Who’s at the table? Priorities after a year of food justice dialogue
Defining ‘Food Justice’ is not easy. When it comes to ‘fairness’ and ‘equality’ in relation to our food system, should we be concerned with questions of individual citizens’ access to sustainable sources of subsistence, or issues of production, labour and the practices of agri-business? Do people have clear rights to food? And should such rights…Continue reading→
New Director for the Brigstow Institute
We are delighted to announce that Professor Debbie Watson has been appointed as the new Director of the University of Bristol’s Brigstow Institute! Debbie will take over the role from Professor Tim Cole from August 2022 but will work in a limited capacity alongside him and the Brigstow team until then to ensure continuity. She will continue to lead the…Continue reading→
Why we need new stories of everyday climate action
Whilst awareness of climate and ecological crises has increased, many are still unsure how they fit into the wider pattern of policy to address it. The question that many ask is ‘what can I do?’. Answering this question is tricky and for a number of reasons. The first is systemic. Thinking in terms of individual…Continue reading→
Telling the story of temperature
What is the most extreme temperature you have experienced? Take your time and have a moment to think about it. What was happening that day? Where were you? Which of your senses feature in the memory? Do any emotions come back to you? While you’re thinking about it, I’ll tell you a little bit about…Continue reading→
Creating hospitable environments – growth on the (de)Bordering plots
Over the past six months, we’ve been working on (de)Bordering, a project exploring the languages of environmentalism and migration. It is a project quite unlike any we’ve done before! As the artists in the project, we’ve been collaborating with academics and having conversations with students, gardeners and third sector organisations to explore what it means to…Continue reading→
Routes
Field recording of the barn swallow, a bird that spends most of its time on the wing. Swallows are widespread breeding birds in the Northern Hemisphere, migrating south in winter. Recording made by Carl Weismann and held in the British Library.
Border
In a conversation recorded at the plot in summer 2021, Tim Cole, Professor of History, and Peter Watts, Gardener at Royal Fort Gardens, talk about change, borders, movements of people, plants and soil, and languages of plants and race.
Family
In a conversation recorded at the plot in summer 2021, Katharine Charsley, Professor of Migration Studies, and Savita Wilmott, CEO The Natural History Consortium , talk about the COVID-19 pandemic, about the visibility of family separation and environmental narratives about people visiting nature and nature visiting people.
Hospitable
Artist Charli Clark talks about the creation of the (de)Bordering plots, and the development of the multispecies planting design and habitat creation.
Invasive
‘Invasive Others: Plants? People? Pathogens?’ Video conversation between Dr Miriam Ticktin from The New School for Social Research and Professor Bridget Anderson, Director of Migration Mobilities Bristol.