The sea surrounds Cornwall on three sides, this long, craggy foot of Britain that just 100 miles out into the Atlantic Ocean.
It's rollers crash in on the North coast of Cornwall after thousands of miles of uninterrupted travel from the American shores. No wonder the waters can be so dangerous - and the surf so thrilling. The sea means danger but it also means food - it is a natural larder stocked with fish ready to be exploited - and also transport, the sea acting as a carrier for those bound for the new horizons of America and Australia during the great emigration.
The sea is a natural environment for many of the Cornish, something to be respected but worked with. Few romanticise it, but few leave it once they have a taste for it, despite the crisis in the fishing industry and the increasing cost of staying afloat.
Cornwall and the sea are inextricably intertwined.
We study of one the most famous Cornish brands ever
Founded in 1920 by Bernard Leach, the Leach Pottery in St Ives is probably the most famous and certainly the most influential pottery studio in the world. Based on Japanese workshop practice and the arts and crafts principles of beauty combined with function, it became a model for studios across the world and attracted scores of artists and students. At its core was the production of standardware – practical but beautiful tableware for everyday use.
The Leach Tableware is a new range of contemporary kitchenware designed by Jack Doherty, the present lead potter. The work is made and fired on site by Jack and a team of trainee potters.
‘Standard ware’ was the original range of household pots produced at the pottery after the war, made in response to the need for utilitarian, practical and economical domestic ware. With factories engaged in essential war work, Leach designed simple, sturdily thrown pots in stoneware with minimal decoration and introduced a training scheme to increase production. He believed that functional everyday objects should be anything but ordinary, made with integrity and authority but also be beautiful and necessary.
Jack’s challenge was to design a new tableware range with its roots in the legacy of the Leach philosophy but which would look comfortable today.
“I want to make strong brave pots, which are satisfying to own and use. Why shouldn’t your day begin by cradling a cup which has been made with care and love?”
The pots made today retain a sense of place. Clay is locally sourced and the colours of the Cornish landscape are reflected in the soda glazed surfaces, retaining the nature and quality of the materials. Each piece is completely individual, unique in colour and texture, united by form, fire and function.
Who?
Originally trained as a draughtsman Bernard Leach travelled to Japan in 1912 to teach etching to the Japanese. Instead he learned the art of pottery and made it his own, bringing it back to the UK in 1920 where he founded the Leach Pottery in St Ives. Scores of potter and students from around the world trained at the Leach over the years making it the most influential pottery studio in the world.
Visit Leach Pottery Studio and Museum at Higher Stennack, St Ives TR26 2HE or learn more at www.leachpottery.com
Alien visitors have plagued the Cornish Coast. The waters are haunted. Vacant gapes set in stone skin are silently feasting on their microscopic prey… Cetorhinus maximus is their Latin name, more commonly known as? The Basking Shark. Not so alien perhaps. These magnificent beings grace the British coast regularly in the spring and summer months where they come to feed while the water is more temperate, though they are generally circumglobal. They are the second largest known fish at 6 - 9 metres (30 ft), dwarfed only by the Whale Shark, which can sometimes be up to 14 metres (46 ft) long. Larger fish have yet to be discovered, but, given that we know more about the surface of the moon than we do about what lurks in the ocean, it could be out there!
At one time, Basking Sharks were hunted for oil and cartilage, putting an enormous dent in their numbers, as they take much longer to mature than most fish species and do not have an especially high reproductive rate to compensate. The oil is found in its unusually large liver, which can account for up to a quarter of the shark’s weight and swallows up nearly the entirety of its abdominal cavity. As with most animals, it is thought that the large liver is for long-term storage, though there is speculation referring to the possibility that it could be used as a buoyancy aid as it has no swim-bladder and the oil is not as dense as it might be expected. Nowadays, this precious oil is protected internationally and locally by various shark-friendly laws and acts, meaning it is now illegal to intentionally harm them.
The Shark Trust has designed a code of conduct for the general public to use so that they can approach the Basking Sharks in their natural habitat without upsetting or disturbing them. You can find this on their website: www.baskingsharks.org along with information on how to spot them and somewhere to submit your photos for identification. There is even a blog to follow if you wish to keep up with the sightings!
If you are a regular sea-goer, chances are that you’ve spotted your fair share of Basking Sharks – or have you? Basking Sharks are usually identified by the sight of a dorsal fin protruding from the water, but you’d be surprised how many people get them confused with a completely different though equally bizarre looking creature: the Sunfish or Mola Mola. These are also identified by a dorsal fin vaguely flapping above the surface of the water, and are so named because of their tendency to drift through the shallower, warmer parts of the sea in the sunnier seasons. Like the Basking shark, they are harmless despite their enormity, though they can damage boats if the two happen to collide – they have also been known to leap out of the water to remove parasites, occasionally landing on somebody’s deck! Another similarity with the Basking Shark is that they do not have a swim bladder like most fish do. Sunfish do not have a real tail either but a truncated shape known as a clavus instead. They steer with two enormous dorsal and ventral fins, looking marginally eerie as they meander slowly through the shallows.
