Dr Talya Hackett, Food Webs at the Landscape Level leads a tour of the Ballast Seed Garden.
The transport of ballast across the oceans may not have only contributed to the migration of plants, through the seeds carried in the earth, but the seeds themselves may also have carried stowaway insects. Dr Talya Hackett explores the complex interconnected relationships between plants, pollinators and pests all of which depend on each other at some level and can contribute to each other’s welfare in often unexpected ways. Working across sites across the southwest of England and Wales she researches ecological networks between plants and their pollinators including leaf miners, seed feeders, caterpillars and the parasites they themselves carry.
Meet at Arnolfini Box Office.
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A Seeds of Change: Floating Ballast Seed Garden brochure is available from Arnolfini.
Located on Bristol’s historic harbour, just below Castle Park, the The Ballast Seed Garden was created by Maria Thereza Alves in June 2012. Constructed from a disused grain barge, the garden is populated with a variety of non-native plants, creating a living history of the city’s trade and maritime past.
