Starling Cafe #4 (Ullapool, Macphail Centre)

The Starling Café is an initiative at the Macphail Centre to make room for ideas, reflection and conversation.

Running every few weeks through 2025, this is an evening event which will include a speaker, tea and coffee, and room for informal and open-ended conversation. It will be a place to explore ideas and get to know a few other people in our community. The topics explored in this series will include community, hope, belonging, diversity, resilience and resistance.

The café is open to everyone but places are limited, so we ask that you book in advance. If you don't want to use this online process, you can contact Joanna at joanna.wright@highlifehighland.com to book a place.

This session our guest will be David Farrier, looking at the theme of Wild Clocks, and other lessons from evolution: 

What can we learn from the way in which other species adapt to change?  Maybe thinking in timescales of the natural world could help us choose a better future.

David Farrier’s first book, Footprints: In Search of Future Fossils, was named by both The Times and Telegraph as a book of the year, earned praise from Robert Macfarlane and Margaret Atwood, and has been translated into ten other languages. Nature's Genius: Evolution's Lessons for a Changing Planet* is his second book and explores how human activity is shaping all life on Earth and asks what we can learn form the ability of other species to adapt to life on a human planet.  Nature's Genius was shortlisted for the Wainwright Prize for Conservation Writing. He is Professor of Literature and the Environment at the University of Edinburgh.  

This session is in association with the Highland Climate Festival.

There will be room for informal conversation to think about some of the ideas David introduces, in a café style setting. No-flipcharts, no public feedback, no action points, no right answers: the aim is simply to have a safe and hospitable space to talk and explore.

*Copies of David's books are available in the Ullapool Bookshop (and will be signed during his visit)

PLEASE BOOK IN ADVANCE. Free entry, though contributions to help us cover our costs are warmly appreciated (see booking page for options).

Donations of baking are also welcome (please contact Joanna as above).

Please access the Macphail Centre via the library.

We will look forward to seeing you!