“Thousands of tired, nerve-shaken, over-

civilized people are beginning to find out

going to the mountains is going home;

that wilderness is a necessity...”

― John Muir

Learning Objectives

Assess our personal perceptions and

attitudes towards wilderness environments

Analyse the varying ways wilderness

environments are defined and measured

By the end of this lesson I will…

Is this a wilderness environment?

Is this a wilderness environment?

What if this view was 10steps from the Car Park?

Is this a wilderness environment?

What if this view was 10steps from the Car Park?

What if this view was 10

days from the Car Park?

How do you think ease of accessibility

changes the character of wilderness?

Antarctica is

uninhabitable,

inhospitable

and nearly

inaccessible

Is it the last

wilderness?

What does that mean for

Deserts?

Aesthetically?

Financially?

Spiritually?

Ethically?

Recreationally?

Scottish Wilderness

42 Identified Areas

Published by Scottish Natural Heritage

Nationally significant in

Scottish planning policy

but not a statutory

designation

European

Wilderness

A Continuum

No absolute

boundaries

Would it favour

conservation or

exploitation?

Is it more accurate?

“This is the first comprehensive survey and

mapping of the remaining wilderness areas

in Europe. It will drive developing EU policy

on wilderness and influence our thinking on

areas as diverse as ecosystem services,

human health and wellbeing, climate change,

biodiversity, protected areas and the concept

of re-wilding – the return of habitats to their

natural state.”

- Dr Steve Carver, Director of the Wildland

Research Institute (WRi) at the University of Leeds

Learning Objective Reflection

Assess our personal perceptions and

attitudes towards wilderness environments

Analyse the varying ways wilderness

environments are defined and measured

By the end of this lesson I can…

Further Research

Find an example of European

re-wilding to share next week

Locations, players, scale and specific

details are all important

These slides and further support will be shared

@WhitehavenGeog

“All conservation of wildness is self-defeating,

for to cherish we must see and fondle, and

when enough have seen and fondled, there is

no wilderness left to cherish.”

― Aldo Leopold, A Sand County Almanac