Dr J. R. Carpenter becomes first Writer in Residence for Gair Wood
Gair Wood is a 37-hectare woodland site created by the University of Leeds to support research, teaching and community activities.
An award-winning poet and practice researcher at the Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Cultures has been awarded funding to explore how creative arts can translate environmental research for the public and support the University’s long-term sustainability goals.
Dr J. R. Carpenter, Lecturer in Creative Practice at the School of English, has received Living Labs funding to become the first Writer in Residence at Gair Wood, a 37-hectare woodland site created by the University of Leeds to support research, teaching and community activities.
J R Carpenter
As Gair Wood Writer in Residence (GWWR), Dr Carpenter will work alongside scientists from the School of Earth, Environment and Sustainability (SEES) and the Leeds Ecosystem, Atmosphere and Forest (LEAF) Centre, bringing together creative writing, physical sciences, ecology, and conservation.
The project will examine Gair Wood’s dual identity as a high-density research location – home to 66,000 newly planted trees designed to capture carbon – and a working landscape intersected by public footpaths, busy roads, and private land.
“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.”
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 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.
