Hello, I go to Oslo today for a workshop on how particular ideas about animals develop over time. There is more information about the project. Claude Lévi-Strauss, a famous French anthropologist, once said that particular species of animals become important as symbols and totems to people because ‘animals are good to think’. A group of us have been preparing essays for publication later this year. My essay is about a particular species of bird, Ross’s Gull, and how ideas about it have developed, through published writings, museum specimens, and appearances in popular culture. Ross’s Gull was a very mysterious bird in the 19th century, with only a handful of specimens in museums. It was seen during some of the most famous Arctic expeditions: during the search for the Northwest Passage, the Jeanette voyage, Vega voyage and others. Its regular breeding grounds were discovered in 1905 in remote Northeast Siberia. The illustration above shows two young Ross’s Gulls which were found by the famous Norwegian zoologist and explorer Fridtjof Nansen, when he was trying to reach the North Pole in 1893-96. Nansen allowed his ship, the Fram, to be frozen into the ice as he thought it may be carried over the North Pole by ocean currents. The illustration above shows the rare gulls, with Nansen and his ship in the background. 

Our project is presented in an exhibition at the University of Oslo Library, curated by artists Bryndís Snæbjörnsdóttir and Mark Wilson. I haven’t seen the exhibition yet and I’m very excited to see how Bryndis and Mark have put the exhibition together.

Henry

Hello, I came across a great quote from EO Wilson:

“You are capable of more than you know. Choose a goal that seems right for you and strive to be the best, however hard the path. Aim high. Behave honorably. Prepare to be alone at times, and to endure failure. Persist! The world needs all you can give.”

I like this because I agree with the sentiment- that people have more power than they are often aware of- and each of us has the potential to make a difference. Even the tiniest actions can make a massive difference if enough people take part. This can be difficult to hold on to in the face of repeated bad news story- but I think it’s worth remembering.

Henry

 

Hello, I wrote a guest-post recently for the Future of Museums blog in response to a thread from Elizabeth Merritt on whether natural history museums were ready to become superheroes. I made the case for museums focussing on being the catalyst, not the answer. People are heroes, not buildings, and I think museums should be working to help and encourage people to get involved and do things they want to after their visit.

Henry

I’m pleased to say that Whitworth Park won a Green Flag award this week. This is a scheme run by Keep Britain Tidy and means that the park is welcoming, safe and well-maintained, and has strong links with the local community. The Whitworth Park’s award was due especially to the play area (good fun even for adults- I’ve been down the zip line myself!!), new flowerbeds and to the biodiverse areas. I’m especially pleased with the last mention as we have been working pretty hard over the last couple of years to find out what is in the park and trying to engage visitors to the park with its biodiversity. This has involved the Friends of Whitworth Park, the Museum Youth Board, Museum curators and curatorial assistants, together with community engagement and public engagement staff, together with lots of partners from the City Council, local conservation agencies and lots of keen enthusiasts.

Hello, a group of curators from Manchester Museum, the museum Youth Board and Curator of Community Engagement Andrea Winn, and the Friends of Whitworth Park spent some time in Whitworth Park last Saturday. We wanted to talk with the public about the wildlife of the park and how to identify it, and to check out the species we could find. We gave out ‘spotter’ sheets of species that had been seen in the past. Among the most interesting things (well I think so) were lots of Tree Bumblebees, feeding on Scabious and other flowers in the central flower bed. This species, which comes from mainland Europe, was only seen for the first time in Britain in 2001. Since then it has been spreading north. Many species of Bumblebees are declining, but this species is doing very well in habitats created by people, such as parks and gardens. Maybe it is less choosy than other species.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hello- some of us, staff from Manchester Museum and Whitworth Art Gallery that is, got our hands dirty planting wild flower plug plants underneath the new hedge (well it isn’t a hedge yet, but give it time) in Whitworth Park yesterday afternoon. It was a classic April day, with sunshine and showers, and even some hailstones. It gave us a chance to do a bit of a reccy ahead of tomorrow’s Wonderful Whitworth Wildlife Big Saturday, organised by the Museum Youth Board in association with the Friends of Whitworth Park. Fingers crossed for the weather- come and join us 12-4 tomorrow to get involved in improving the park, find out more about how to get involved with nature locally, or just to enjoy the park.

Henry

 

 

SAVE THE BEES

 

From starting your morning with a crunchy bowl of cereal coated in honey and covered with almonds, topped off with fresh blueberries to unwinding after a long day with a gin and tonic with lime, these pleasures would not be possible without the help of what many consider merely a buzzing, stinging nuisance: honeybees.  These insects are responsible for the pollination of billions of dollars worth of crops in the United States alone and are vital to not only the agricultural economy, but to the diversity of foods we put on our tables. However, of late bees have caught the attention of public officials, activist groups and the best masters degree programs as they seem to be in trouble.