(Photo by Dan Hershman)
Unfortunately, with the plankton blooms that are attracting the Basking Sharks comes something a little smaller but rather more worrying. Several recent headlines have been on the topic of jellyfish, and there has indeed been a wider variety of more colourful and less friendly species than usual.
The Lion’s Mane jellyfish and the Bluefire jellyfish are the most recent species to hit the papers, with swarms of hundreds spotted off the southern coast of Cornwall. These do not always cause fatality, but can cause anaphalaxis (an allergic reaction varying in severity) or muscle paralysis, which has the potential to affect the lungs or heart and result in fatality. As the reaction to jellyfish stings depends so significantly on the individual, it is recommended that you stay well away from any you might find, as a precaution. Even beached jellyfish can sting, so don’t be overruled by your curiousity, even if the pulsing blobs of living jelly are rather intriguing oddities to find on the sand.
(Photo by Dan Hershman)
Cornwall is playing host to an increasing number of weird and wonderful other species as well as the many sea-dwellers. Red kites have been spotted passing through Bodmin and Marazion, distinguishable from other birds of prey by their angular forked tail, and there are even rumours of golden orioles being seen recently, an unmissable species that is more yellow than bird! In St Breward, colonies of wallabies have set up a permanent residence, having survived several winters and started to breed. Not to mention a male beaver that has been happily munching on local trees after escaping under an electric fence. Watch out for these peculiar alien invaders!
Lydia Smears investigates what climate change will mean for Cornwall and uncovers some shocking scenarios
I wish that I’d never been asked to write this article.
Initially, I perceived the article to be a tad dull.
However, with imminent flooding in Truro, the possibility of hundreds of properties in Helston being under-water, the invasion of foreign species, severe drought, farming made impossible - the issue of climate change in Cornwall is anything but dull. It is in fact, terrifying.
Armageddon comes to Cornwall. Book now while tickets last!
The reason I regret researching this article is because I now feel very worried. The more experts I speak to, the less reassured I feel. I used to sleep easy at night, clinging to the notion that there was a ‘climate change debate’ that in fact everything might turn out fine in the end. We have just had a really cold winter. Global warming? We haven't had this much snow since 1979.
That was before I spoke to Professor Stephan Harrison, a climate change expert at Exeter University. According to the IPCC fourth assessment report in 2007, global sea levels could rise by 59cm by the end of the century. Yet this could very well be an underestimate. The EU wants to keep average global warming below 2 degrees celsius. If the globe warms up by 2 degrees, Britain could heat up by around 4 degrees, according to Professor Harrison. Many scientists predict a sea level rise of one to two metres by the end of the century.
“The global sea surface is variable,” explained Professor Harrison. “When you add water to a bath, the level rises uniformly – but in the oceans some parts will rise before others.”
This could mean increased flooding in Truro, Helford, and, of course the Isles of Scilly.
Properties under water? This is when I started to panic.
“Why aren’t people doing anything?” I thought, as an unshakeable sensation of dread gripped my insides. Then it got worse.
Gus Grand, climate change programme manager for the Eden project, said that water availability is possibly the biggest threat to agriculture.
Gus said: “Cornwall is good at growing grass because it is so wet. So changes to rainfall patterns could create big problems for crops and livestock.”
According to a recent survey of the South West, 60 per cent of farmers report that they are seeing the effects of climate change right now; yet only 25 per cent said they were taking action to address this.
Kylie Russell is the principle officer for climate change and energy at the Environment Agency for the South West.
She claims that Cornwall could be facing hotter drier summers, sea level rise, and increase in storm frequency and drought. Kylie’s view is that people need to work together to make the infrastructure better able to deal with rainfall. We not only need to take in new predictions, we need places for the water to go during a flood, so it can soak away. Kylie added that it is impossible to protect every single place from flooding; as we’ve already seen with the Boscastle floods.
So what are we going to do?
I was somewhat comforted to discover that people in Cornwall are already doing a lot. The council is dealing with climate change with a two-pronged approach.
We need to prepare for possible disasters, but more importantly adapt our lives and economy to reducing our carbon emissions.
Tim German, who is the head of Low Carbon Cornwall said that we need to build an infrastructure of low carbon technology. Not just internally for Cornwall, but because it’s part of our role on a global scale. Also, as the prediction is that those on the local average income for Cornwall will soon be spending half of their disposal income on energy bills alone, it’s an economic necessity.
