Anticipatory histories of landscape and wildlife

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The network aims to explore how different ways of researching and writing about the past shape our understandings of contemporary environments, and how we envision what might happen to them in the future. In particular, the network proposes to investigate the ways in which experimental accounts of past environmental change can help prepare us for uncertain futures, and become enrolled in processes of mitigation and adaptation. We refer to this as an experiment in anticipatory history.Through a series of workshops, the network will test and develop the concept of 'anticipatory history' and assess its potential contribution to cross-disciplinary research in the histories of environmental change. The network is keenly interested in exploring how such histories might travel outside the academy, and be taken up by people in various contexts. To this end, the network aims to develop working collaborations between academics and practitioners. Participants in the workshops include representatives from organisations such as the Cornwall Wildlife Trust and the National Trust. It is intended that the outcomes of the workshop will make a tangible contribution to management, interpretation and communication around issues of environmental change. This network will achieve its aims by working through two case-studies: landscape and wildlife history. It will do so in the context of the county of Cornwall. Cornwall is a region with a long history of nature study and, as a peninsula and wildlife haven, is particularly susceptible to sudden weather events and to longer term environmental and climatic change. The network will gather together a diverse group of practitioners and academics to advance thinking in the areas of landscape and wildlife change and to explore innovative approaches in the production of environmental histories and futures. Workshops will allow academic researchers and environmental writers to present their research on histories of the environment to organisations who are involved in the management of the environment. These discussions will be organised such that they allow these organisations to learn from and take on board these ideas. In turn, the organisations will be able to discuss with academic specialists the specific issues and challenges they face in their work. These discussions will aim to assist public and other organisations in the development of strategies for the communication of environmental management policies and decisions.The ideas developed in the network will be documented in an original publication, produced in collaboration with the book artist, publisher and writer, Colin Sackett. This publication will experiment with creative forms of presentation and narration to offer a tangible demonstration of the potential for anticipatory histories of changing places and populations. The book will communicate the outcomes of the network, and will be a useful education and communication tool for many of the groups involved in the network and in related fields.