We are just getting started on the Residency and are looking forward to considering the nature of the Dark Skies Park and Biosphere, their impact and the potential role of artists.
We will be investigating the designation and meaning of place and in relation to the Dark Skies Park, exploring our relationship with the night sky and looking at how developments in astronomy and cosmology relate to identity and heritage. Within the Biosphere we'll be looking at the history of the area and the spiritual and emotional connections to place. We'll also be considering water - the Biosphere has used the area served by the same water courses, to delineate its boundaries.
We've been spending the first part of the residency meeting key people involved with the Galloway Forest Dark Skies Park and Galloway and Southern Ayrshire Biosphere. We're trying to build an understanding of the background to the designation of these areas and their aims, as well as starting on a period of research.
For more info see:
www.forestry.gov.uk/darkskygalloway
www.gallowayandsouthernayrshirebiosphere.org.uk
Both places cover very similar areas and we'll be spending time exploring!
Galloway Dark Skies Park - Rhinns of Kells area in
centre
Biosphere - Core areas in Red - surrounded by Buffer Zone in green and a transitional zone delineated by the hatched area
Hi Jo, nice to meet you and Robbie today in Castle Douglas library. The Dark Skies / Biosphere project sounds fascinating. I will be very happy to help out with any background research.
ReplyDeleteAlistair
Thanks for your help, I'm enjoying delving into the ancient history of Galloway and how people may have connected with the night sky thousands of years ago. Best wishes, Jo
ReplyDeleteHi Jo and Robbie - looking at the maps of the dark Skies and Bio-sphere areas, there is a strong link between geology and historic/ recent human settlement. Between the Rhinns of Kells and the Merrick range / rivers Deugh, Ken and Dee in the east and the Cree and Minnoch in the west- there are very few farms or settlements and never have been. The key factor seems to be the granite area of the Dungeon range which was unsuitable for any kind of farming in the past or forestry today. So apart from three or four shepherds cottages (eg Backhill of the Bush and High and Low Cornarroch)there have never been enough people living there to affect the environment in the past or to light up the sky in the present.
ReplyDeleteIt was also the area where the ice was thickest in the last ice-age -about 1 mile deep over loch Doon so any soil which was not scraped away was compressed - a problem which still affects forestry since trees can't get deeply rooted. Geology also creates a contrast between the area around Dalmellington where coal is still mined (open cast) and the Carsphairn where there is no coal (although there was a brief flurry of lead mining in mid-nineteenth century.)
Alistair
Hi Alistair,
ReplyDeleteThats really useful background info and helps to make sense of the lack of settlements in these areas.
As the Biosphere delineation is based on the area served by the water courses from the central hills, I have been looking at historical uses of these rivers. It seems that the mesolithic people ( 6-8000 years ago) apparently used the river valleys as pathways when searching for deer, bear, wolf etc. As the hillsides were covered with trees, the valleys were the easiest way to move around. I have just started reading 'Galloway, a Land Apart' by Andrew McCulloch , which you recommended, which is fantastic.
Thanks so much for your help so far , I'm sure we'll need to pick your brains further as the residency progresses
Best wishes
Jo
Hi Jo- do you know Mary-Ann Smyth? She is a community rep on the Biosphere Reserve board and s Director of the Carbon Centre at the Crichton/Dumfries. If you are not in touch already, she would be a really useful person to help with your research -she has done a lot of work (is expert on) on the relationship between geology/geography in Galloway/ Southern Uplands and the ecology/environment.
ReplyDeleteI have sent her an e-mail about your research.
Alistair
Hi Alistair,
ReplyDeleteShe sounds like a really good contact.
Thanks for your help - keep in touch via the e mail on our contact page or via comments.
Best wishes
Jo