Rebecca Cornwell

Supervisors

Professor Donna Heddle (INS, UHI), Dr Rosalind Bryce (Centre for Mountain Studies, UHI), Dr Aline Finger (Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh)

Research Title

Precious Persistence: The Ecological Legacy of Shetland Botanical Writing for our Modern Understanding and Experience of Rare Plants in the Face of Climate Change

Research Abstract

Shetland botanical writing is rich in scientific, environmental, and cultural detail, giving vivid insight into how flora is experienced and the flourishing transfer of local plant knowledge into the wider community. This project will reinterpret historical botanical writings seeking a traceable connection from original plant recording to current ecological research. Through lived experience past and present, it will explore how our modern understanding of and relationship with Shetland rare plants is being shaped in the face of increasing habitat fragility and biodiversity loss due to climate change. Knowledge of past environments is essential for understanding contemporary ecological communities, offering valuable insights into the changing relationships between people and nature, informing conservation activities and public awareness of rare species. Outputs will provide valuable context to understand contemporary perceptions and understanding of rare and vulnerable species, and to improve quality and completeness of biological records, providing a novel approach to overcoming the chronic issue of shifting-baseline-syndrome where knowledge is lost between generations, leading to an incomplete understanding of how nature is changing.

Biography

Rebecca is a full-time postgraduate student with the Institute for Northern Studies, UHI Orkney, based in the Centre for Mountain Studies, UHI Perth. Before starting her research with INS, Rebecca has worked in a variety of roles including Public Engagement Officer at the University of St Andrews and as a qualified teacher both in schools and outreach roles including St Andrews Botanic Garden. She holds an MPhil on ‘The Dynamics of Natural Enemy Resistance in Aphid Populations’ from the University of Dundee and an MRes (Distinction) in Environmental Biology from the University of St Andrews. This project is funded by a SGSAH Collaborative Doctoral Award and is being undertaken in collaboration with the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh. Rebecca’s interests include Scottish native plants, rare plants, Shetland writings and community engagement.

Related links https://twitter.com/PlantLegacyScot

Contact email address 23018253@uhi.ac.uk