For around 400 years, the Northwest Passage was the holy grail for many nations and explorers, and the hunt for it involved tales of heroism, wonder, disaster and doom. What was this passage, why was it so important, and what were some of these dramatic tales? Find out in this week’s plog! Picture: Environment and … Continue reading 75: The Hunt for the Northwest Passage
For a long time, most of what the world knew about Native American cultures came from the Hollywood and spaghetti western films, where cowboys and Indians roamed the prairies and deserts, locked in a constant battle against one another. These films were made for entertainment, geared towards non-native audiences, and often made by people with … Continue reading 74: Totem poles and sculptures
It can be easy to compartmentalise science and feelings as being totally separate. However, how we and the creatures around us feel do have an impact on the natural and physical world around us. This week we will be exploring this topic by looking at the ecology of fear, an emotion or response which has … Continue reading 73: The Ecology of Fear
The Arctic is perhaps best known for being, well, cold. Compared to the super hairy, blubbery animals that make the Arctic their home, humans are pretty lean and hairless, making us physically quite badly suited to the climate. However, what we lack in natural furriness we make up for in ingenuity. This week we’ll be … Continue reading 72: Clothes in the Arctic
Most animals fall broadly into two categories- wild and domesticated, domesticated being not only pet dogs, but also things like cows, sheep, pigs and chickens which are raised on farms. However, there are some which fall into a broad third category- semi-domesticated animals. This week we will be having a look at some examples of … Continue reading 71: Semi-domesticated animals
This week’s animal spotlight is going to a lovable Arctic giant, the walrus. Around since the last ice age, they have had a lot of time to adapt to their Arctic Ocean home. We will be looking at some of these physical adaptations, exploring their personalities, and examining some of tools and artforms that have … Continue reading 70: The Wonderful Walrus
Hello dear Notebook from the North reader/listener!! This week instead of writing a regular plog for you, I thought to share with you a little article that I wrote for the news website The Conservation. The article, called "Reindeer: ancient migration routes disrupted by roads, dams - and now windfarms" explores why reindeer migrate and … Continue reading Reindeer Migrations
Imagine if one day humans suddenly vanished off the face of the planet. What would happen? How would plants react to our cities and town? What would the animals do? As luck would have it we don’t need to wait for an apocalypse or mass-abduction to find out. There are a few scattered places around … Continue reading 69: Places reclaimed by nature
Continuing on our series of plogs on cultures in the Arctic (see previously Evenki and Inuit), this time we will be taking a look at the Saami, the indigenous peoples of Northern Europe. As always, a disclaimer that I am not Saami and so not an expert on their culture, but just sharing a brief … Continue reading 68: The Saami, Indigenous Inhabitants of the European Arctic
Most of us have probably heard of palaeontology, palaeo- derived from the Greek for ‘ancient’, -on- (from ontos) meaning ‘creature’, and -ology being the study of something, so the study of ancient creatures. We might know this best as the study of dinosaur fossils, though it also includes the study of plant fossils, bug fossils … Continue reading 67: Palaeoecology, and trees on ice
Notebook from the North 