Seminar series

Background

To date there has only been a very loosely knit community of academics and professionals working in the field of wilderness and wild land recreation/conservation within the UK. Very few conferences and seminars have been organised on this specific issue while at many other events, wilderness and wild land conservation and management have been tangential issues. Despite this, the subject often creates strong discussion among interested people.

The loose nature of this group of interested individuals and organisations is mainly a result of the long history of human settlement and well developed nature of the British landscape, coupled with a lack of any significant areas of truly wild land. However, recent years have seen a rise in interest in all things 'wild' including the realisation that Britain does, at least in the European context, retain some important wild areas, especially in the Scottish Highlands and other mountain areas. Conservation bodies, planning authorities, user groups and academics are beginning to realise the importance of these environments as an ecological and recreational resource; witness the rising trends in outdoor recreation and membership of conservation groups such as the RSPB and NT, and increasing visitor numbers to national parks.

The idea of wilderness in Britain is only just starting to influence policy decisions regarding the management of designated conservation areas. The proposed Scottish National Parks Act and calls for the 're-wilding' of national parks in England and Wales in the wake of declining upland farming are just two examples. The current ESRC funded research seminar series aims to address the lack of a specific forum for discourse, and co-ordinate academic, professional and user input to policy.

Postscript
Although the seminar series has now officially ended, the overarching aim to address the range of issues pertaining to the "wilderness" concept in Britain remains firmly on the agenda. Many of the participants in the seminar series and conference are keen to take the work of the series forward. It is hoped that the seminar series itself has provided a foundation for furthering the discussion and may continue to act as a focus after formal funded proceedings have drawn to a close. Steve Carver, April 2001

Aims and objectives

This research seminar series aimed to bring together a critical mass of academics, professionals and users who share a common interest in wilderness, and the wilder areas of Britain in particular. The focus of the seminar series was on investigating the social and environmental perspectives of the wilderness ideal within the British Isles, with emphasis on generating policy recommendations for recreation and conservation. The objectives of the seminar series were as follows:

Provide a forum for the presentation and discussion of ideas relating to social, cultural and environmental perspectives on 'Wilderness Britain';
Pool a broad knowledge base pertaining to the role of the 'wild' in recreation and conservation;
Seek expert opinions and input from other countries with a long history of wilderness preservation and management (e.g. USA) and from those recently adopting wilderness as a designated land use (e.g. Italy and Finland);
Examine the social causes behind the recent upsurge in popularity of outdoor recreation in Britain and identify the social and environmental implications for wild land;
Foster discourse and collaboration between the academic community and professional bodies and user organisations on the subject of wild land management; and
To use the seminar forum to formulate general policy recommendations and specific recommendations regarding recent proposals for a Scottish National Parks Act and re-wilding of existing national parks in England and Wales.

Seminar programme

Seven quarterly research seminars were held at venues around the country starting in May 1999, followed by a conference in March 2001. The programme was as follows:

1. Wilderness Britain? (30th June 1999)
2. Social and cultural histories of wild Britain (16th September 1999)
3. Wild land ecology and habitat conservation (20th-21st January 2000)
4. Mapping the wild: spatial patterns and landscape character (27-28th May 2000)
5. Media wildscapes: popular representations of nature and the wild (26th October 2000)
6. The call of the wild: social and environmental perspectives on outdoor recreation (25th January 2001)
7. Policy and management: protecting Britain's wild land (26-28th March 2001)
8. Wilderness Britain: society, policy and environment (26-28th March 2001)

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