On the importance of sycamore seedlings and other lessons learned along the way: a conversation with Dr. Ian Edwards

Biographical Note: Ian is an ecologist and environmental educator with a deep, long-standing interest in the regeneration of habitats, ecosystems and communities. He has worked on projects in Australia, Africa, Arabia and the Far East but is currently living in the heart of the regenerating, post-industrial landscape of Midlothian. He divides his time between writing, making and teaching. He is also a trustee of several environmental charities and a forest school leader. Stories and nature have been important aspects of his life for as long as he can remember. Interviewer’s Note: I conducted this just beside Ian’s garden which in miniature is the best of what always took me to the Botanics—where Ian developed and directed the education programme for twenty years. All the way through the conversation, the birds gave voice to the biodiversity well and thriving where he has had a hand. I wish I could have transcribed the bird song as it was such an important companion to what Ian shared. Many things Ian says may surprise. What I came away with was an appreciation of how much I learned through his storytelling—a growing understanding of the important points he makes were woven in and around them, making it possible for me to glimpse in some way some of how he has learned from the storytelling he has encountered through his life.