Gair Wood gets its first Writer in Residence
An award-winning poet and practice researcher at the Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Cultures has been awarded funding to become Gair Wood’s first Writer in Residence.
Dr J.R. Carpenter
Dr J. R. Carpenter will explore how creative arts can translate environmental research for the public and support the University’s long-term sustainability goals.
Dr Carpenter is a Lecturer in Creative Practice at the School of English and will work alongside the Gair Wood science team to bring together creative writing, physical sciences, ecology, and conservation.
The project will examine Gair Wood’s dual identity as a high-density research location and a working landscape intersected by public footpaths, busy roads, and private land. Gair Wood is the University of Leeds research woodland and was designed to support research, teaching, biodiversity, community, and carbon. Over sixty thousand trees were planted to create the woodland in 2023 and the site is regularly cared for by university staff and volunteers to support ecosystem establishment.
“The creation of the Gair Wood Writer in Residence is a really exciting and unique opportunity,” Dr Carpenter says. “By bringing the creative arts into dialogue with the physical sciences, ecology and conservation, I hope to help foster a deeper community connection to Gair Wood, improve understanding of Gair Wood within the University itself and offer scientists working on the site different perspectives on the work they do.
“Ultimately, I’ll be playing a part in establishing Gair Wood as a truly multi-disciplinary – and potentially nationally significant – centre for woodland research, education, and interpretation. I can’t wait to get started.”
Volunteers at Gair Wood
The residency builds on Dr Carpenter’s current practice research, which uses poetry, performance and publishing to explore how the language we use to describe weather shapes public understanding of climate.
As the first Gair Wood Writer in Residence (GWWR), Carpenter will use creative practice as a research methodology for engaging with the sustainability challenges Gair Wood faces. Dr Carpenter will communicate with researchers within SEES both informally over the course of the project and formally through invited presentations to the SEES scientists in the Biosphere Atmosphere Group, and to a network of woodland researchers at the third annual LEAF Day event. These activities form the basis of a feasibility study for running future GWWR programs.
Dr Tom Sloan, who leads the research programme at Gair Wood, said, "I'm thrilled that Dr Carpenter is joining us as our first Writer in Residence and I know that the whole project team is very excited to see what JR produces in response to our work and our developing woodland. We're looking forward to collaborating over the coming year to build Gair Wood into a truly multi-disciplinary site for the University and for the wider community."