to me as something that us accessible in my day-to-day life. When I was choosing what to do for my degree I was entering my house and saw a ladybird on the door and knew what i wanted to do.
Isobel Oliver
Do you have a story to share about how your relationship with nature has helped you? We’d love to hear from you! Submit your story here: Share Your Story About Nature’s Cure in Time of Need – Natural History Society of Northumbria
