BRIHC Workshop: Ancient Wetland, Modern Wasteland

Climate debates have reignited appreciation for wetlands as vital carbon stores and biodiversity refuges. Yet their cultural and ecological value has shifted dramatically over time. Prehistoric communities often revered wetlands as liminal landscapes, embedding them in ritual and cosmology. This was a pattern echoed across northern continental Europe, where bog deposits and votive offerings attest to their symbolic importance. From the Roman and Medieval periods onward, however, wetlands were increasingly framed as “waste land,” drained for agriculture and exploited for peat and other resources. Over time, co-existence gave way to projects aimed at altering environments for human need.

Today, as we recognise the environmental benefits of preserving and recreating wetlands, campaigners confront entrenched ideas of wetlands as marginal, "wasted" spaces. Restoration projects are often framed as a compromise: the loss of “productive” land for climate goals. By contrasting perspectives across different periods, landscapes and political contexts, this workshop seeks to challenge centuries of cultural narratives and explore post-humanist approaches to co-existence, moving beyond binaries of human versus environmental determinism.

This workshop brings together academics from a range of disciplines in humanities and environmental sciences with those working in industry and wetland management, creating a cross-sector and interdisciplinary space for discussion. It aims to link research perspectives with the practical challenges of biodiversity conservation, flood risk mitigation and climate change, exploring how different forms of expertise can inform one another. Through structured discussion, the day will examine how approaches to wetlands, shaped by different traditions and priorities, intersect and diverge. In doing so, it seeks not only to generate new insights into how wetlands are understood and valued, but also to foster meaningful connections between participants, encouraging collaboration and more integrated approaches in future work.

This event is supported by the Birmingham Research Institute for History and Cultures. This event is free to attend. Registration is essential.

Programme

• 9:30-10:00 - Arrival
• 10:00 - Welcome/Introduction
• 10:15 - Session 1: Perspectives on wetlands from researchers across disciplines
• 11:30 - Tea break
• 11:45 - Session 2: Contemporary issues from practitioners in wetland management
• 1:00 - Lunch
• 1:45 - Session 3: Questions and challenges of working in wetlands
• 2:30 - Session 4: Differences across sectors and disciplines
• 3:15 - Short break
• 3:30 - Discussion: Moving forwards, new ideas and collaborations
• 4:00 - Finish