On the record - A short essay on the pollen record of Dartmoor
It's remarkable when science works, it's even more remarkable when the findings are reported in an accessible way. Too often, reports are hidden behind paywalls, and it becomes difficult to know that research has even happened. This leads to out-of-date findings getting more airtime than the newer and up-to-date research. The old findings become folklore, impossible to modernise.
After reading a few popular science (or "pop-sci") pieces on the Forest of Dartmoor, I started to think the history presented was a little too convenient. I became curious and started to dig. Since the oft-quoted report from Ian Simmons in 1964, there are several generations of newer research which describe, with more nuance, the history of trees on Dartmoor. What I found was interesting because of its complexity, but it certainly wasn't convenient or easy for storytelling.
In this short essay, I talk about my experience with palaeoenvironmental reconstruction in the 1990s, give a brief explanation of how this process works, then I provide the highlights of the history of trees on Dartmoor -- and some of the inconsistencies that make Dartmoor incredibly interesting.
The essay is not a formal, scientific summary of the research conducted here. Rather, it's meant to tickle your curiosity, and nudge you into doing more research, not just about the pollen record on Dartmoor, but other topics you might have felt were too "convenient" to be true.
Details
- Handset, letterpress printed chapbook. Handbound with a pamphlet stitch.
- Limited to 100 copies.
- Approximately 2300 words, and including a bibliography.
- Printed on British papers: Five Seasons 90gsm paper (internal). Cover is vintage Barcham Green watercolour paper, hand-dyed with willow ink, foraged on Dartmoor.
- You will receive one copy of the book.
Who's it for?
- Dartmoor history buffs, interested in anything written about Dartmoor and with a very large book collection on the topic.
- Bibliophiles who appreciate handmade things on niche topics.
- People who distrust tidy narratives generally, and perhaps more specifically people already sceptical of rewilding rhetoric. If you've raised an eyebrow at The Wildwood of Britain narrative, this book is for you.
- Walkers and naturalists with an intellectual bent. If you want to know more about the story that's held in the ground you walk on, again, this book is for you.
For those who are interested in the "making of", there is a series of blog posts available from our newsletter. You can read them here.
It's remarkable when science works, it's even more remarkable when the findings are reported in an accessible way. Too often, reports are hidden behind paywalls, and it becomes difficult to know that research has even happened. This leads to out-of-date findings getting more airtime than the newer and up-to-date research. The old findings become folklore, impossible to modernise.
After reading a few popular science (or "pop-sci") pieces on the Forest of Dartmoor, I started to think the history presented was a little too convenient. I became curious and started to dig. Since the oft-quoted report from Ian Simmons in 1964, there are several generations of newer research which describe, with more nuance, the history of trees on Dartmoor. What I found was interesting because of its complexity, but it certainly wasn't convenient or easy for storytelling.
In this short essay, I talk about my experience with palaeoenvironmental reconstruction in the 1990s, give a brief explanation of how this process works, then I provide the highlights of the history of trees on Dartmoor -- and some of the inconsistencies that make Dartmoor incredibly interesting.
The essay is not a formal, scientific summary of the research conducted here. Rather, it's meant to tickle your curiosity, and nudge you into doing more research, not just about the pollen record on Dartmoor, but other topics you might have felt were too "convenient" to be true.
Details
- Handset, letterpress printed chapbook. Handbound with a pamphlet stitch.
- Limited to 100 copies.
- Approximately 2300 words, and including a bibliography.
- Printed on British papers: Five Seasons 90gsm paper (internal). Cover is vintage Barcham Green watercolour paper, hand-dyed with willow ink, foraged on Dartmoor.
- You will receive one copy of the book.
Who's it for?
- Dartmoor history buffs, interested in anything written about Dartmoor and with a very large book collection on the topic.
- Bibliophiles who appreciate handmade things on niche topics.
- People who distrust tidy narratives generally, and perhaps more specifically people already sceptical of rewilding rhetoric. If you've raised an eyebrow at The Wildwood of Britain narrative, this book is for you.
- Walkers and naturalists with an intellectual bent. If you want to know more about the story that's held in the ground you walk on, again, this book is for you.
For those who are interested in the "making of", there is a series of blog posts available from our newsletter. You can read them here.
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