I'd like to propose an exhibition of photos I've taken on conservation weekends with
New Caledonian Woodlands - a conservation charity. It would be for the top stairs.
Below is some text that would go with the pictures. I've linked to a few of the pictures I'd like to use, and written a bit about them. I would also get some leaflets from New Caledonian Woodlands to have around.
I like the frames that the current exhibition has. I have no shortage of photos, so if there are a few more frames around, I could fill them. I can usually get my 30x40cm prints quite cheap, so I wouldn't need any money, though it will take a few weeks for them to be printed and delivered.
Proposal below. Thanks.
Conservation volunteering with New Caledonian WoodlandsRoughly once a month, New Caledonian Woodlands organise a conservation
weekend for volunteers. These weekends take you to some amazing locations,
from community woodlands, where the local people are developing woodlands
for the benefit of the people living round about, to old estates now open to
the public, where the owners want to increase the biodiversity of their land.
The work usually has the twin aims of improving both the quality of the
woodland and the public's access to the woodland. Sometimes we are planting
new trees, using staves and guard tubes to protect them from deer until they
are big enough for the guards to be removed. Sometimes we are working in
young woods. Here, the trees are often very close together and it is
impossible to walk through the wood. We thin the trees, removing the bent
trees and taking off the lower branches, so that the public have access. In
mature woods, we often have to take out invasive species (sycamore, laurel
and rhododendron ponticum). We also do repairs to paths, building cross
drains so that water won't wash away the surface, or turn the path into a bog.
Anyone with a minimul level of fitness can do the work. We get almost
everythign done with just loppers, bow saws and spades. A lot of the people
who come on these weekends have office jobs, so some physical work outside
makes a welcome change. Building drains or dry stone walls requires more
thought than sawing down sycamores. I enjoy the simplicity of the work and
the immediate satisfaction of seeing the improvements that we've made. There
are also plenty of tea-breaks and games in the evening. Sometimes local
people will make us lunch or lay on a barbequeue.
It was going on these weekends that got me into digital photography - the
landscapes, plants (from huge tress to moss and lichen), agricultural and
horticultural buildings, and human artefacts in the natural environment.
IMGP2310A young oak still in its tree guard. A gall wasp is using the oak as a
surrogate mother, getting the tree to grow these hard balls round the wasp
eggs. At some point, the larvae will eat their way out.
IMGP2358I liked the similarity between gorse branches and ice crystals. I don't
usually plan for some pictures to be black and white. But if I have lost
most of the colour while tweaking the lighting, or if I want maximum
contrast, then I will desaturate the picture.
IMGP2361This was a bird table in a garden where we had lunch. I liked the still-life
look that this arrangement had.
IMGP2689The beavers at Bamff have had a dramatic effect on the environment. They
like to stay in the water, so they build dams to bring the water to the
trees. As they only moved in recently, they are felling big trees. But these
trees don't die, they coppice, so there will be more, smaller trees in a few
years.
crw_1190Each weekend starts with unpacking the tools, and getting a safety talk.
Regulars often have their favourite bow saw or pair of loppers, giving them
names like Spike or Beauregard.
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