Fieldtrip to Alice Holt Forest

Photo: From left-right, Goose, Max Gravestock, Danielle Grimsey, Johana Knowles, Anna Xambó, Luigi Marino, Peter Batchelor, and Mike Bell. Photo by Emma Ward.

Other photos by Anna Xambó.

On Friday 16th February, we went for our first field trip to the Alice Holt Forest related to the first project’s artistic intervention in the forest that we are planning for June. The main objective was to get to know the place for the audio streamers and sound installations, get to know the team in person, and discuss further how to communicate with Forest Research’s live data.

After a nice train trip from London and a walk from the Bentley (Hampshire) train station, I met Mike at the Forest Research Station of Alice Holt. We discussed about historical instrumentation for measuring environmental data used in Alice Holt since the mid-1900s and the role of data loggers. The World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) brings an international framework that ensures standardisation and interoperability.

Afterwards, we met with Pete and Luigi at the Alice Holt Visitors Centre café. Then, we joined the Forestry England team: Max, Max’s dog Goose, Danielle and Jo. We walked around the area by the Visitor Centre, seeing current installations and scoping out suitable sites. It was an enjoyable walk on a busy day surrounded by children and parents (it was a school holiday week). We discovered the concept of play areas, and how itineraries spin around these. Also, we realised about the history of the site, such as the kiln sites dating back from the Roman period.

We also explored a meadow favourite of Max, which likely is one of the areas with the most sunlight, suitable for the solar-powered audio streamer. Luigi explored an early prototype and its potential connectivity to the world. We also went to see the remote classic site where Semiconductor exhibited their Cosmos piece.

We were having a good time and the walk took longer than expected! In the afternoon, and after a quick lunch, Luigi, Pete and I made our way to the Straits Inclosure led by Mike. Mike gave us a tour of the Straits Inclosure flux tower and surrounding experiments. We started a discussion on what data might be relevant for the project, looking at different temporal rhythms (hourly, daily, seasonlly) that can tell us variations related to climate change, such as light or wind. We agreed to continue the conversation in the upcoming days.

Time flew. It was a wonderful day, productive and interesting. It was great to meet the team on-site and get to know more about the place. We will continue exploring points of convergence among disciplines and perspectives, which is one of the most rewarding parts of the project. Thank you for a great Friday!