Blog

The researchers in the CALENDARS project are writing short blog posts during their fieldwork, and you can read them all below.

A road going through a green landscape, blue skies, a beach and blue sea

Otama beach in Kūaotunu, Coromandel Peninsula, NZ, June 2021.

Photo:

Kerstie van Zandvoort

Blog posts

Precarious temporalities in rural Japan

On the surface, population decline in Japan is having a devasting effect on rural communities and their centuries-old traditions, which they take great care to preserve.

Summer unravels

This summer – that’s December and January 2023 – I went to New Zealand. I took my swimming ‘togs’ and expectations for wearing them.

A group of people posing on a pebble beach, blue sea and sky in the background

Assembling the CALENDARS team to piece together a book

On 3-4 May 2022, the CALENDARS research project organised a scientific meeting at Solstrand Hotel near Bergen.

Several people standing and sitting on/by metal barrels on a background of green trees

Seasonal bush walks with young Coromandel kiwis

Kiwis (self-reference used by New Zealanders) refer to their native subtropical forest with its tree giants and unique flora and fauna somewhat depreciatively as bush.

A person in yellow and orange among trees, both standing up and having been cut down

In tune with seasonality

It's noisy in the gardens, and the melody of birds, chainsaws, ice and robots keeps harmony with the seasonal rhythms of the gardens.

A small stripe of water surrounded by moss and other forest greenery

Veins of blue infrastructure

On my first day in the university gardens, the head gardener broke down the work by colour: "Green" work with plants, "grey" work with landscaping and "blue" work on water and drainage.

Three people sitting/standing on a boat, blue sea and green foliage in the background

Diving and 80s rock on the Coromandel – a year 13 dive trip

The roaring sound of the engines were competing with 80s rock music as the boat was skimming over the deep blue waters of the Hauraki Gulf.

Seasonal carving - a workshop with Year 13 high school children

How can enthusiasm and engagement be fostered in high school children?

An older man in a military green cap and clothes, sitting in a dark green chair

Affected by seasons: spirits in relation to seasons

“I find winters really depressing, just don’t know what to do with myself,” a high school student shared with me.

Coromandel Writers Group

What’s in a name? For the Coromandel Writers Group, it is everything. This group of highly motivated local writers covers all topics having to do with the Coromandel.

Seasonal experience & expertise on the Kūaotunu Peninsula

Since embarking on fieldwork earlier this year, I have been periodically collecting photos from the beaches of the Kūaotunu Peninsula where my research is based.

text on whiteboard for primstav excercise

Making a primstav of today - part II

This spring we ran the primstav exercise again, this time with a local 7th grade school class we have collaborated with and followed for one school year

Telling times in the Arboretet

A corollary of my seasonal study is an interest in the diverse markers of time embedded in the gardens.

En traktor med vedkutter, tre og blå himmel i bakgrunnen, snø på bakken

Making the gardens 'green'

I'm interested in seasonality at Arboretet and investigating whether there are any changes to how the gardeners and scientists are relating to seasons.

Spring is wild garlic, but is anyone eating it?

People commonly associate foods with seasons, particularly when it comes to foraging for wild plants like mushrooms or berries.

"Bio" diversity in the Arboretum

Today was my fifth Friday working at the Arboretum, assisting the gardeners and learning about the seasonal rhythms of their work.

To wear or not to wear: The seasonal culture of footwear vs. dress codes on the Coromandel

It is not uncommon to see people in bare feet on the Coromandel in mid-winter. Especially children.

Making a primstav of today

As part of our local communication and engagement work, we developed a creative exercise centered on the traditional Norwegian calendar stick, the primstav.

Reflections on the first six project months on the Coromandel

Below you can read Dr Paul Schneider's reflections on the first six months of the project in Coromandel, New Zealand.

A fast-filling Calendar

The CALENDARS project started on New Years day 2019, and it is off to an energetic start!

11.10.2023