The Isle of Sheppey lies at the mouth of the River Thames in Swale. Historically a collection of land masses, the channels between the islands gradually silted up to create one landmass. A mixture of clay and marsh criss-crossed with inlets and drainage channels, over time the island has been moulded by the sea and other environmental forces, together with human action.
Sheppey’s geology is rich in fossils, which are regularly liberated by the slippage of cliffs and erosion from the North Sea. It is also a green oasis, with wetland habitats supporting an enormous range of birdlife, and even a population of scorpions imported on a visiting ship in the 1860s.
Join artist and academic, Ian Bride, for the second half of a fascinating introduction to the geology and ecology of North Sheppey and how this place has changed over time. In Ebb & Flow Part I, we learned about Sheppey’s geological epochs, its ecological and anthropological history and about the challenges faced by flora and fauna inhabiting the coastline as well as their adaptations to this environment. In Part II, we’ll hear about the flora and fauna specific to Sheppey, the effects of human activity on Sheppey’s coastline and the ebb and flow of interest in allotments, small-scale farming and locally grown produce.
Please note: while the talk builds on some of the themes from Part I, this event is standalone and you are very welcome to join us if you missed Part I.
Sheppey Matters Healthy Living Centre is a 7min walk from Sheerness-on-Sea station and is next to Beachfields pay and display car park. The centre has disabled access and toilets (including disabled facilities). Light refreshments will be provided.
This event is generously hosted by Sheppey Matters.
Sheppey Matters Healthy Living Centre, Off The Broadway, Sheerness ME12 1HH
Ian’s creative practice is founded upon many years as an interdisciplinary academic, teacher, researcher and practitioner working in biodiversity conservation, environmental education, and anthropology. He keenly explores and communicates human/nature discourses through a practice that engages with objects (natural and human-made), representation, and a wide range of processes. In so doing, he draws upon considerable knowledge and experience gained from his previous occupations, coupled with his training in creative arts and as a professional woodworker. This has meant that much of his art has involved wood in one form or another. Yet he is comfortable experimenting with almost any materials and ways of making, by ‘releasing’ exotic creatures from driftwood, ‘collaborating’ with wood ants over several years to produce L’antscrape art, or giving ‘voice’ to sentinel trees that have been observing and casting judgement on human activities. Ian Bride is Emeritus Reader in Biodiversity Management at University of Kent.
Ebb & Flow Part II is part of the wider project Intertidal Allotment. Our 2024-2025 Intertidal Allotment events programme invites people to explore ideas and test out materials for a new community allotment on the north coast of Sheppey – a proposed functional artwork by artist Andrew Merritt, one half of the artist duo Something & Son. As we move into the prototyping phase, we will be offering stimulating conversations on the project’s themes and hands-on activities to test materials and forms for the world’s first coastal allotment. The project is kindly supported using public funding by the National Lottery through Arts Council England and The National Lottery Community Fund. With additional support from Ideas Test, Swale Borough Council, and Kent County Council.