{"id":2630,"date":"2019-11-20T11:28:32","date_gmt":"2019-11-20T11:28:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.terrafirmaconsultancy.com\/landscape-architect-blog\/?p=2630"},"modified":"2022-10-20T12:34:23","modified_gmt":"2022-10-20T11:34:23","slug":"shock-of-the-new","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.terrafirmaconsultancy.com\/landscape-architect-blog\/shock-of-the-new\/","title":{"rendered":"Shock of the new"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n \t<\/i> Read Time:<\/span>2 Minute, 45 Second <\/div>\n\n <\/div>\n

I recently returned to the place where I grew up. Well, kind\nof. It hardly seems the same place any more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Living in South Yorkshire\u2019s Dearne Valley in the early\n1980\u2019s, my outlook on life (almost literally) was an expanse of mining, and all\nmanner of associated industrial activity. I remember the soundtrack as I lay in\nbed at night would be the rumble, rumble, thud, thud of coal filled railway\nwagons, navigating their own way through Europe\u2019s largest marshalling yard\nabout a mile away, pulled through the labyrinth to their correct siding by\nnothing more than gravity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
The Dearne Valley in the 1980\u2019s<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

By the time of the late 1980\u2019s \/ early 1990\u2019s the mining had\ngone, and the railway tracks had been lifted. The valley was silent, although\nfrom time-to-time it provided an excellent adventure playground for a certain\nteenage lad on his bike. In hindsight, skidding down a slag heap was perhaps\nnot the wisest thing I\u2019ve ever done. The view at the top was worth it though.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From railway to reserve<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

This nostalgia trip took a really disconcerting twist when I\nvisited RSPB Old Moor in August. It\u2019s a verdant, tranquil place, rich with\ninvertebrates and birdlife, and a popular leisure destination for families and\nornithologists. I was standing in one of the well equipped bird hides, looking\nover beautiful wetland with a thick, wooded backdrop. My Dad turned to me and\nsaid \u201cYou see that woodland over there?\u2026 That used to be the marshalling\nyard\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Wath
Wath Marshalling Yard
\u00a9 Rob Newman (source<\/a>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The last time I saw that place, it was a desolate, vast\nexpanse of railway ballast. Now, a little over 20 years later, it\u2019s a dense\nthicket of mature trees and shrubs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
My Dad and my son looking at a former Marshalling Yard<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

As a Landscape Architect I\u2019ve always appreciated trees, but\nnever before have I been confronted with such potent evidence of how\ntransformative they can be. The timing of this insight could not have been more\nevocative, against a crescendo of public awareness in climate change. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

My son has been learning about climate change at school. He\nis worried (he\u2019s only 6), and was asking me what we can do to save the planet.\nWhen in \u2018Dad mode\u2019 and confronted with a complex question, I look for a\nstraightforward (child-friendly) answer. On this occasion, that image of a\nthicket on an old marshalling yard presented me with my answer. Here\u2019s what I\nsaid (more-or-less):-<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Carbon healing landscape<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The world needs more trees. They absorb Carbon dioxide,\nwhich would otherwise be warming up our atmosphere. Therefore, to cool the\natmosphere we need more trees. Luckily, the need for more trees sits quite\ncomfortably with my career as a Landscape Architect. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

To me, there seems to be an uncanny kind of parallel between\nmy tree planting career, and the transformation of the treeless, desolate\nwastelands of my formative years, to the verdant landscape it is today. More\nimportantly, there\u2019s something quite poignant about the dirty, grimy and carbon\noffending landscape of the past, unwittingly hosting a carbon healing landscape\nfor the future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Martin
Myself (circa 1988) and my childhood playground<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

I always knew that landscape is the answer.<\/p>\n

\n
\n \n
\n \n \"Happy\"\n <\/a>\n
\n Happy <\/div>\n
\n 0<\/span>\n \n 0<\/span> %<\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n
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\n Sad <\/div>\n
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\n \n \"Excited\"\n <\/a>\n
\n Excited <\/div>\n
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\n Sleepy <\/div>\n
\n 0<\/span>\n \n 0<\/span> %<\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n
\n \n \"Angry\"\n <\/a>\n
Angry<\/div>\n
\n 0<\/span>\n 0<\/span> %<\/span>\n \n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n
\n \n \"Surprise\"\n <\/a>\n
Surprise<\/div>\n
\n 0<\/span>\n 0<\/span> %<\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n ","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I recently returned to the place where I grew up. Well, kind of. It hardly seems the same place any more.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":2638,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[63],"tags":[245,241,242,243,244],"class_list":["post-2630","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-landscape-architect","tag-nature-reserve","tag-new","tag-nostalgia","tag-old-moor","tag-rspb"],"yoast_head":"\nShock of the new - terra firma blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.terrafirmaconsultancy.com\/landscape-architect-blog\/shock-of-the-new\/\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Martin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Estimated reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta 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