AirSpace Yarden - Confirmation of Guest Speakers for the Grand Opening

Plans for a full day of talks and events which will comprise the AirSpace Bird Yarden's Grand Opening  are coming together, and we can confirm three great contributors.

Professor Chris Baines  is one of the UK’s leading independent environmentalists. He trained as a horticulturist and landscape architect, and for more than 40 years he has been a champion of urban wildlife and cross-sectoral partnership working.
He is an award winning writer and broadcaster.  His book How to Make a Wildlife Garden is regarded as a classic and has been continuously in print since 1985.  The Wild Side of Town won the first UK conservation book prize in 1987 and his environmental series for children’s ITV, The Ark, won an International Wildscreen Award the same year.   

Chris launched BBC Countryfile as one of its first presenters in 1988.

He works as an adviser to government and to industry, and has long-standing professional links with corporate clients in the urban regeneration, house building, water management, mineral extraction and financial investment industries.  From 1998 to 2010 he was a trustee and then a specialist adviser with the Heritage Lottery Fund, and he also advises Natural England, the Environment Agency and the water regulator OFWAT, CLG and DEFRA.  He was an environmental adviser for the London 2012 Olympics and in the 1980s he designed the landscape for the New Victoria Theatre in Newcastle.

Chris has always played an active role in the voluntary sector.  He was one of the founders of the urban wildlife movement in the UK.  He has been a national Vice President of the Royal Society of Wildlife Trusts for almost 30 years, President of the Sustainable Building Association (AECB) for 20 years, and is also President of the Thames Estuary Partnership, the Essex Wildlife Trust and, more locally to where he lives in Wolverhampton, the Wildside Activity Centre.  In 2004 Chris was awarded the RSPB’s Medal of Honour for his contribution to sustainable land and water management and he is soon to receive the Peter Scott Award from the British Naturalists Association.  .

Chris has kindly agreed to come and talk at the opening, and will deliver a talk from 2pm, entitled,

"Wildlife gardening and the nature of the future"

We can also announce that Clive Mollart, Trentham Garden's Tour Guide, and former garden supervisor, will be hosting a "Garden Design Doctor" surgery event, from 12pm - 2pm.  This year, Clive is building a show garden as part of the 2013 RHS Hampton Court Flower Show. 

Here's a link to a sound garden Clive built for a show garden  in 2010 for the Trentham Estate. 

At the AirSpace Yarden Opening, Clive will deliver a talk which covers the 7 principles of good garden design, and in the guise of the  Garden Design Doctor will also be on hand to answer your gardening queries and problems, so if you have a patch of land you don't know what to do with, or something you've done isn't quite working, bring some images with you and Clive will put you on the right track.

As well as being an award winning garden designer , Clive is also a musician, and one half of echomap, who create interactive sound installations, combining sensors and custom developed software to offer unique and immersive soundscapes. These installations generate music in real time, without the use of loops or recordings. echomap are currently putting together a proposal for the Bird Yarden's very own sound installation.

                     

The final event of the day will be a talk from Sarah R. Key, whose exhibition, "Speaking in Tongues", will be on show at the same time.

Over the past decade, Sarah has developed a profile in contemporary painting, both nationally and internationally, exhibiting in major art venues in London, Stockholm and Dresden. Sarah’s work is represented in numerous private collections, has been awarded Arts Council Grants, as well as garnering art prizes and nominations over the past five years.

In 2010 her work was selected for the Royal Academy Summer Show; in 2011 for the prestigious Mostyn Open and Threadneedle Prize, where Sarah was a shortlisted finalist. Sarah has had four solo shows since 2009.

Currently Senior Lecturer and Award Leader in Fine Art at Staffordshire University, Sarah has been teaching in higher education since completing her MA in Painting at Wimbledon School of Art in 2001. During this period she also completed a PhD in Fine Art at Loughborough University.
Sarah, will give insights into her working practices, and themes whilst touring guests around her show.


We are also in talks with the Staffordshire Wildlife Trust, and hope to announce a guest speaker on the subject of Urban Birdlife. We'll let you know as soon as we have confirmation.

The Yarden Opening promises to be a fun-filled and informative day, full of interesting talks, events, music and of course the Yarden itself. We're really excited about the developments, and can't wait to open it up for everyone to enjoy. Come and see us and get inspired to transform your own Yarden space.