Partner meeting in Nordhordland
As the CULTIVATE project has entered its final year, it was time for the project's third in-person meeting. After visiting the biosphere reserves Trebon Basin and West-Estonian Archipelago previous years, members of the UNESCO Chair Group and the biosphere coordinators from Nordhordland UNESCO Biosphere Reserve were happy to finally greet our colleagues in Western Norway.
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Our region, which is usually characterized by harsh weather this time of year, was on its best behaviour with sunny skies and next to no wind or precipitation as CULTIVATE partners started their visit with a boat ride from Bergen to Lygra. Here, meetings were held at the Heathland Centre for the day, with a beautiful view of the fields and fjord outside. Luckily, there was also time for an afternoon stroll in the historic heathlands, guided by UNESCO Chair Inger Måren, who did her PhD work here.
When the meetings at the Heathland Centre ended for the day, the partners travelled to Kilstraumen Brygge in Austrheim. This is a historical inn, which has offered docking, food and accommodations as far back as 1610. Today it is a nice place for locals to gather, and with its restaurant and pub it is a popular place for local events. Project meetings were held here over the two following days.
On the final day in Nordhordland, partners did an excursion to the island of Fedje. This is the smallest municipality in the biosphere reserve, and it has approximately 560 inhabitants. The group met with the self-proclaimed “gatherer of Fedje”, Jostein Husa, who cooks both traditional and modern food, mainly using locally sourced ingredients. Jostein and his wife invited us into their home, where they served us a delicious three course lunch - a lot of it based on freshly caught herring. After lunch, we got to see their old, traditional boat house before they took us on a walk in the landscapes of Fedje. These lands are managed by grazing “wild sheep” – an old robust breed that graze outdoor all year round – and traditional heath burning. The landscape also shows sign of peat removal. Historically there were no trees growing on the island, and peat was the main source of energy until electricity arrived there in 1955.
During this in-person meeting, partners worked on gathering up the loose ends of existing data that are in the process of being turned into scientific papers, as well as making plans for data that are still being collected using the “Seeds of Good Anthopocenes” methodology
As all of the partners finalize their work in the project, the Scottish team will also prepare for a final meeting in Wester Ross Biosphere Reserve towards the end of the year – possibly also hosting a cultural heritage forum. We look forward to visiting Scotland in the fall!
