RSGS: helping to make the connections between people, places & the planet
motivational stories of adventure expertise on vital current issues
inspirational insights into people, places & planet
37 inspiring speakers • 90 fascinating talks • 13 locations
Clifton Bain is Director of
the IUCN UK Peatland Programme,
which exists to promote peatland
restoration. Scotland holds 15% of
the world’s blanket bog, so peatlands
such as the Flow Country are vitally
important for plants, animals and
carbon storage.
Col John Blashford-Snell, a renowned explorer himself,
uses early images and HM Stanley’s
original magic lantern slides to tell
the story of David Livingstone’s
remarkable expeditions and his fight
against slavery. He aims to reveal the
real Livingstone, his achievements, his
failures and his
legacy today.
Tom Christian manages the National Tree Collections of Scotland initiative and the iCONic project at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh. Both projects, helping to safeguard threatened tree species by creating conservation collections in Scotland, have taken him on plant collecting expeditions around the world.
Dr Andrew Cook shares his research into the personal correspondence of the Goodsir family, held by the RSGS. Harry Goodsir was the surgeon on Captain Sir John Franklin’s 1845 voyage of Arctic exploration, whose sad final fate was uncovered by the explorer John Rae.
Julie Davidson tells the story of her search for Mary, the extraordinarily courageous and stoical
wife of David Livingstone. Often
seen as a shadow in the blaze of
her husband’s sun, Mary played an
important role in his success, and her
own feats as an early western traveller
in uncharted Africa are unique.
Matt Dickinson, a film-
maker and writer who specialises in
wild places and indigenous peoples,
celebrates Isobel Wylie Hutchison,
a pioneering film-maker and RSGS
medallist who created a unique record
of Arctic life in the 1920s, focusing on
landscape, wildflowers and people’s
daily lives.
David Edwards witnessed
the eruptions and evacuations that
changed Montserrat’s destiny in 1995.
In 2011 he went back to see how the
island had recovered and to revisit
areas which had been destroyed. He
explores the major challenges that a
community faces having lost two-
thirds of its land space.
Ian Edwards returned to
Scotland, after years exploring forests
in the Tropics, to document the ‘New
Woodlanders’ who are breathing
new life into Scotland’s native
woods. Following a large replanting
programme, there has been a
resurgence in forest culture, with more
people than ever working or playing in
the woods.
John Blashford-Snell - The Legend of Livingstone
Tim Emmett - Global Freezing!
Illustrated Public Talks
2013-2014
Matt Dickinson - Retracing Isobel Wylie Hutchison’s Footsteps
open
to everyone
free for
rSGS memberS
come and
join uS!
Kari Herbert - Heart of the Hero
Dave MacLeod - Extreme Climbs
Ian Edwards - Woodlanders: New Life in Britain’s Forests
Richard Else - Thirty Years at the Sharp Edge
Aberdeen • MacRobert Building, University of Aberdeen, King’s College, Aberdeen, AB24 5UA30 Sep 13 Tim Emmett Global Freezing! Climbing the Ice Wall
4 Nov 13 Iain Stewart Scotland Beneath Our Feet
2 Dec 13 Matt Dickinson Retracing Isobel Wylie Hutchison’s Footsteps
6 Jan 14 Julie Davidson Looking for Mrs Livingstone
3 Feb 14 Andy Torbet Operation Iceberg: Arctic Science, Adventure and Filming
3 Mar 14 Craig Mathieson Some Like It Cold…
Ayr • Council Chambers, Ayr Town Hall, New Bridge Street, Ayr, KA7 1JX25 Sep 13 Charles Withers The World’s Baseline: Geographies of the Prime Meridian
23 Oct 13 David McClay Picturing Africa: Illustrating Livingstone’s Travels
27 Nov 13 Doug Scott & Paul Braithwaite Big Walls and High Mountains
