A contaminated site by Ryan Putt and company, 11th Feb 2016
Location: Devon Great Consols, Copper mine, Tavistock, Devon

A group of MSc Environmental Consultancy students visited the contaminated landscape of Devon Great Consols for the first time. In addition to photographing the landscape, student Ryan Putt is collecting their perception of the scape over time – here is data from the first visit. Two weeks later he collected more data to see whether there are differences – an interesting comparative study.

‘Below are the responses from the group regarding their perception of the landscape. I think they mirror some of the images quite nicely. I think weather conditions and seasonality play a significant part in perception – it will be interesting to see if their responses change if the conditions in a couple of weeks are worse, as today it was beautiful.’

Peaceful, Chilly, Historical, Birds, Relaxed, Dirty, Excited, Nice, Impressive, Big, Mystery, Derelict, Scarred, Grubby, Rays, Tranquil, Lost, Airy, Scenic, Haven, Secluded, Slopes, Pretty, Post-Industrial, Chilled, Serene, Nice, Baron, Deserted, Expansive, Colourful, Patterns, Cool, Undulating, Nostalgic, Weird, Wide.

‘Second visit to Devon Great Consols today, with overcast conditions, frequent misty showers and a fierce wind – the weather was a stark contrast to the beautiful winter sun greeting our first visit. The context of the day was also quite different, with each group (the course were split into seven groups of four) giving a talk on a particular contamination topic – including the uptake of arsenic into plants and animals, the pathways of contaminants into the home environment and the availability of arsenic within the mining spoil heaps. An interesting day, with the perceptual data below.’

Dreary, Misty, Bleak, Polluted, Tranquil, Long Views, Winter Walks, Historic Valley, Babbling Streams, Mysterious, Birds Twittering, Historic Valley, Dangerous.

Woodscape by Ryan and his grandmother, 13th Feb 2016
Location: Boundary of Dartmoor National Park, Devon

The below vivarium was considered and built during the duration of the exhibition ‘Tagscape: Come Map with Me’ by MSc Environmental Consultancy student Ryan Putt and his grandmother.

It is a semi-Natural Broadleaved Woodland, part of a larger connected corridor of woodland patches that run alongside the boundary of Dartmoor National Park. The ‘Lud Brook’ weaves through the woodland, passing through the villages of Moorhaven and Bittaford (close to Ivybridge).

Ryan was asked to build a vivarium and collect data. He decided to keep the data unstructured and captured some incognito perceptual data whilst his grandmother took control of the making. He also recorded the process via images with his phone.

Yesterday Evening (Feb 12th)

“I’m thoroughly looking forward to it, it should be really interesting”

Throughout and After the Process

“I could sit here all day and watch the woodland. You’re always on the edge, expecting something to happen. It’s always changing. I love it here, every season adds a different element of beauty”

“Look at all the lovely moss. The bluebells will look excellent in spring. Just you wait until summer, it’ll be beautiful. I feel connected with nature”

“It’s quite cold but I think it’ll be worth it. The vivarium is going to look great”

“It’s all muddy and leafy and wet. Lots of moisture around”

“I haven’t been down this path in years”

“That was nice, I really enjoyed that. On a nice hot summer day it would be even better. It certainly makes people aware of their environment”

“You can see the diversity of species. I think we’re really captured the woodland here. You can smell it too! It’s earthy”