Latest news with #Biosphere
Edinburgh Reporter
28-06-2025
- Business
- Edinburgh Reporter
OOBE seeking growth in business with new move
The landscape architecture firm OOBE has appointed property communications experts, Building Relations PR, to improve its brand profile across the UK. With studios in Edinburgh, Glasgow and Newcastle, OOBE is at the forefront of landscape architecture, having spent the past 15 years shaping landscapes that connect people with outdoor spaces. The practice is widely recognised for its sustainability-led approach to landscape architecture, urban design, master planning and building information modelling (BIM) services. The firm has delivered some of the most significant and high-profile public realm and development schemes in the country. OOBE's portfolio includes work on transformative regeneration schemes such as The Spark, The Lumen and Biosphere at Newcastle Helix, a dynamic urban campus landscape that integrates rain gardens and biodiverse planting with a steeply sloped topography. In the Midlands, the team is helping to shape the vision for New Garden Square in Edgbaston – a striking build-to-rent community developed with Moda Living and Calthorpe Estates. Elsewhere, the Barbara Hepworth Building at the University of Huddersfield exemplifies OOBE's approach to integrating academic architecture and landscape into a single design language, while projects like Littlehaven Promenade in South Shields underline its capacity to deliver elegant, resilient coastal infrastructure. In Scotland, OOBE is currently delivering the landscape vision for Blindwells, a major new community in East Lothian. Commissioned by Hargreaves Land, the project spans everything from town centre design and routes to school, to woodland corridors, play areas and a dedicated art strategy. At its heart is a commitment to biodiversity, wellbeing and creating a place where people feel genuinely connected to their surroundings. The team is also leading the green infrastructure at Holland Park in Glasgow, where a bold build-to-rent development is being brought to life with thoughtfully designed public realm and sustainable planting. Just along the Clyde at Pacific Quay, OOBE has helped shape a distinctive riverside space that blends amenity, ecology and local character. Most recently, the practice completed the landscape design for the new Woodmill and St Columba's RC High School campus in Dunfermline – the world's largest Passivhaus school project – integrating rain gardens, attenuation basins and outdoor teaching spaces. With a growing portfolio and established presence in Edinburgh, OOBE continues to help shape some of the most exciting new places across Scotland. The appointment of Building Relations PR marks a strategic move for OOBE as it looks to further strengthen its position in the property and construction sectors, showcasing its award-winning design ethos, collaborative approach and unique approach to placemaking. Speaking about the new partnership, Emma McNicholas, Director at OOBE, said: 'As we approach our 15th year in business and reflect on the outstanding projects we've delivered, we feel it's time to take the business to the next level. We're excited to be working with Building Relations to raise our profile, make new connections and share the impact of our work more broadly. We have a strong reputation amongst our current partners and a high rate of repeat business, which we are exceptionally proud of. 'Building Relation's specialist knowledge of the property sector combined with its sustainability expertise, makes them the ideal partner to help us help us tell our story and communicate the value of our design-led approach. ' Rachel Colgan, Founding Director at Building Relations, commented: 'OOBE has delivered an impressive portfolio of landscape projects that help shape the way people interact with outdoor spaces and there are so many brilliant stories for us to help them share. Our teams in Edinburgh and London are looking forward to supporting OOBE as they look to grow their successful business across the UK.' Like this: Like Related
The Guardian
25-06-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Something fishy: the best of Belfast photo festival
Belfast photo festival, the UK and Ireland's largest annual photography festival, has transformed public spaces across the city and beyond into a living gallery with over 30 exhibitions from homegrown and international photographic talent. This year's theme is 'Biosphere'. Five major photographic commissions explore the fragility and beauty of Northern Ireland's natural heritage. Hill Pictures is an exploration of the iconic Belfast Hills, its people, and an invitation to collaborate in visualising our natural heritage. Belfast photo festival is on until 30 June Hill Pictures documents the long-term conservation of the hills Slievenacloy, Colin Glen, Divis and the Black Mountain, Ligoniel, Cave Hill and Carnmoney Hill. Photographer Polly Garnett says of her image of two young women climbing together on Cave Hill: 'This chance encounter on the hills reaffirmed the crucial role the hills play as a space for people to connect both to each other and to nature' Polly Garnett: 'Hill Pictures is in many ways a love letter to the hills, yet does not shy away from the complexities of our relationship to them. I documented both the planting of trees by conservation volunteers and the aftermath of wildfires which are a frequent occurrence on the hillsides closest to the city' Photographer Yvette Monahan: 'Otoliths, or ear stones, have revealed a fascinating world of fish senses. Otoliths can serve as biological timekeepers and storytellers – much like tree rings, holding the collective memory of the aquatic