29 Jan 14 Robert Rogerson Planning Legacy: Glasgow 2014 and the City’s Future
26 Feb 14 Mike Parker On the Map: Cartography and National Identity
26 Mar 14 Fred Pearce The Land Grabbers: The Fight Over Who Controls the Earth
Borders • Heriot Watt University, Scottish Borders Campus, Netherdale, Galashiels, TD1 3HF24 Sep 13 Charles Withers The World’s Baseline: Geographies of the Prime Meridian
22 Oct 13 David McClay Picturing Africa: Illustrating Livingstone’s Travels
26 Nov 13 Doug Scott & Paul Braithwaite Big Walls and High Mountains
28 Jan 14 Robert Rogerson Planning Legacy: Glasgow 2014 and the City’s Future
25 Feb 14 Mike Parker On the Map: Cartography and National Identity
25 Mar 14 Fred Pearce The Land Grabbers: The Fight Over Who Controls the Earth
Dumfries • Easterbrook Hall, The Crichton, Bankend Road, Dumfries, DG1 4TA23 Sep 13 Charles Withers The World’s Baseline: Geographies of the Prime Meridian
21 Oct 13 David McClay Picturing Africa: Illustrating Livingstone’s Travels
25 Nov 13 Doug Scott & Paul Braithwaite Big Walls and High Mountains
27 Jan 14 Robert Rogerson Planning Legacy: Glasgow 2014 and the City’s Future
24 Feb 14 Mike Parker On the Map: Cartography and National Identity
24 Mar 14 Fred Pearce The Land Grabbers: The Fight Over Who Controls the Earth
Dundee • Tower Extension, University of Dundee, Perth Road, Dundee, DD1 4HN1 Oct 13 Tim Emmett Global Freezing! Climbing the Ice Wall
5 Nov 13 Iain Stewart Scotland Beneath Our Feet
3 Dec 13 Matt Dickinson Retracing Isobel Wylie Hutchison’s Footsteps
7 Jan 14 Julie Davidson Looking for Mrs Livingstone
4 Feb 14 Andy Torbet Operation Iceberg: Arctic Science, Adventure and Filming
4 Mar 14 Craig Mathieson Some Like It Cold…
Dunfermline • Carnegie Hall, East Port, Dunfermline, KY12 7JA - talk marked * is in St Andrew’s Erskine Church of Scotland Centre, Robertson Road, Dunfermline, KY12 0BF2 Oct 13 Jasper Winn Paddle: A Long Way Around Ireland
6 Nov 13 Iain Stewart Scotland Beneath Our Feet
* 4 Dec 13 Matt Dickinson Retracing Isobel Wylie Hutchison’s Footsteps
8 Jan 14 Julie Davidson Looking for Mrs Livingstone
5 Feb 14 Andy Torbet Operation Iceberg: Arctic Science, Adventure and Filming
5 Mar 14 Craig Mathieson Some Like It Cold…
Edinburgh afternoon • Appleton Tower, 11 Crichton Street, Edinburgh, EH8 9LE18 Sep 13 Siân Pritchard-Jones & Bob Gibbons From Deepest Africa to the Highest Himalaya
16 Oct 13 Noo Saro-Wiwa Oil and the Big Man
20 Nov 13 Ian Edwards Woodlanders: New Life in Britain’s Forests
22 Jan 14 Clifton Bain Going with the Flows
19 Feb 14 Alison McCleery The Falkland Islands: Fact, Fantasy and the Future
19 Mar 14 John Mayhew National Parks: Unfinished Business
Edinburgh evening • Appleton Tower, 11 Crichton Street, Edinburgh, EH8 9LE3 Oct 13 Jasper Winn Paddle: A Long Way Around Ireland
7 Nov 13 Iain Stewart Scotland Beneath Our Feet
5 Dec 13 Matt Dickinson Retracing Isobel Wylie Hutchison’s Footsteps
9 Jan 14 Julie Davidson Looking for Mrs Livingstone
6 Feb 14 Andy Torbet Operation Iceberg: Arctic Science, Adventure and Filming
6 Mar 14 Craig Mathieson Some Like It Cold…
Richard Else is an ‘extreme
film-maker’ who, filming at heady
heights around the world, has had a
rare opportunity to observe leading
mountaineers at close quarters. He
explores what motivates them to risk
their lives, and how they balance danger
against the success of pioneering new
climbs.
Tim Emmett has been a
professional climber for 15 years, putting
up new routes across the globe, often
BASE jumping from them, climbing
probably the most outrageous ice climb
in the world, at Helmcken Falls (eight
pitches of severely overhanging ‘spray
ice’ next to a thundering waterfall), and
wingsuit flying in the Himalaya.
