An Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) funded research project on Militarized Landscapes has been featured on the BBC television programme The One Show.
The three year project ‘Militarized Landscapes in Twentieth-Century Britain, France and the United States’ is led by Professor Peter Coates from Bristol University and looks at the emergence, management and meaning of militarized landscapes. The project explores the role of military lands as reservoirs of biodiversity often superior in ‘green’ value to surrounding non-militarized landscapes subject to intensive agricultural practices and other customary forms of human encroachment.
In the edition broadcast on Monday January 19th Professor Coates was interviewed about the importance of Salisbury plain, especially the half owned by the Ministry of Defence, as an ecological reserve. Because the MOD limit access of the general public to Salisbury plain it has now become a nature refuge.
To such an extent, in fact, that it is being used as the location for the reintroduction of the Great Bustard, the heaviest flying bird, to the UK.
This research project is part the AHRC Landscape and Environment Research Programme.
The segment can be viewed online until the 26th Jan at http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00gvflb/The_One_Show_19_01_2009/
Further details on the research project can be seen at http://www.bristol.ac.uk/history/militarylandscapes/project/
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Media Contact: Jake Gilmore, Communications Manager. Tel: 0797 099 4586
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The Landscape and Environment Research Programme aims to establish distinctive, innovative and engaging arts and humanities research perspective on landscape and environment through projects of the highest quality and international significance. Across the range of its activity, the Programme will draw on a range of disciplinary expertise and resources to produce work which is critical and creative, collaborative and communicative, and seeking to change the ways landscape and environment are understood. The Programme has a budget of £5.5 million and is running from 2005 to 2010.
http://www.landscape.ac.uk/index.htm