Reweirding: Urban Nature: Animals, Plants and Life in the City

Presented by: London Fortean Society

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0	LONDON: Amersham Arms
P	Tuesday 13th September, 2022
N	7:00pm

Event information

A city is an eco-system and we’re going to explore it. Florence Wilkinson, author of 'Wild City: Encounters With Urban Wildlife', takes us on the journey into why we should engage with our fellow urban species. Luke Turner of The Quietus, author of 'Out of the Woods', describes his memoir on sexuality, shame and the lure of the trees on the cities edge and Roy Vickery of the South London Botanical Institute and author of 'Vickery’s Folk Flora' discusses the lore of London’s urban plant life.
Book sales via New Cross’s The Word Bookshop.

Roy Vickery – Urban Plant Lore
Plants have had symbolic as well as practical meanings and uses since the beginning of human civilisation. This on talk on the rich variety of British and Irish folklore draws on Roy Vickery's own unsurpassed archives collated over forty years, and a wide range of historical and contemporary literature. Based on new material collected by the author and showing that we still cling to the symbolic importance of plants. Putting conkers in wardrobes keeps moths away, and parsley - the Devil's plant - only germinates if sown on Good Friday.
Roy Vickery worked as a botanist at the Natural History Museum, London for over 30 years, as the museum's curator of vascular plants. He has published five books on plant folklore and is a former Honorary Secretary of the Folklore Society. He is president of the South London Botanical Institute.

Florence Wilkinson – Wild City: Encounters With Urban Wildlife
The badgers of Brighton’s most exclusive postcode. The water voles of Glasgow. The Black Country bats who have found a haven in old industrial tunnels. The peregrine falcons nesting on the ledges of tower blocks. The mosquitoes found on the London Underground and nowhere else on earth.
City-dwellers, it’s time to meet your neighbours.
In Wild City Florence Wilkinson takes us on a fascinating journey into why we should engage with our fellow urban species. What we might see – if we only take the time to look – and how nature is adapting to human-engineered environments in unexpected and ingenious ways.
Wild City proposes a compelling manifesto for city wildlife, suggesting how we might take action to protect the often-overlooked residents who live alongside us.
Florence is a writer, filmmaker and co-founder of birdsong recognition app Warblr. She writes mainly about nature, women and politics, and has been featured in the Telegraph Magazine, The Pool, Vice and Grazia. Florence’s film projects include a mini documentary about the Dogs of Instagram, a series of three short films with The Urban Birder.

Luke Turner - Out of the Woods: Nature, Sexuality, and Faith in the Forest
Luke Turner had been battling since childhood are quick to return – depression and guilt surrounding his identity as a bisexual man, experiences of sexual abuse, and the religious upbringing that was the cause of so much confusion. It is among the trees of London’s Epping Forest where he seeks refuge. But once a place of comfort, it now seems full of unexpected, elusive threats that trigger twisted reactions.
Luke finds himself drawn again and again to the woods, eager to uncover the strange secrets that may be buried there as he investigates an old family rumour of illicit behaviour. Away from a society that still struggles to cope with the complexities of masculinity and sexuality, Luke begins to accept the duality that has provoked so much unrest in his life – and reconcile the expectations of others with his own way of being.
Luke is a writer and editor. He co-founded the influential music website The Quietus where he runs a regular podcast and radio show. He has contributed to the Guardian, Dazed & Confused, Vice, NME, Q, Mojo, Monocle, Nowness and Somesuch Stories, among other publications. His first book, Out of the Woods, was shortlisted for the Wainwright Prize. He lives in London.