Many plants, from fruits and vegetables to edible oil crops, are simply unable to reproduce without the assistance of bees.  According to a report by the United Nations Environment Program, the relationship between these insects and the plants they pollinate is often so specialized and the species so dependent on the other’s survival, that if one disappears, it threatens the survival of its complimentary species.  With the disappearance of bees, the world is facing a severe decline in biodiversity stemming from the symbiotic relationship of plants and bees and the pollination networks created by them. 

For more than a decade, beekeepers and scientists have reported a decline in the number of pollinator species all over the world, but in 2006, it was reported that 31% of the domestic honeybee population had disappeared, according to a Congressional report.  The number of empty hives has hovered between 26% and 40% since 2006 which, when compared to prior years of colony loss, is quite significant.  In 2006, scientists named the phenomenon Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) and have been studying and debating the causes ever since.  In contrast to the other colony disappearances that have occurred in recent history, what makes this epidemic unique, aside from the high rate of disappearances, is that the hives are found with few or no dead worker bees. The brood remains intact, the queen is still alive, and other pests have not invaded the hive to steal food.  The bees are simply disappearing.

Up to this point, studies have shown a lack in conclusive evidence towards exactly one culprit or another.  However, as cited in a 2010 U.S. Department of Agriculture study, there has been data suggesting that common pesticides in combination with pathogens and parasites are the cause of the drop in colony health.  Vampire mites, stress from the transportation of hives, and Israeli Acute Paralysis Virus (IAPV) have all been blamed for the disappearances.  In response to the identification of neonicotinoid pesticides as a possible reason for CCD, several European countries have suspended the use of these chemicals in the hope of saving their vital bee colonies. 

At this stage, scientists are continuing work on identifying the exact cause of CCD and finding a cure, but in the meantime, they are working on new mitigation strategies to help slow the rate of new cases of CCD.  These include educating beekeepers on diets that strengthen hives such as feeding protein supplements and avoiding high-fructose corn syrup, promoting the breeding of bees that have a higher resistance to pathogens and parasites, and working to ensure that the import and export of honeybees between Mexico, the US and Canada is not introducing new pathogens and parasites. 

Universities are also joining the effort to help save the bees. The University of Georgia offers a Master Beekeeper Program that allows students to receive up to four different certifications. They place beekeeping “at center stage of public discourse and policy” and while not many others would make the same claim, it is true that without bees the world would be at a considerable disadvantage.

Guest blog post by Meika Jensen,  a Masters student studying sustainability

The image above shows a Short-haired Bumblebee, a species which became extinct in Britain during the 20th century. Individuals had been introduced to New Zealand to pollinate introduced clover and there are plans to reintroduce it to Britain

 

Join The Manchester Museum Youth Board and the Friends of Whitworth park for a festival of fun in Whitworth Park at our Wonderful Whitworth Wildlife big Saturday to help us create a wildlife area, specifically for the symbol of our city, the Bee, but that our entire community can enjoy! Whether you’re interested in plants, animals, natural history or just want to discover something new there’s an activity for everyone. On the day you could be helping create a green, animal friendly environment that will last for years! So come along to experience local wildlife, environmentally friendly craft activities, archaeology, wildflower planting and recording the species of animals and plants found in the park.

12noon-4pm

Free, All Ages, Drop-in

Whitworth Park

Shrubs

Wildflowers

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We are running an experiment in biodiversity outside the front entrance to the museum. Next door to the allotment is a flowerbed which was planted with shrubs; a nice mix of plants which are often used for landscaping in urban green spaces. However, last summer, the shrubs were removed from half of it and it was planted out with British wildflowers instead. Now that spring is arriving, the first flowers are beginning to appear – cowslips and red campion on the wildflower plot, and heather in the shubbery.

Alongside students from the Faculty of Life Sciences and the Estates team, we will be monitoring these two plots to see which attracts the most insects as part of the university’s commitment to monitor the local wildlife and to manage the campus to increase biodiversity. It’s already clear that putting up the fence of coppiced chestnut wood has changed the environment in the wildflower plot as it has contained lots of the autumn leaves which fell from the nearby plane tree. Those which fell on the shrubs must have been blown away. These leaves may provide new habitats for insects to live in and over time as the leaves decay they will add to the soil.

Is your balcony an oasis for bees? Does your school pond fill up with frogspawn in the spring? Have you got wildflowers growing in your lawn? Are you helping out in a park to increase nesting birds?

Blackbird in a winter garden

Whatever the scale, if you’re into wildlife gardening then this competition could be for you. The Royal Horticultural Society and the Wildlife Trust have teamed up for ‘The Big Wildlife Garden’ and they’re looking for the best examples of wildlife gardening across the UK. Prizes include one year’s membership to both societies and the opportunity to go to a wildlife gardening masterclass at the Hampton Court Palace flower show.

Is there a winning garden out there in Manchester?