Category: Islands (Page 3 of 5)

Weatherland II – epic Falkland skies

December 28, 2016 / k8sherren

Sky over Goose Green, enroute to the workboat, November, 2016.

When Alexandra Harris describes, in Weatherland, the slow introduction of real skies in English paintings, leading up to the cloud obsession of Constable in 1821-22, I cannot help but think of the Falkland Islands. My first trip I spent looking at the landscape, at large scales and small. This time, I was captivated by skies. As any visitor to the prairies knows, a lack of trees makes for big skies. But nothing is quite like the skies of the Falklands. No filters needed, or photographic skill. (It was hard to choose road trip music to suit such majesty, but I settled on London Grammar’s 2013 If You Wait.) The experience begged the question of where ‘landscape’ – my chosen research topic – ends: these skies are likely as fundamental to local identity as terrestrial (or marine) properties. A small sample of my pictures follows, in which land plays a very minor role indeed.

Epic skies over West Falkland, November, 2016.

Epic skies over burnt farmland in the north of West Falkland, November, 2016.

Entering Port Howard at dusk, the view from the Concordia Bay workboat.

Sunset over Stanley Harbour, East Falkland, November 2016, with the wreck of the Jhelum (1870) to the right.

Lenticular clouds, North Camp, East Falkland, November 2016.

All kinds of weather brewing at Cape Pembroke, near Stanley, East Falkland, November 2016.

Back from the Falklands

December 8, 2016 / k8sherren

Late afternoon sun picks out a river course on West Falkland.

I am now back from my 3+ week immersion into the farming culture of the Falkland Islands, with 700 photos, 30 hours of interviews, 20 pages of observational notes, and a strong sense of my inadequacies as a specialist within a land of self-reliant generalists. Despite coming at the busiest time in the farming calendar – shearing and lamb marking – farmers were incredibly generous in their willingness to talk, and sometimes tour and host as well. My research assistant, Marilou Delignieres, went far beyond her role as recruiter, guide and driver, happily engaging in farm work and babysitting to help me get time with farmers. Her parents, Hugues and Marie-Paul, helped us with logistics, but also provided additional opportunities during my visit. I relished my discussions with members of a contract shearing gang then working at their farm Dunbar, and got to experience a cruise ship visit, one of the ways that many farmers here diversify their incomes and benefit from hosting penguin colonies and other wildlife. I travelled by 4×4, workboat (ferry) and Islander aircraft. I marveled at all scales: skies to ground cover. These memories will sustain me through the difficult transcription phase which follows such research, and support my subsequent analysis. Thanks to the OECD Co-operative Research Programme and Dalhousie’s Supplemental Sabbatical Fund for the fellowship funding to undertake this travel, and SSHRC for its support of Marilou.

Marilou throws a fleece in the Dunbar shearing shed, as Alex shears, Polly rousies, and Hugues and Marie-Paul look on, ready to class it.

Cruise ship tourists visiting Gentoo Penguins at Dunbar farm, with Death Head in the background – one of their tricker paddocks to gather sheep in.

Departure day for the Falklands

November 10, 2016 / k8sherren

The long range forecast for the Falklands shows it really is British.

Still a long list of to-do, but later today I depart for a month in the Falkland Islands, a British Overseas Territory near Patagonia, to talk to livestock farmers about their landscape and how they manage it. This is work funded by the OECD Cooperative Research Programme, with additional support from Dalhousie’s Supplemental Sabbatical Leave funding, as well as my SSHRC on sustainable grazing. There is patchy and expensive internet coverage, so I don’t expect to be able to blog often, but I will when I can.

Falkland cultural coastal hotspots

April 27, 2016 / k8sherren

One of the output maps from the cultural values mapping process to inform Marine Spatial Planning in the Falklands (map: Denise Herrera).

The GIS results of the cultural values mapping work in the Falklands are now complete, as discussed recently on the SAERI blog. This participatory audit of cherished places in the Islands was undertaken by Denise Herrera, co-supervised by me and Dr Amelie Auge at SAERI, and will be used in the active Marine Spatial Planning process, demonstrating research impact as well as an opportunity to publish the novel analytical approach used.

Mitacs Globalink interviews and rankings

November 13, 2015 / k8sherren

Thursday and Friday this week I had skype interviews with five upper-year undergraduate candidates for my Mitacs Globalink internship opportunities on Sustainable Landscapes and Seascapes in the Falkland Islands. What a remarkable group of young people! Four Chinese candidates and one from India, all skilled in geomatics and with a wide range of other diverse interests, engaged me in clear English conversation on diverse areas of my scholarship and their own interests. I was very impressed, and the subsequent ranking process was very difficult. I hope they all find a satisfying post under this excellent program. A successful internship also provides them access to funded Masters fellowships in Canada.

Weatherland II – epic Falkland skies

Back from the Falklands

Departure day for the Falklands

Falkland cultural coastal hotspots

Mitacs Globalink interviews and rankings

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