Notebook from the North

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 Read more

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 Read more

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 Read more

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 Read more

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 Read more