It has been 165 years since Charles Darwin published ‘On the Origin of Species’; a landmark text in evolutionary biology. To mark this occasion, we invite you to join us on an expedition to Hilbre Island, a landmark in the river Dee estuary and our ‘Galapagos’ in the North West of England. We embark on a creative investigation of the island’s ecologies through storytelling, observational drawing, poetry and performance, looking closely at how the land, sea and humans interconnect.

Walking across the mudflats of the Dee estuary from West Kirkby and upon arrival at Hilbre island, attendees will listen to an audio guide, which comprises a history of the island and oral histories from locals.

On the island attendees will choose to take part in one of two workshops that observe and document the island 1) Creative writing and charcoal rubbings will record the island’s geology and generate a ‘mapping’ of the island’s geological history 2) a field sketching workshop to identify species of migrating birds visiting the island, before drawing an evolutionary (phylogenetic) tree.

Finally, a poetry performance based on collected oral histories and poetry, will be performed in a costume that turns a performer into the native sea lavender. We will then walk back to West Kirby before high tide.

This event is part of Being Human Festival, the UK’s national festival of the humanities, taking place 7–16 November 2024. Led by the School of Advanced Study, University of London, with generous support from Research England, in partnership with the Arts and Humanities Research Council and the British Academy. For further information please see beinghumanfestival.org.