Prospect Heights Natural Resources Commission

January 28th, 2025 - 7:00 PM - 8:30 PM

Live from Scotland, Flo  Blackbourn, "Why Not Scotland? -  Lessons Learned on my Rewilding Journey"

In the summer of 2023 a young Scot, Flo Blackbourn, traveled to nature restoration projects in six European countries, including her home country of Scotland, meeting numerous experts involved in the protection and restoration of our land and seas, and learning how people, as well as the natural world, can benefit from rewilding. Through this experience she considered the things she learned, what worked, and why it seemed that other countries were progressing much faster than the Scotland which she knows and loves.

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All programs take place at the Prospect Heights Public Library's AB meeting room and on Zoom. Talks start promptly at 7:00. Nature Speaks is free admission but registration is necessary.

While often seen as nature-rich and wild, Scotland is actually one of the most nature-depleted countries in the world, ranking 212th out of 240 countries based on their biodiversity intactness. However, many Scots themselves are unaware of this, being brought up to believe that Scotland is in fact a highly biodiverse country. This is the belief that Flo, too, had growing up. However, the more she learned about the state of nature - not just in Scotland but worldwide, the more Flo was gripped with eco-anxiety.

Norway - Photo Tierney Lloyd

Poland - Photo Mat Larkin

Oban - Photo Tierney Lloyd

Germany - Photo Mat Larkin

Norway - Photo Tierney Lloyd

During this journey, Flo’s perspectives and understanding of many topics related to the natural world grew and changed, and she finished the journey in the autumn of 2023 feeling a genuine sense of hope, but with probably just as many questions as answers.

In this talk Flo will discuss her perspectives before, during and after her journey, and what visiting the many projects and meeting the many experts involved taught her about the potential for a rewilded nation.

Flo Blackbourn is a bird conservationist living in Glasgow, Scotland. Originally from the east coast of Scotland, Flo grew up in the countryside surrounded by the nature that she saw in her garden and woodlands near her home. Assuming that the way she felt about nature was the norm, she was shocked when, as a teenager, she began to discover that the natural world was under threat and that wildlife was often the casualty of human behaviour. Deciding to dedicate her life to trying to address this conflict in some way she studied Zoology at university and then worked in wildlife rehabilitation for three years, since then moving into supporting animal rescue work, researching bird migration, and working to encourage co-existence.

In 2023, Flo was invited on a journey to take part in a film, looking at rewilding projects and rewilded places around Europe and considering what more Scotland could be doing to improve its biodiversity. Now working in bird conservation, Flo enjoys spending her time talking to others about what she learned on her travels and encouraging as well as learning from others regarding how to better co-exist with the wildlife we live beside.

Admission is free of charge but you must register for in-person or zoom viewing. This program will be recorded for distribution at a later date.