What is ‘Normal’ for Nature?

A talk about shifting experiences

Doors: 6.30pm

Event: 7pm - 9pm

How many butterflies should there be in a meadow? How much birdsong should fill a summer morning?

It's hard to say when we only know the world as it is today.

As wildlife becomes scarcer, and we spend less of our lives experiencing the natural world, each generation grows up with a little less than the one before. What would once have seemed a worrying loss gradually becomes ordinary. We become less aware of what's missing, and less likely to demand its return. The danger is that nature grows poorer while our expectations grow smaller.

Science teacher and ecologist Tim Harrison explores how our understanding of what's ‘normal’ changes over time, and why this matters for the future of the natural world. Drawing on records collected over decades, he'll examine what has changed, what our own memories might fail to tell us, and what we could still hope to restore.

Tim, an accomplished musical and songwriter, will also perform songs inspired by the themes of the evening.

Tuesday 10 November · 7pm · socialbar, Saxmundham
Free entry · booking required