Kari Herbert considers the lives
of some of the world’s most famous
polar explorers through the eyes of the
women who inspired them to achieve
great things. Blending personal accounts
of longing, betrayal and hope, with
stories of peril and adventure from the
golden age of discovery, she shines
new light on some well-loved stories of
adventure.
Syd House, Forestry Commission
Conservator, explores reasons for
Scotland having some of the finest tree
collections in the temperate world. He
considers where they are, how important
they are, and what contribution they
make to the future of conservation,
climate change and landscape quality.
Graham Kitchener & Pauline Symaniak tell the
story of their 4,300 mile pedal across
North America. A simple bicycle ride
became a challenging adventure as they
encountered bears, violent storms, vast
plains, intense heat, mechanical failures,
and a colourful set of characters on the
road.
Dave MacLeod is considered the
best all-round climber in the UK. Having
climbed hundreds of new routes in
different climbing settings, he continues
to seek out ever harder and bolder first
ascents, exploring the limits of his own
persistence, dedication and effort.
Craig Mathieson realised a
childhood dream when he skied to the
South Pole in 2004. He decided to share
this life-changing experience in 2006,
training a 16-year-old schoolboy and
taking him with a team to the Geographic
North Pole. Now, with his charity The
Polar Academy, he aims to inspire young
adults through polar expeditions.
Afternoon talks (Edinburgh & Glasgow only) start at 2.15pm. All other talks start at 7.30pm. Details are correct at the time of going to print (August 2013) but may be subject to change. Please see www.rsgs.org for the latest information.
Julie Davidson - Looking for Mrs Livingstone
2013 is the 200th
anniversary of the birth
of David Livingstone
Glasgow afternoon • Renfield St Stephens Church Centre, 260 Bath Street, Glasgow, G2 4JP3 Oct 13 Stuart Monro Life on the Rocks
7 Nov 13 Andrew Cook The Franklin Arctic Expedition’s Lost Surgeon
5 Dec 13 Richard Else Thirty Years at the Sharp Edge
9 Jan 14 Bob McCulloch CSI: Patagonia
6 Feb 14 Andy Torbet Operation Iceberg: Arctic Science, Adventure and Filming
6 Mar 14 Craig Mathieson Some Like It Cold…
Glasgow evening • Boyd Orr Building, University of Glasgow, University Avenue, Glasgow, G12 8QQ16 Oct 13 Noo Saro-Wiwa Oil and the Big Man
20 Nov 13 Ian Edwards Woodlanders: New Life in Britain’s Forests
11 Dec 13 Chris Rose Artists for Albatrosses
22 Jan 14 Mark Ovenden Railway Maps of the World
19 Feb 14 Alison McCleery The Falkland Islands: Fact, Fantasy and the Future
19 Mar 14 John Mayhew National Parks: Unfinished Business
Helensburgh • Victoria Halls, Sinclair Street, Helensburgh, G84 8TU26 Sep 13 Charles Withers The World’s Baseline: Geographies of the Prime Meridian
24 Oct 13 Bob McCulloch CSI: Patagonia
28 Nov 13 Doug Scott & Paul Braithwaite Big Walls and High Mountains
30 Jan 14 Robert Rogerson Planning Legacy: Glasgow 2014 and the City’s Future
27 Feb 14 Mike Parker On the Map: Cartography and National Identity
27 Mar 14 Fred Pearce The Land Grabbers: The Fight Over Who Controls the Earth
Inverness • The Highland Council Chamber, Glenurquhart Road, Inverness, IV3 5NX7 Oct 13 Tom Christian Plant Collecting in the 21st Century
11 Nov 13 John Mayhew National Parks: Unfinished Business
9 Dec 13 Doug Scott Significant and Joyous Moments in the Mountains
13 Jan 14 Dave MacLeod Extreme Climbs
10 Feb 14 Richard Else Thirty Years at the Sharp Edge
10 Mar 14 David Edwards Montserrat: Reclaiming Paradise
Kirkcaldy • School of Midwifery, University of Dundee Fife Campus, 5 Forth Ave, Kirkcaldy, KY2 5YS16 Sep 13 Siân Pritchard-Jones & Bob Gibbons From Deepest Africa to the Highest Himalaya
14 Oct 13 Noo Saro-Wiwa Oil and the Big Man
18 Nov 13 Andrew Cook The Franklin Arctic Expedition’s Lost Surgeon
20 Jan 14 Clifton Bain Going with the Flows
17 Feb 14 Alison McCleery The Falkland Islands: Fact, Fantasy and the Future
