Indignation!: The Campaign for Conservation Book

This work is published at a time when the Labour Government is actively reviewing policies affecting the historic environment. It aims to demonstrate the importance of the local perspective, and the fundamental role of the historic in the environment as a whole. Today's buzz words for conservationists - environmental stewardship, sustainability, local distinctiveness, quality of life, social inclusion - were well understood by Ruskin, Morris and the first passionate campaigners for the historic environment as Mavis Batey, former President of the Garden History Society, author of "Jane Austen and the English Landscape" and Bletchley codebreaker, makes clear. Each generation has its own priorities and David Lambert considers the subtle shifts in emphasis seen since 1930. He shows how the amenity movement is often community-based, always voluntary, and renewed and re-energized by each new generation. From Morris to Swampy, a passionate public interest in what is often public property and a determination to protect it from harm seem to be a unique aspect of British culture. Kim Wilkie looks to the future. By describing two innovative projects he shows how local community feeling can be harnessed before it has errupted in indignation. The authors conclude that radical new approaches are needed to ensure that community participation is encouraged and that the imaginative creative force which sympathetic understanding of the historic environment can bring to future projects is properly nourished.Read More