In 2021, researchers from ISWE were pleased to contribute towards a NERC-funded ‘Discipline Hopping’ project, led by Marine Ecologist, Dr. Alec Moore.
The project brought together academics from all parts of Bangor University, together with colleagues from the University Archives, for a series of knowledge exchange workshops considering how archival sources and historical practice can contribute towards environmental solutions, in the current context of climate crisis and biodiversity loss.
The workshops engendered an appreciation that understandings of past environmental conditions and change are key to making informed interventions in the present and future. The interdisciplinary connections established a framework at Bangor for collaborative practice in the sphere of environmental history and historical ecology – expanding knowledge and decision-making thought processes across broader historical timeframes and perspectives. The project team were especially interested in applying this model to trees and woodlands, fish populations and land management.
The project has provided a foundation for several follow-on initiatives and grant applications.