17 Mar 14 Ian Edwards Woodlanders: New Life in Britain’s Forests
Perth • North Inch Community Campus, Gowans Terrace, Perth, PH1 5BF8 Oct 13 John Blashford-Snell The Legend of Livingstone
12 Nov 13 Graham Kitchener & Pauline Symaniak Sleepless ‘til Seattle
10 Dec 13 Craig Sams & Jo Fairley Ethical, Organic, Fairtrade: The Story of Green & Black’s
14 Jan 14 Dave MacLeod Extreme Climbs
11 Feb 14 Kari Herbert Heart of the Hero
11 Mar 14 Syd House National Tree Collections of Scotland
Stirling • Logie Lecture Theatre, University of Stirling, Stirling, FK9 4LA 9 Oct 13 John Blashford-Snell The Legend of Livingstone
13 Nov 13 Graham Kitchener & Pauline Symaniak Sleepless ‘til Seattle
11 Dec 13 Doug Scott Significant and Joyous Moments in the Mountains
15 Jan 14 Dave MacLeod Extreme Climbs
12 Feb 14 Kari Herbert Heart of the Hero
12 Mar 14 David Edwards Montserrat: Reclaiming Paradise
John Mayhew has led a three-year project to promote a National Parks Strategy for Scotland, aiming to develop a comprehensive network with at least three new Parks being designated by 2015, including Scotland’s first Coastal and Marine National Park.
David McClay, NLS’s Livingstone Exhibition Curator, examines how artists, photographers, engravers and publishers helped David Livingstone to create some of the most interesting and iconic images of Africa, from the terror of lion attacks and the horrors of slavery to the abundant wildlife and magnificent scenery.
Prof Alison McCleery recounts her visit to the Falklands, ownership of which remains a sensitive issue and, arguably, a useful distraction from economic and political woes in South America. She describes the everyday life of Falkland Islanders, and the unusual wildlife, debunking a few misconceptions and untangling the complexities of a geopolitical anomaly.
Dr Bob McCulloch recalls 20 years of fieldwork experience investigating environmental change in southernmost Patagonia from the Last Glaciation to the present, and shares some of the challenges faced by researchers sampling mud along the southern Andes.
Prof Stuart Monro, Scientific Director at Our Dynamic Earth, is a leading practitioner in promoting science to a wide audience. He explores as part of a personal journey the evidence from various parts of the world for what we call plate tectonics.
Mark Ovenden, a broadcaster and author who specialises in the subjects of graphic design, cartography and architecture in public transport, discusses his favourite world rail maps and tells stories of how he tracked down some of the more obscure ones.
Mike Parker, map enthusiast and author, looks at how nations choose to portray themselves on maps, and what we can glean from that, focusing particularly on Scotland. With the upcoming referendum on independence, and Scotland’s character and position under some scrutiny, now seems a perfect time to discuss issues of national identity.
open to everyone • £8 for adults • free for RSGS members
Craig Mathieson - Some Like It Cold…Dave MacLeod - Extreme Climbs
* indicates a different venue
RSGS members support the educational work of the Society and may attend any of the talks listed here for free. If you are not already a member, please consider joining and supporting our work.
The annual membership rates are:• £60 Joint • £40 Single • £26 Student/SAGT
To join, please complete and return the form available at www.rsgs.org/joining or email [email protected] or phone 01738 455050.
For further information, please visit our website www.rsgs.org
Join the RSGS and get all these talks for free, plus quarterly editions of The Geographer!
Fred Pearce, journalist and author, moves from boardroom and trading floor to goat-herder’s hut and flooded forest in an examination of a profound ethical and economic issue, the race to grab land, with parcels the size of Wales being snapped up across the plains of Africa, the paddy-fields of Southeast Asia, the jungles of the Amazon, and the prairies of Eastern Europe.
