Eco-nuns - marvellous

This is an inspiring story although I imagine they left their Victorian Abbey with regret.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/northyorkshire/content/articles/2009/05/20/eco_nuns_abbey_feature.shtml

It has left me wondering about whether there is a project somewhere to 'green up' the church in general

Protecting neolithic heritage in Malta

There are many approaches to protecting fragile archaeological sites. Here in Malta, instead of reburying excavated sites with sand, they are installing a multi-million dollar tented roof which will mean the site remains accessible to the public whilst, at the same time, the worst of the wind and spray will be avoided. Having said that, the reporter does say that the site is still very unstable so I'm not sure if I'll be visiting just yet!

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/8054873.stm

Who pays to preserve shared ecclesiastical heritage?

On the walls of a ruined church in Northern Spain are some very fragile paintings depicting the murder of Thomas Becket. Now in the ownership of the local authority, they represent an exceptionally rare example of medieval art. Unfortunately, the local council doesn't have the resources to properly conserve the paintings and so the usual shout has gone out 'we need more tourism' so that they can raise the income to stabilise the ruins and employ proper conservators. Becket is a member of the Canon of Saints of the Catholic Church and as a former Archbishop of Canterbury, is also venerated within the Anglican church. So should there be financial support for the town of Soria from these bodies. How can we support one of the poorest Provinces in Spain to protect and then benefit from these unique works of art?

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/8029320.stm

Five Days, Fifty Ways to Make Tourism More Responsible

Next week sees an important online conference where delegates can debate the current state and future of responsible tourism. Between 18th and 22nd May, anyone can engage with the debate by accessing:

http://planeta.wikispaces.com/responsibletourism

and

http://www.artyforum.info/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=170&PID=212#212

Get involved!!!!

English Heritage and Stonehenge - finally a decision

AT LAST!!!!!

http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/server/show/ConWebDoc.16383

Paying for conservation

The attached article is interesting - shows how we are beginning to ask our communities to take a greater role in funding conservation works in our National Parks.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/north_yorkshire/8042863.stm

It will be interesting to see how they fare at a time when household budgets are being squeezed. Although, with a bumper year for UK tourism predicted, a carefully targeted scheme could tap into not just community interest, but also the pockets of the many people who visit the Parks each year.

Whether or not the funds raised will make a real difference remains to be seen. But then again, every little helps!

An early morning walk through the cemetery!

The dogs are obviously operating on Berlin time as they are waking up at around 5 am these days. This morning I couldn't get back to sleep after letting them out for their first comfort break of the day, so got up and decided to take the early train to work. Walking through the Victorian cemetery that lies between home and the station at 6 am, I could barely hear myself think because of the cacaphony coming from the trees and bushes - this really was a dawn chorus to remember. It reminded me of the incredible wildlife value of some of our historic graveyards - an aspect that is often forgotten by those of us who live busy lives, rushing from place to place and rarely taking the time to stop, look, listen and celebrate the ordinary.

Fortunately, there are some community groups who are beginning to take an interest in managing historic graveyards for both their cultural and natural heritage interest. In York there is a long established group who run education programmes for local schools using the city's graveyards as a resource to teach lessons on, for instance, biology or local history (the Victorians - a classic topic at Key Stage 2 in English schools). And in Bradford, moves are afoot to encourage much more public engagement with the city's fine Undercliffe Cemetery.

So next time you are passing a graveyard, pop in and see what you can learn!