world. These remarkable otolith structures hold a biochronology– a map of life experiences embedded and made visible within their physical forms' Monahan: 'The scales and eels have illuminated the invisible mappings and magnetic fields that present fish as living archives. They have provided me with tangible subjects to photograph as I explored the intangible aspects of their lives' Monahan: 'Each layer encodes the fish's journeys, revealing the duration of their existence and the experiences that have shaped them. Their bodies carry a shared memory, telling a collective story. Fish possess an incredible ability to create and follow a map guided by instinctual knowledge, not on paper but within their very beings. They navigate the world using magnetic fields and respond to unseen frequencies, forging a connection between their biology and the forces of the planet. This living archive is not a static record; it continuously evolves' Shallow Waters aims to investigate the way myth and tradition sit alongside heavy industry and how closely connected they are, despite being at odds with each other. Through a photographic investigation of the landscape, its people and traditions, Joe Laverty charts a thread of connection between the two opposing engagements with the shallow waters of Lough Neagh, as it negotiates multiple threats and regulatory negligence Lough Neagh is the largest body of water in the UK and Ireland. It connects five counties and is often referred to as a county in itself. It is one of the largest freshwater lakes in Europe, and it is dying in plain sight Photographer Joe Laverty: 'Lough Neagh is dying right in front of us. It is fighting a perfect storm of largely man-made conditions that threaten to kill off its ecosystem entirely. This image shows a farmer's slurry pipe, half in/half out of the lough's water. It is emblematic of a wider problem with nutrient pollution of the lough's bed. Although technically legal, the pipe's incongruous presence is a foreboding reminder of Lough Neagh's fragile outlook' Bog Story traces the historical and contemporary landscape of peatlands in and around the Sperrins, a designated area of outstanding natural beauty. Chad Alexander's exploration delves into the cultural and environmental significance of bogs, examining the personal, economical and mythical relationships between people and the land. Through this body of work, he highlights the destructive effects of industrial practices, such as drainage, extraction, afforestation, and unregulated burning, that can harm these fragile ecosystems Photographer Chad Alexander: 'Over 80% of Northern Ireland's peatlands are either damaged or in poor condition, transforming them from vital carbon sinks into carbon emitters. This ecological unravelling threatens not only the climate, but also the richly diverse habitats they sustain, including those of endangered species. Compounding these pressures is the encroachment of mineral extraction companies, whose pursuit of gold and other minerals produces irreversible scars on these ancient landscapes' Alexander: 'Peatlands are also natural time capsules. Their waterlogged, oxygen-starved, and highly acidic environments preserve organic material in extraordinary detail, capturing traces of human history, mythology, and cultural memory. Growing at just one millimetre per year, each metre of peat stores a millennium of the past. Among the most intriguing discoveries are bog bodies – astonishingly well-preserved human remains, many over 2,000 years old, bearing evidence of ritual sacrifice. Their presence provides a window into a distant and enigmatic past' Narrow Valley captures a protected area of temperate rainforest that endures with minimal human interference: trees are left to die, to fall and to nourish the forest floor in a continuous cycle of decay and regeneration Photographer Helio León: 'Nature is our biggest teacher, a reflection of our soul. We are also nature, it rules us and deserves the utmost respect. I used to create my work mainly in big cities, documenting subculture and my personal reflections. Lately, though, I've turned my lens towards nature. I feel the presence of time and memory there, particularly in the forest. I've always been interested in capturing something invisible. And I believe there's a spirit there in nature, an aura that I find to be present in the pictures' Using alternative photographic processes which involved washing and bleaching his exposed film in the River Glenarm, León has produced large abstract prints on fabric which will be displayed in Belfast's Tropical Ravine
Mail & Guardian
18-06-2025
- General
- Mail & Guardian
Documenting sacred ecology: Mamelodi to Rustenburg Kloof conservation walk begins
Ecological threats in the Magaliesberg have spurred the community-led conservation effort. (Delwyn Verasamy/M&G) A unique project to document the conditions at sacred natural sites and traditional ecological knowledge from Mamelodi to Rustenburg Kloof began on Monday. It comes after Despite its Unesco Biosphere status, the Magaliesberg faces growing threats from mining, urban expansion, tree felling, water pollution and a lack of environmental education. Dzerefos's project, in partnership with traditional healer Ephraim Cebisa Mabena, is a culturally grounded response. It will document conditions at sacred natural sites such as in Majakaneng Kloof, Barnardsvlei and Kgaswane Mountain Reserve. Mabena will lead discussions with traditional healers, church groups and holy water collectors to explore how spiritual practices can align with sustainable environmental use. His ties to the Magaliesberg and his The project responds to alarming developments such as the 'These events highlight the disconnect between top-down policy and local spiritual users. The initiative uses a participatory model where Dr Mabena interprets environmental conditions and threats through a cultural lens, identifying sacred ecological signs and proposing culturally appropriate responses,' they said. Dzerefos will document the process, ensure ethical standards and translate findings into tools that can influence land use policy and eco-literacy. 