Siân Pritchard-Jones & Bob Gibbons have for 30 years been organising treks and writing travel guides. They have hitched across Tibet, driven a busload of over-50s to Nepal, explored the Sahara, travelled across Africa, and journeyed by Land Rover from Kathmandu to the UK.
Dr Robert Rogerson is Legacy Research Co-ordinator for the 2014 Commonwealth Games. He examines the impact of the Games on the economic and social health and well-being of Glasgow and Scotland, focusing on sport and physical activity, cultural heritage, crime, and community engagement.
Chris Rose travelled with albatross research scientists to South Georgia to sketch and paint the wildlife and landscapes of these remote islands, home to albatrosses, elephant seals, and colonies of penguins a quarter of a million strong. Working in extreme conditions, he had unprecedented access to areas seldom visited by humans.
Craig Sams & Jo Fairley are organic food and fairtrade pioneers who developed Green & Black’s chocolate and Maya Gold, the UK’s first Fairtrade product. They believe manufacturers need to help consumers to support sustainable and fair production.
Noo Saro-Wiwa, daughter of environmental activist Ken Saro-Wiwa, examines the control of political power in Nigeria. The discovery of oil challenged the traditional system, where central chiefs distribute resources through
patronage, and proved it incompatible with modern democracy, resulting in a rise in corruption and an absence of meritocracy.
Doug Scott’s climbing began on the gritstone of Derbyshire and moved on to big walls from the Dolomites to the Karakoram. His expeditions have ranged from early overland trips to North Africa and the Hindu Kush, to ascents of Kangchenjunga and Shishapangma.
Paul Braithwaite has participated in many key expeditions from the late 1960s onwards. He has made several first ascents, and it was his solution to the technical problem of the southwest face of Everest that was key to the success of Sir Chris Bonington’s famous 1975 expedition.
Prof Iain Stewart delves into the long and fascinating geological history of Scotland, the country where scientific pioneers made ground-breaking discoveries in the landscape to explain how our planet works. He shows that Scotland’s building blocks hold a surprising heritage going back over three billion years.
Andy Torbet, extreme diver and adventurer, lived on, climbed around and dived inside a glacier in Greenland and an iceberg floating off Canada for BBC2’s acclaimed series Operation Iceberg. He was part of an expedition team of glaciologists and other experts, explaining the amazing lifecycle of an iceberg.
Jasper Winn recounts his three-and-a-half month solo sea kayak trip around Ireland’s thousand mile coastline. His knowledge of the country’s culture, history, wildlife, literature and myths, makes for a story that goes way beyond paddling endurance.
Prof Charles Withers explores where the world begins in time and space. Greenwich UK has been the site of the world’s Prime Meridian, 0˚, since 1884. Before then, several different places were used as the prime meridian, a source of much geographical confusion.
RSGS, Lord John Murray House, 15-19 North Port, Perth, PH1 5LU Charity registered in Scotland no SC015599
RSGS: helping to make the connections between people, places & the planet
In This Edition...
The newsletter of the Royal Scottish Geographical Society
Summer 2013
Life, The Universe, and EverythingCarbon: sources, sinks & cycles
• Working with SAGES to Increase Impact• Expert Views: Carbon - Soil, Seas & Solid Rock• Expert Views: Origins & Innovations of Carbon
• Opinions: National Parks & Geoparks• Expert Views: Dating, Pricing & Reducing Carbon
• Reader Offer: Facts are Sacred
plus other news, comments, books...
“We’ll be alive again in a thousand blades of grass, and a million leaves.”Philip Pullman
The Geographer
RSGS GEOGRAPHER SUMMER FOUR 16.indd 1
25/06/2013 14:21
Mark Ovenden - Railway Maps of the World
Bob McCulloch - CSI: Patagonia
Andy Torbet - Operation Iceberg
Jasper Winn - Paddle
Mike Parker - On the Map
Fred Pearce - The Land Grabbers
Chris Rose - Artists for Albatrosses
Iain Stewart - Scotland Beneath our Feet
Doug Scott - Significant and Joyous Moments in the Mountains
Noo Saro-Wiwa - Oil and the Big Man
Craig Sams & Jo Fairley - Ethical, Organic, Fairtrade
David McClay - Picturing Africa
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