Nature as an Inspiration
As many of you know, I am a massive fan of SpringWatch (and Autumn and Winter Watch!) and luckily for everyone, WinterWatch began again this week and has given me some food for thought while I’ve been unwell.
In a section of episode four, Martin Hughes-Games linked into a short piece of footage captured by one of their wildlife photographers, Sophie Darlington. The footage that was then played could have been a short film as not only was it her footage that she captured, but her friends brought out the ‘lyric’ of the landscape.
The film was beautiful, filming the variety of birds within the landscape of sedgemoor alongside everything else that was going on in the moor too, including the the rivers, the grass and even a train. I really loved the concept of adding the train and discussing it within the lyric as just another modern part of the moor. It wasn’t described as good or bad. It was just there. Everything that was filmed was just there too, not just the train. Everything lived side by side in the moor and that was captured beautifully by film and lyric.
Once the film finished, we were taken back to Micheala Stratton and Martin to discuss the nations favourite nature book. Michaela began the link by discussing how Nature has a brilliant way of inspiring almost everybody, in whatever creative path they take. She spoke about her own experiences with dance, while Martin spoke about books.
I thought more about the research I did for me presentation, and about humanities relationship with nature and the environment. Although in most instances ‘nature must be read humanly to be read at all’, that is not always negative. The film that we were shown and the nature book - the winning one by presenter Chris Packham, told us personal stories about relationships with nature. Chris Packham has asperges, and his book Fingers in the Sparkle Jar was inspired by his film Asperges and Me, telling the story of his childhood and ongoing relationship with nature and how much it has helped him.
Here it is clear that nature is being read humanly, but that is only because that is the only way that humans can interpret nature, through what we have experienced ourselves. Obviously there are mixed opinions and ongoing studies, but I think it is a very interesting concept to look at the love of wildlife and how it can inspire, and further to that, incite a change in humanities behaviour towards nature and how we can read nature, but also how we can then also make a difference.