Month: March 2025

Environmental Monitoring – Vindolanda

Published on by Gillian

In 2021 we started a journey of environmental monitoring at Vindolanda. The journey started with questions on what was happening across the site many years earlier, but the decision taken by the Vindolanda Trust to fully engaged in continuous environmental monitoring was bold and forward thinking.

I joined the Trustee board  in 2022 and followed the journey as projects have developed, including around climate change and art, artefact degradation and how this has impacted and shaped the strategic plan for the trust 2024-2034.

It was an absolute pleasure to see the new west gate entrance, where the underpinning science is presented to the public, through the amazing design capabilities of the Vindolanda trust staff.

2024 – more than 150 unprecedented climate disasters

Published on by Gillian

Two posts about climate in one day.. but it is that important for us to look at..

Publications of the ‘state of the global climate 2024’ today the 19th march
Key messages
  • Key climate change indicators again reach record levels
  • Long-term warming (averaged over decades) remains below 1.5°C
  • Sea-level rise and ocean warming irreversible for hundreds of years
  • Record greenhouse gas concentrations combined with El Niño and other factors to drive 2024 record heat
  • Early warnings and climate services are vital to protect communities and economies

This is a sobering yet fantastic read: state of the climate report 2024

There is a short commentary here – Floods, heatwaves and supercharged hurricanes occurred in hottest climate human society has ever experienced

Image: Coastal side of Skara Brae – Neolithic houses on a very exposed site, susceptible to coastal erosion