Isle of May NNR Research Project (2024-)

I am currently researching the dynamics of human-animal encounters on the Isle of May National Nature Reserve. The Isle of May is situated 5 miles from the Scottish coast and is designated a site of special scientific interest (SSSI). It is the breeding site for 200,000+ (mostly seasonal migrant) birds each year and hosts in the region of 16 ‘resident’ people each Spring/Summer, this includes the reserve management team and researchers from a range of agencies and institutions including the UKCEH. IT is also a popular location for wildlife enthusiasts and holidaymakers who look forward to seeing the charismatic Atlantic Puffin, among other species.

The Isle of May is designated as ‘reserved’ for the conservation, protection and study of non-human life. The research will explore how the notion of ‘umwelt’ (or each animal’s surrounding meaning-world) (Agamben 2004, Nicholson 2017, Bridle 2022) manifests and influences these sites with a focus on how the shared ‘umwelten’ of seabird and human intersect within the nature reserve.

Central to the research will be the question of how contemporary fine art practice (audiovisual and collage) can capture the multi-dimensional aspects of these intersections; when knowledge (data) is drawn out from natural phenomenon (such as the life of a bird) to be mediated through a scientific/conservationist lens?

My research is set against Thomas Berry’s call to usher in an ‘Ecozoic’ - an era when humans live in a mutually enhancing relationship with Earth. The research will offer critique of anthropocentric approaches to our ‘stewardship’ of the natural world and will impact through enhancing public understanding of biodiversity loss.