'This project is about restoring our relationship and appreciation of natural areas,' she said. 'Through Dr Mabena's leadership, we hope to find ways to maintain the Magaliesberg's pristine water and habitat for leopard, baboon, birds of prey and other indigenous animal and plant species that still exist in the Magaliesberg.' Mabena noted: 'This walk is just to indicate that as a human being living on this Earth, I'm a part, not apart from biodiversity, therefore it is my task to make sure that I protect this planet. And this walk, to me, is just to try to activate our ancient wisdom into activism that can give birth to alternative ways that can be beneficial to all of us in saving our planet, especially our sacred spaces and our flora and fauna.' The walk is to trigger the spirit of working among healers 'as indigenous knowledge custodians, as creative thinkers, as artists, as scholars and visionaries and wisdom holders' to protect sacred spaces and natural resources. Mabena emphasised the importance of schools, colleges and universities to develop academic courses on the importance of sacred sites. '[This is] because such sites are to me outdoor educational centres; places like sacred sites and protected areas are a mirror to us where we see ourselves. How can we encourage communities to be guardians of such sacred places and protected areas?' He dedicated the walk to 'all who came before me, before us, in protecting such sacred spaces. These natural resources, like the Magaliesberg mountains, it's a place of wilderness, of wars … There are The project launched at Mamelodi Mountain on Monday with the symbolic planting of Kei apple, which was attended by environmental historian
Daily Mirror
11-05-2025
- Daily Mirror
Vancouer Island is Canada's coolest and easier to visit than you might think
Hearing of Brits taking short breaks in the US is not that unusual – but a long weekend in Canada? Yet, flight times and costs are not so different and, for those with a sense of curiosity and adventure, Vancouver Island on the west coast is one destination not to be missed. A short four-night five-day stay in British Columbia's historic capital city Victoria is definitely doable, highly enjoyable and surprisingly affordable. Victoria is beautiful, located on the southern tip of Vancouver Island between the Juan de Fuca and Haro Straits, and with its seascapes and pristine coastline it offers visitors plenty to see and do with fabulous places to eat and stay. Destination Greater Victoria, the official not-for-profit marketing group partnered with more than 900 local businesses, is helping drive sustainable growth in the area, and it highlights the city's 'unique' blend of old-world charm and new-world experiences. It says visitors can look forward to a delightful, small and friendly city where they can enjoy heritage architecture, colourful gardens and a variety of activities such as whale watching, kayaking, hiking, cycling and golf. It is also known for its culinary excellence and award-winning beverages. Quite the line-up, then. Victoria also boasts Canada's mildest climate, year-round greenery and natural beauty and is recognised for its sustainability efforts with a Responsible Tourism Institute's Biosphere certification. Set beside the Salish Sea, Victoria lies on the ancestral lands of the Lekwungen-speaking Esquimalt and Songhees Nations. Deeply rooted in its indigenous culture, the area is also proud of its British and royal connections and Asian traditions, all elements reflected in the city's architecture, galleries, cultural events, artworks and celebrations. Indigenous people lived in the harbour area long before British colonists arrived in earnest in the 19th century, pushing the original residents out when they built a fort and other buildings. Today's Victoria took its shape from the fur trading post of the Hudson Bay Company and the city would develop to protect British interests on Vancouver Island. The harbour area is still significant to the indigenous people, now a place to see their artworks as part of the Placemaking Project aimed at connecting residents and visitors to the First Nations' culture. New gates and umbrellas installed at the harbour feature images of whales, birds and sea creatures helping to keep the ancient stories. Esquimalt Nation Hereditary Chief Ed Thomas greets visitors in Lekwungen, the traditional language in southeastern Vancouver Island, and shares stories of the whales and wolves central to his people's story of origin. The history of the indigenous people and the colonisation is also featured among a raft of exhibits and stories told at the Royal BC Museum. You could easily lose yourself for hours taking in the exhibits or an IMAX film. Near the museum is Thunderbird Park, home to colourful hand-carved indigenous totems (or story or knowledge poles). For those seeking excitement, the Malahat SkyWalk attraction is a short bus ride from Victoria. It offers an accessible 650-yard tree walk through a forest leading to a spectacular spiral ramp that sedately takes walkers 105ft up to see breathtaking views. The more intrepid come back down via a spiral slide, which takes about 10 seconds. For those seeking less adrenalin, the 100-year-old Butchart Gardens with its 55 acres of glorious floral displays, fountains and fairground