PUBLIC LECTURE: Contested Nature in the British countryside from the nineteenth century to the present day

This lecture seeks to explore the idea of 'contested nature' in the British countryside over the late nineteenth and the twentieth century. It will make use of a number of key case studies of British species and landscapes to illuminate the often complex and changing relationship between Nature and People, both in the past and present. The lecture will be principally historical and geographical in scope, tapping into my own research and teaching interests in British environmental history and species history post-1800. Tracing the nineteenth century or early twentieth century roots of some of these conflicts has been a key feature of my own research. Three case studies will form the meat of the presentation: the species history of the Atlantic grey seal in Britain (showing the value of individual species history to management policy debates); the changing fortunes of Britain's birds of prey (showing how dramatic changes in attitude can be in shaping biodiversity); and aspects of the landuse history of the Cairngorm Mountains in the Highlands of Scotland (showing how traditional attitudes and values have often clashed with post-romantic attitudes). Towards the end of the lecture I will offer some wider reflections (drawing on themes from the case studies) on the 'idea' of rural Britain, in particular on the fox-hunting debate, perhaps our most startling recent 'quarrel over the countryside'.

Biographical note:

Dr Robert Lambert is Lecturer in Environmental History in the School of History at the University of Nottingham, and Lecturer in Tourism and the Environment at the Christel DeHaan Tourism and Travel Research Institute (TTRI) at Nottingham University Business School. He holds a MA (Hons) in Modern History and a PhD in Environmental History from the University of St. Andrews in Scotland. From 1998-2000 he held a Leverhulme Special Research Fellowship at the University of St. Andrews in the field of British environmental history.

He has published a number of books: edited collections Species History in Scotland (1998) and (with T.C. Smout) Rothiemurchus: Nature and People on a Highland Estate 1500-2000 (1999); a monograph Contested Mountains (2001); and numerous articles on the past and present relationship between Nature and People in Great Britain. He is a past President of the European Society for Environmental History (ESEH), and Co-Editor of the international journal Environment and History. He is a script and programme Consultant to the BBC Natural History Unit in Bristol, and sits on the Steering Committee of the National Forest Company's 'LANDshapes: Heritage in the Making' project.

In January 2005, he journeyed to Antarctica to compile a report on sustainable tourism on behalf of the International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators (IAATO) in the USA. He is a keen birdwatcher, and a fan of Bolton Wanderers Football Club.

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