According to Tim a programme of both mitigation and behavioural adaptation is absolutely necessary. We need to reduce carbon emissions.
A tall order? Not necessarily.
While our 697km of coast-line makes us susceptible to flooding, we’re also in a very strong position to develop renewable energies. In fact, he says that Cornwall has the best mixed natural resources for this.
Tim said: “The government want Cornwall to lead as a low carbon area in the south west; it’s a great opportunity.”
What? Did I hear correctly? The opportunities that climate change brings?
Indeed, climate change in Cornwall is considered both in terms of the threats it brings and also the opportunities. It makes a lot of sense.
“Climate change may be the biggest driving force of change in our society since the industrial revolution,” said a spokesperson from the Eden project.
By being at the forefront in reducing carbon emissions we can start whole new industries in green technology, that will generate employment and increased business opportunities. By reducing carbon emissions we can boost the sale of local produce, which will generate employment and over £2 billion worth of increased business opportunities. And, if the climate gets warmer, we could see a boost to the tourism industry, but not if we continue to get wet summers like the past few.
Come danger or opportunity, it seems that the worst possible thing we can do is be passive. When addressing the full executive and senior officer of the council last month Wulf Daseking, the director of planning for the city of Freiburg in Germany (Europe’s greenest and most sustainable city), said that Cornwall also has a lot of potential for environmental transformation. Yet, crucially, everybody needs to pitch in.
Bringing about a green revolution is about getting everybody in the community involved in doing what they can for the good of the environment. So what is our community doing? Is climate change so thoroughly unglamorous and easy to go into denial about that we’re not really that fussed?
Not at all. It seems like Cornwall is certainly waking up to the need for change. Two Cornish villages have just been allocated £500,000 of central government money to become test beds for sustainable living on a community wide-scale. Ladock and Grampound Road will see schools, community halls, businesses and households will take the plunge into low carbon lifestyles. They will install renewable energy technologies, and embark upon planting nut trees that absorb and hold carbon naturally.
It is called the Low Carbon Living project, and is led by Community Energy Plus, with the aim of making Ladock and Grampound Road low carbon leaders within Cornwall. Also, a recent investment of over £10 million at Goonhilly wind farm by Cornwall Light & Power will enable the Lizard to meet 100 per cent of its domestic electricity supply from local wind power. Within two years electric cars will be on the market and there will be plugs available in Cornwall so they can be charged up.
Cornwall’s own Eden Project runs a spectacular array of awareness-raising and research programmes. One particular sign of the eco-times is Green Talent, an initiative run by Eden. This is about helping prepare young people for the expanding market of green careers. For example, green posts within PR, banks, and fashion. Eden also runs a variety of other programmes such as the Twenty First Century Living Project. This monitors a 100 households across the UK to see what’s easy and what’s not in making homes greener.
So can we breath a sigh of relief? Well, not yet.
As Gus of Eden added: “It’s not yet possible to model climate change in small enough squares to offer a prediction. It might well be misleading for people to be presented with a greater feeling of certainty at this stage.”
So we’re certain about the fact that it’s uncertain, and that there are horrific dangers on the table. What’s our biggest problem? Is it the threat of severe flooding?
The risk of extreme water shortage? The inability to grow grass and therefore the huge problems facing out cattle and dairy industries?
Or is it our own failure to accept the problem?
“The media make it sound like there’s a big debate among scientists, but there really isn’t,” said Professor Harrison.
In fact, a note of frustration crept into most people’s voices when I asked them about climate change sceptics.
“The sceptics within the scientific community only argue over the degree of change, but there is a consensus that climate change is happening,” added Professor Harrison.
Sure, we can feel disillusioned that the Copenhagen summit didn’t achieve what it set out to, and try to mentally divorce ourselves from the whole deal. Yet it’s time to accept that whilst climate change may be an explosive political football, largely manhandled by the media, right here in Cornwall we have real problems staring us in the face.
Tim German said: “Whether you believe in climate change or not there are may other reasons why Cornwall has to act. Being at the end of the infrastructure creates a real challenge to the energy security of our communities and businesses. Cornwall needs to be low carbon and more energy self-sufficient.”
Windfarming still faces opposition in our community, yet we desperately need it, because wave energy technology is still no where near ready to help us lower our carbon foot-print. What we need are community action and renewable energies. Both the council and the community now have a brilliant opportunity to put Cornwall on the map as a sustainable, green environment. We’ve got the potential, but we need engagement. There is definite hope, but if you haven’t spent a night or two lying awake, contemplating the real and gigantic issues we’re facing, you’re probably in denial.
