#425: Fieldwork ideas - Mission:Explore

Mission:Explore is a series of books which was produced by a group of people called the Geography Collective. 

I am proud to say that I was one of the co-founders of the project, along with Daniel Raven Ellison after a late night phone call.

Some of the missions lend themselves to being adapted or used directly to guide fieldwork.

Why not track down one of the books and give them a go?

#344: Jonsi turns to nature...

It's almost exactly 14 years since I went to Latitude festival with the Mission:Explore team. This followed an earlier visit to Glastonbury in the same year.

We were working in the children's area running our missions, entertaining young people amongst the festival goers with our subversive take on the festival and its surroundings. Once we'd finished our shift, we were free to enjoy the music. On the 2nd evening, I headed over to the tent where Jonsi from Sigur Ros was going to be performing that evening. I caught a set from American band Yeasayer who were excellent. I then noticed someone wandering in a familiar tasselled jacket and realised it was Jonsi, and had a brief conversation with him. It was just after the launch of his 'Go' album, which remains one of my favourites.

Later that evening he gave the most amazing performance in this tent, and I was up front as the music unfolded. 

For a taster, catch the track on this film here...

Jonsi's new album was announced recently...

It features a lot of natural sounds such as birdsong...

“Writing this music at a time of manmade global turmoil and unrest for a video game. I imagined First Light as a momentary fantastical, over-the-top, utopian world where everyone and everything lives together in everlasting peace and harmony. Choosing beauty over disorder, hope over fear, our universal divine angel guardians watching over us and connecting us all as one through love, melody, and music.”

Here's one track from the album, which is out at the end of August, and which I'm very much looking forward to:

#85: Always Possible Podcast

Bank holiday weekend is almost upon us! What are your plans? Going on any walks? Visiting an urban centre?

Listen to our inspirational podcast with guerilla geographer and creative explorer @DanRavenEllison. And check out #SlowWays https://t.co/DeaLVCvyh0. You're welcome! pic.twitter.com/32r2DBQcsl

— always possible (@always_possible) August 25, 2023

Check out the Always Possible Podcast for an interview with Daniel Raven Ellison.

It includes a mention of Slow Ways, and also how we can connect more closely with nature and heritage and culture through developing a walking infrastructure.

“Geography exists at all scales at the same time, so whether it’s the guerrilla gardener pulling up a paving slab and making that a bit wilder, or whether it’s thinking about where you want to go on holiday, that’s all geography.”

“Science and history have done a very good job of creating places where people are very aware that they’re recreationally engaging in science or history. Geography, people are playing with that all the time but because of so many boring, dry textbooks, people think that it’s something that it’s not.”