Norman Nicholson Symposium | 27 September 2025 | Ambleside
Third annual symposium on the life, work and legacies of 20th century Cumbrian poet, playwright and topographical writer, Norman Nicholson, at the University of Cumbria’s Ambleside campus.
This free event was delivered in collaboration by the University’s Centre for National Parks & Protected Areas and the Norman Nicholson Society. https://www.normannicholson.org/
The theme for the 2025 symposium was ‘Place, Space and Time in Nicholson’s Oeuvre’.
This symposium continued and extended the range of debate about: Nicholson’s place in English Literature; his lifelong engagement with the landscape, industry, culture and history of Greater Lakeland; his sensitive awareness of and response to the natural world; and his abiding commitment to societal, environmental, and spiritual issues.
Dr David Cooper of Manchester Metropolitan University was this year’s keynote speaker and the day featured a full programme of speakers, including one of the University of Cumbria’s own PhD students, Meghann Hillier-Broadley, who gave a presentation on her own research into Nicholson’s work.
Resonance Event, Poetry & Film | March 2025
As part of the Land Use for Net Zero, People & Nature (LUNZ) Hub consortium Visiting Research Fellows and PLACE Collective co-founders, Harriet Fraser and Rob Fraser, delivered a two-day event in Cumbria for researchers, policymakers and practitioners, in collaboration with Centre for National Parks & Protected Areas.
The LUNZ Hub Big Tent event in Cumbria focused on land use for net zero, nature and people, in UK uplands and protected landscapes. The two-day event explored opportunities for scaling up and replicating change, using a transdisciplinary framework including site visits, shared meals and a conference, with poetry and art interventions.
Harriet read her
new poetry at the opening of day two, at the University of Cumbria's Ambleside campus. This is published on the
somewhere nowhere website, the online home of Rob and Harriet's personal practice.
A film about the
Resonance project by Matt Sharman of the PLACE Collective is available through the LUNZ Hub website.
Literary Walking Tour of Carlisle | Launch Event | 27 October 2023
|
A Literary Walking Tour of Carlisle is the third literary guidebook to be written by the University of Cumbria’s Associate Professor of English Literature, Dr Penny Bradshaw. Penny is theme lead for Cultural Landscapes within the University’s Centre for National Parks and Protected Areas and her main area of research expertise relates to literary representations of place. In her most recent walking guidebook, the rich literary heritage of the ancient city of Carlisle is celebrated.
A Literary Walking Tour of Carlisle details the city’s long history of literary associations through a half-day walk, accompanied by words from the many celebrated poets and novelists who visited the town, including the Wordsworths, Robert Burns, Sir Walter Scott, Mary Shelley, Charles Dickens, Hugh Walpole, and Melvyn Bragg.
|
Free lecture | A Right to See the Stars: Bringing Outdoor Education to All the People | 25 January 2023, London
Prof Chris Loynes asks: Outdoor Education - what can it offer urban communities, and how to make it accessible and inclusive?
Public lecture recording - view here on YouTube.
Cultural Landscapes Talk on Place Names - 7 November 2022, Ambleside
Envisaging landscapes and naming places: the Ordnance Survey name books and the Lake District
Speaker: Professor Fiona Edmonds, Lancaster University
This talk was hosted at University of Cumbria's Ambleside campus, brought to you by the Centre for National Parks & Protected Areas with The Armitt Library & Museum Centre.
A 21st Century ‘People’s Charter’ for Nature, Access & Landscape: Panel Discussion - 31 October 2022
This online panel debate, in partnership with the Campaign for National Parks, will explored powers and legislation required for protected landscapes to address the overlapping crises of health, nature and climate.
The discussion was chaired by Julia Aglionby, Professor of Practice at University of Cumbria. Confirmed panellists include Rose O’Neill, Chief Executive of Campaign for National Parks, Sarah Mukherjee MBE, CEO of IEMA, and Tompion Platt, Director of Operations and Advocacy for the Ramblers.
Further information: cnp.org.uk/event
Landscapes for Nature Recovery Conference - March/April 2022
- An evening webinar presenting the context for nature recovery in protected landscapes
- An online conference exploring practicalities of nature recovery
These events were hosted by CNPPA in partnership with the Lake District National Park Partnership, RSPB and Nature North.
View the Landscapes for Nature Recovery Conference Programme, 7 April 2022.
View recordings of the main sessions.
National Landscapes Partnership Panel Discussion - February 2022
This event was hosted by CNPPA in partnership with the Campaign for National Parks and explored Defra’s proposed National Landscapes Partnership.
A recording is available on our YouTube channel here.
What is Natural Beauty? Symposium - December 2021
This online event was hosted by CNPPA and run by the PLACE Collective with the Wye Valley AONB Partnership and the Lake District National Park Authority.
The symposium brought together strands from debates about the practicalities and economics of landscape management, within the context of what is considered beautiful and draws people into Protected Landscapes.
Farming with Nature Conference - May 2021
CNPPA hosted this online conference, in partnership with the Food, Farming and Countryside Commission.
Recordings are available to view on our YouTube channel here.
The event report is available here: Food, Farming and Countryside Commission - Event Report.
-300x450.jpg)
-300x341.JPG)
-300x300.png)
-700x525.jpg)
-700x422.jpg)
-700x466.jpg)
-(1)-(1)-1148x646.png)
-(1)-300x400.jpg)
-(2)-300x300.jpg)
-300x400.HEIC)
-300x200.jpg)
-300x200.jpg)
-300x224.jpg)
-300x400.jpg)
-300x225.jpg)
