Richmond park

Our 2nd trip in the fielding part of our course was to Richmond Park to meet park ranger Adam Curtis. We arrived at Richmond Park and had a wander to Holly Lodge where we met Adam who wanted our views on proposed designs for a new gate highlighting the view to St Paul's. Then we went over management plans and how to spilt the plan into sections.

Permaculture

One of our fielding trips was to a permaculture site. Permaculture is all about creating sustainable human habitats by following natures patterns. So when we were exploring the site it was explained to us how it all worked and how the site was split into groups depending on how much they were used and how they used the natural resources of the site to benefit the harvest of the site by directing water and using compost toilets. The trip was really interesting as I've never heard of permaculture before and the way they were using natures patterns was really beneficial in creating a habitat that looked untouched by humans.

Cliveden

Cliveden is a National Trust site in Buckinghamshire. The reason a few of us went was to check out the bluebell display in the woodlands. It was amazing, a sea of blue covered the floor of the woods.

WestFields

Outside Westfields Shopping Mall there is a living wall, one of the first I've seen that actually works and isn't dying.

Swanage

I went scuba diving to Swanage at the end of March, and on my wander along the coast I found myself taking detailed pictures of the rock layers and the cliff face which are quite inspiring.

Basingstoke Canal

I ended up walking along part of the Basingstoke Canal near Shearwater one Sunday afternoon whilst visiting friends. This was an unusual part of the canal because they need to regulate the amount of water flowing through the locks, so that some areas don't become too shallow and unnavigatable. This means not many canal boats travel through this section and the owners have to ask permission if they do so. This quiet section of the canal has permanent floating houses with gardens which create a different dynamic along the bank of the canal.

Claremont Landscape Garden

Claremount Landscape Garden is on Portsmouth Road, Esher KT10 9JG. I went to visit the National Trust Garden on a sunny day in March. Claremont has gardens that surround a small lake and island, but what makes Claremount different is the grass amphitheatre. The garden's creation and development has also involved famous landscapers John Vanbrugh, Charles Bridgeman, William Kent and "Capability" Brown who created corridors of trees, hidden sculptures, grotto and buildings.

Late at Tate Britain

On the first Friday of every month (in this case the 6th of March) Tate Britain leaves it's doors open till 10pm, so I went to visit the Altermodern exhibition. 'Late at Tate' is more than a late night showing of an exhibition, it's an event. One of the rooms had a DJ and bar, others contained famous paintings and some rooms had massive pillows so you could relax and watch the changing art. It was such a different way to experience a gallery, instead of silence it was buzzing with people and music; it felt like a celebration of art rather than just a viewing.
Whilst wandering around the exhibition there were a few pieces that stood out:
one was by Gustav Metzger called 'liquid crystal environment'. This piece consisted of five projectors each with a slide of made up of two thin sheets of glass containing liquid crystals. Each projector contained rotating, polarising filters and a cooling and heating system which caused the liquid crystals to liquify or freeze, creating psychedelic effects of shifting colour and form.



Another piece was by Subodh Gupta called 'Line of control' which was made using stainless steel utensils. This piece "symbolises the release of the uneasy pressure-point that liberates mundane, tension-ridden reality through the bursting mushroom cloud of kitchen utensils"