carousel, makes for a pleasant afternoon. Alternatively, you can hop on an electric bike, or ordinary bike, from Pedaler, for a tour – this proved to be a great way to take in the city and its peaceful suburbs. The route took us via British Columbia's Legislative Assembly, colourful Chinatown, Bastion Square, Craigdarroch Castle (built by a wealthy Scottish coal baron), dramatic Oak Bay and Ross Bay Cemetery, where squirrels played and lone deer, unfazed by humans whizzing by, nibbled at the grass. Back in the city, its colonial past dominated the landscape with landmark buildings including the BC Parliament Building with its domed copper roof. The allure of gold also attracted Chinese migrants to the city who would later work on the Canadian Pacific Railway. The city has the oldest Chinatown in Canada and is notable for its historic buildings, lanterns and animal statues. It also has the narrowest commercial street in North America, Fan Tan Alley, once a hub for gambling and opium, now a popular destination for tourists exploring its quirky shops and a popularbakery. The city also offers a host of accommodation to meet all purses, from budget hotels, B&Bs and inns, to some of the most impressive luxury places to rest your head. No visit to Victoria is complete without a visit to the Fairmont Empress hotel, which has a selection of packages and promotions whether you are planning a quick weekend getaway or longer trip of a lifetime The award-winning five-star property, known as Canada's 'Castle on the Coast', sits beside the Inner Harbour. Dating back to 1908, the National Historic Site was named for Queen Victoria and is proud of its British connections and royal associations. With 431 rooms and suites, it also includes a hotel-within-a-hotel – the Fairmont Gold experience, with its gorgeous rooms, fine dining and elegant terrace to sip cocktails or enjoy breakfast from its lavish buffet. It has been serving traditional English afternoon tea for well over a century and the menus showcase lavender from the hotel rooftop garden, honey from its own hives and fresh, local produce and exquisitely decorated handmade chocolates. Dainty finger sandwiches, freshly baked scones with strawberry jam and tempting pastries are served on exquisite china. Carefully selected loose-leaf teas are ethically sourced from leading suppliers and include an intriguing and popular brew coloured blue and aptly named Blue Suede Shoes. You can get a selection of the most interesting, important and fun travel stories sent to your inbox every week by subscribing to the Mirror Travel newsletter. It's completely free and takes minutes to do. The hotel is just a stone's throw from downtown Victoria with its many shops, bars, pubs, restaurants and cafes. At the modern Inn at Laurel Point, my luxurious room was light and spacious with a large balcony boasting expansive harbour views, a sumptuous king-size bed and sofa area, as well as a palatial bathroom with a walk-in shower and a deep soak tub to die for. The hotel also has the fabulous Aura Waterfront Restaurant + Patio where chefs combine regional, farm-direct ingredients and use herbs grown in the hotel garden. There is also a curated wine, craft beer and cocktail list to pair with the quality local ingredients. Just around the corner, passing a young seal playing in the sea, was another treasure waiting to be discovered – Fisherman's Wharf. Its a unique destination with its colourful floating buildings, kiosks and ice cream and seafood vendors and is where you can hop on one of the iconic yellow water taxis. A hop over the water and it was a short walk to Phillips Brewing & Malting Co, a quirky and friendly micro-brewery to sample a heady selection of beers before heading off to Eva Schnitzel restaurant to tuck into a German-inspired supper. So much variety and enjoyment in one city. What a place!
BBC News
18-04-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Easter art exhibition with 300 original pieces opens in Douglas
An exhibition showcasing more than 300 pieces of original artwork is open over the Easter annual Easter Art Exhibition, which is organised by the Isle of Man Art Society, runs until Monday and is open from 10:00 until 18:00 BST daily at the Villa Marina Arcade in display showcases work created by the art society's members, and includes oil, acrylic, watercolour and ink art, as well as ceramic, glass and woodcraft Quirk, Secretary of the Isle of Man Art Society said there was a "diverse range of artwork" which meant there was "something for everybody". With work from 92 artists on display, Ms Quirk said: "I try to encourage members to have a go, because it is a real buzz to show your work, and have people comment on it."Manx artists tended to "lean on the benefits of living on the Isle of Man" and the "beauty of our surroundings so inevitably you have nature in most of the artwork here", she Barber, vice chairwoman of Biosphere Isle of Man, which works in partnership with the art society for the exhibition, said the island's unique culture and Biosphere continued to "fuel creativity". The display was a "staple of the Manx cultural calendar", she in the exhibition is artist Janine Skelly's contemporary work depicting Manx harbour scenes, which will be used in an upcoming Isle of Man Post Office stamp collection.A spokesperson for the art society said it was a "wonderful opportunity to engage with the local art community" and "meet the artists behind the masterpieces".The Isle of Man Art Society was founded in 1953 with 28 artists involved, but its membership has since grown to more than 300. Read more stories from the Isle of Man on the BBC, watch BBC North West Tonight on BBC iPlayer and follow BBC Isle of Man on Facebook and X.
