[ELECTRON] Fwd: FW: Urgent: Plant Hunters Needed

[Bob Hamilton]

Plant hunters Govan Docks

Dear colleagues, Urgent call for plant hunters!

  I have been searching for some ecologists/botanists/environmental 
enthusiasts to get involved with the plant hunting event detailed below. 
  Perhaps there is someone at Natural History Society that might be 
interested?

The Govan Graving Docks, a Clydeside ship repair and fitting facility 
which has been succeeded by a ‘wasteland’ ecology since its closure in 
the 1980s, is due to be stripped of its ‘green mantle’ in preparation 
for the construction of a housing and commercial complex. Described as 
“one of the most complete and evocative pieces of ship building history 
on the Clyde”, the site hosts three dry docks, now open to the tidal 
waters of the Clyde estuary, which carve through a granite cobbled 
surface articulated with mooring posts, industrial tracks, and the last 
remaining edifice, the Graving Dock’s pump house. Today a pioneer urban 
ecology has emerged from the interstices, forming strange hybrid 
structures from living and non living material. The development company 
leading the works, New City Vision, have said that of course there is 
little of living value here because there are no Tree Preservation 
Orders on site. This workshop seeks to question this assumption and 
identify more complex markers of ecological value.

The news is breaking so there is not much scope for notice.  Now I am 
extending an invitation to a number of ecologists, artists, geographers 
and archaeologists to spend a morning together on the Graving docks 
9.30-12.30 on the 29th of October, to help me to identify and document 
the species of this ‘wasteland’ ecology. On site, we will break down 
into 4 sub groups, and each will be assigned a territory to explore. 
Groups will be given plant guide books, secretors, magnifying glasses, 
plant presses, sketching paper and worksheets to help them with their 
efforts. At the end of our explorations, groups will gather in the Pump 
station (henceforth to be known as the herbarium!) where we will discuss 
our findings and think about the value of wasteland ecologies more 
generally.

Following the event, I will request all plant hunters to email me their 
top three photographs, with accompanying titles, which I will print as 
postcards (plant hunter name and title on back). I will then set up two 
postcard stands at Govan Cross on the first day of clearance, so that 
Govanites can take home a ‘memento’. Might be a nice way to meet people 
and start some conversations too.

So if you are keen to join, then please do get back to me as soon as 
possible. Ideally we will be on site for 9.30, so I propose that the 
group meets at 9.15 outside Govan Underground station. My mobile is 
07796512738 just in case there are any problems. And if you know of any 
other plant or landscape enthusiasts who might be interested then please 
do let me know!

Many thanks,
Ruth Olden
School of Geographical and Earth Sciences
University Avenue
University of Glasgow
East Quadrangle R 301
Glasgow
G12 8QQ
Email: r.olden.1 at research.gla.ac.uk<mailto:r.olden.1 at research.gla.ac.uk>