Gilbert White Online Festival

Event description

A day of events celebrating the 300th birthday of Gilbert White.

9:00 Discovering the Moths of Selborne - Moth expert and volunteer at Gilbert White & The Oates Collections Chris Piper opens last nights moth trap and takes us through what hes found!

9:15 Introduction - Philip Geddes, Trustee of Gilbert White & The Oates Collections, welcomes you to the festival.

9:45 ZigZag - Alton Fringe Theatre introduces a trailer for a new play based on the life and writings of Gilbert White.

10:00 House Tour - Collections Manager Kimberley James takes you on a tour of Gilbert Whites House and shows you some gems not normally on display!  Followed by a Q&A on Twitter! 

10:45 Happy Birthday from Selborne School - The children of Selborne C of E School have created art to celebrate Gilbert Whites birthday whilst in Lockdown.

11:00 Gilbert White-New Nature Writer - Writer and conservationist Laurence Rose explains why The Natural History of Selborne can seem so contemporary, by comparing Gilberts approach to observing and writing about nature with examples from more recent works. Laurence will be taking questions on Twitter afterwards! 

12:00 Molly White and the Cultural History of Selborne - Louise Horton explores the remarkable life of the woman who helped research and edit Gilbert Whites book. By re-reading Molly Whites letters well explore a new cultural history for Selborne and uncover how the faintest traces of her life in Georgian London became pressed into the pages of The Natural History of Selborne. Louise will be taking questions on Twitter afterwards! 

13:00 The Selborne Society - Honourable Treasurer of The Selborne Society Sarah Hadland tells the tale of The Selborne Society from its creation in the 19th Century through till today, with its conservation work in Perivale Wood in London. Sarah will be answering questions via Zoom afterwards!

13:45 Happy Birthday Gilbert White - Supporters and fans of Gilbert White wish him a very happy 300th birthday and tell us why he is so important today!

14:00 Garden Tour - Our Gardener Keith Oakley takes you on a tour of Gilberts Garden.

15:00 Discovering Gilbert Whites Garden - David Standing who was head gardener at Gilbert Whites House for 37 years discusses the research he has done into Gilbert Whites garden and how that lead to the current layout of the garden today. David will join us on Zoom afterwards for questions.

16:00 Gilbert White an inspiration in CoVid Times - Mike Pratt is the CEO of the Northumberland Wildlife Trust.

17:00 Gilberts London - While Gilbert of course is best known for his studies of Selborne and the surrounding area, he made many visits to London. This talk will give a brief insight into where he visited, what he was doing there and how the city influenced his work and his publication. Steph West works in the Angela Marmont Centre for UK Biodiversity at the Natural History Museum in London. Gilbert has been hugely influential throughout her life as a natural historian, inspiring a love and interest in nature that has stayed with her from childhood into her career as an ecologist. Most recently she has been researching Gilberts connections to the city she both lives and works in. Steph will be answering questions via Zoom afterwards.

17:50 Hampshire Poet Laureate - Kathryn Bevis, Hampshire Poet 2020, was commissioned by Winchester Poetry Festival and Hampshire Cultural Trust to write this poem in celebration of the 300th anniversary of Gilbert Whites birth.

18:00 A comparison of Gilbert Whites calendar of nature with modern records - Tim Sparks is from the Woodland Trusts Natures Calendar program.

18:45 A Message from the Chair of Trustees - Chair of Gilbert White & The Oates Collections Khalid Aziz sends a message to mark Gilbert Whites 300th anniversary.

19:00 Monty Halls - TVs Monty Halls talks about the links between Gilbert White and Charles Darwin.

19:45 Farewell - Museum directors Steve Green & Judith Bowles close the festival with a few words.