What is a land library?
A Land Library is a place where books, and in particular nature-oriented fiction, non-fiction and poetry, meet the landscape.
A place where people can immerse themselves deep in nature's rhythms and in world-class writing about the wonders of the living world at the same time.
It is a place that celebrates and encourages contemplation, fireside conversation and deep dialogue between the human and more-than-human worlds.
It is a tonic to the sugar-rush, anxiety-inducing world of social media and modern work. A place of depth and breadth.
Pioneered by the Rocky Mountain Land Library in Colorado, USA, the existing Land Library model is of an extensive, well-curated book collection in a fixed, beautiful physical space that people can visit.
The Lambing shed at Buffalo Peaks Ranch, Colorado, home of the Rocky Mountain Land Library. Photo: RM Land Library
Buffalo Peaks Ranch’s Old Scale House, converted into a Young Readers Library. Photo: RM Land Library.
Buffalo Peaks Ranch’s Cooks House (with Mt. Silverheels on the horizon). This building will soon house the RM Land Library’s collection of books on Food & Land. Photo: Samuel Bell.
Buffalo Peaks Ranch from the air, featuring the Land Library South Platte River, and the Mosquito Range on the horizon. Photo: Vince Matthews.
The Rocky Mountain Land Library provides a blueprint for other Land Libraries which aspire to:
- Serve a broad community as a repository of well-curated books;
- Offer residential stays for artists, writers and the like;
- Host events, from book talks to guided walks;
- Be in a long-term multi-faceted (architectural, aesthetic, linguistic, historical) relationship with the land and waterscapes it sits in.
In a nutshell: A Land Library for the UK
An opportunity exists to establish a Land Library in the UK, inspired by the Rocky Mountain Land Library.
This Library could be a joint venture between The Gaia Foundation, the Penpont Estate and Action for Conservation. These partners are already working together on the Penpont nature restoration project, the largest youth-led ecological restoration project of its kind anywhere in the world.
The Land Library could be located on the land at Penpont itself, with each part of the Penpont Partnership bringing something to the space in the process of its creation and running, and with support and guidance from the Rocky Mountain Library Team.
What we each bring to the table:
Gaia- has access to an extensive library of natural history, green politics and eco-spiritual books and magazine archives that are in search of a new home, connections to philanthropic funders we are confident can be encouraged to finance aspects of the Library, and good standing in a global network of ecological and Indigenous leaders who could visit, stay, speak and teach at the Land Library on visits to the UK.
Penpont- is home to stunning land and waterscapes, as well as a highly skilled 'DIY-minded' group of people. It is the site of a cutting edge nature restoration project, has an established camping ground, a food producing walled garden and a number of buildings and/or spaces that could potentially be sites for a Land Library and associated infrastructure. The estate has strong ties with local historians and Penpont’s archives, old and new. The Estate's owners and custodians are keen to diversify and establish Penpont's green legacy for generations to come.
Action For Conservation- is doing inspirational work to reconnect youth with the living world around the country. It is in a great position to help make the Land Library a place where youth can connect with nature and gain new opportunities, for example as librarians, archivists and co-constructors of the library's physical, intellectual and aesthetic spaces. AFC also has strong connections to the world of green literature through Founder Hendrikus van Hensbergen and Trustee Robert Macfarlane, both published authors.
Rocky Mountain Land Library - Gaia has strong connections with Jeff and Ann who run the Land Library and have indicated a willingness to advise on all aspects of setting up a Land Library in the UK.
The Land Library - potential sites and themes
Located in the Brecon Beacons National Park, Wales, the Penpont ('Head of the Bridge') Estate is a stunning location for a Land Library. It is home to rolling hills, parklands, forests and field systems, a section of the River Usk and other small waterways. It also lies close to the National Park's Dark Skies Zone.
Penpont is a place where the realms of air, water and land come together to powerful effect. The presence of a Green Man maze and several sacred sites, iron age features (tummuli, hillforts) and ancient trackways around the site are notable physical expressions of a place that is also suffused with spirit.
The Beacons Land Library could actively work with these elements to establish library spaces across the estate in 'thin places' where these realms can be potently observed, and by curating the books in these spaces by theme.
The spaces suggested by the Estate and scoped during visits by the Gaia Team are in various states of repair, so a modular approach to establishing the Land Library over several years seems the most viable option.
This would enable the necessary public profile of the Land Library and funds to be raised over time, while also giving project partners a place to start experimenting in the very near future.
Ystafell yr Amgueddfa - The Museum Room - The Water Library
Located in the old stables building at the very heart of Penpont's living area, from the Museum Room you can hear the Usk running under the bridge that gives Penpont its name.
This space could become The Water Library hosting a collection of books about rivers, oceans and sacred springs, sea monsters, fish and fishing, boats and boat building, navigation and more.
Connected to substantial, WiFi enabled and sustainably powered 'Hay Loft' events and meeting spaces above, and adjacent to a 'great hall' and kitchen where mass catering is possible , the Water Library would be situated a literal stones throw away from the Usk and be an ideal location for Learning Centre events, concerts, wild swimming and river walks.
The space, though currently used for storage, is in good condition and in need of nothing more than superficial changes to create an effective and beautiful library space. The Water Library represents the 'low hanging fruit'- the seed from which The Beacons Land Library can then grow.
Y Colomendy - The Dovecote - The Air Library
Located across the Usk from Penpont's campsite and a two minute walk from the estate's main buildings, manor house and future Water Library, the Dovecote is a beautiful and unusual building located in a small field overlooking trees, fields, the river and farm buildings.
This unique space could become the Air Library, dedicated to books exploring our skies and their denizens (birds, flying insects, dreams and dragons), clouds, starlore and the cosmos. The tower atop the dovecote could also be used as a stargazing space and host a small telescope.
The Dovecote requires significant repairs, with an estimated cost of £30,000. A back wall needs to be replaced, as does the floor. The tower and windows are also in need of restoration.
The Penpont Estate team have plans to improve the Dovecote as a potential library space as part of these renovations. Proposals include a veranda running around the dovecote (perfect for alfresco reading), the addition of large picture windows (perfect for birdwatching) and the installation of a second floor inside, enabling easy access to the tower (perfect for stargazing).
Llofft Gwair - The Hayloft - The Land Library
Penpont's Hayloft, located at the heart of the Estate, lies in easy walking distance of the main house, dovecote and museum room, as well as Penpont's campsite, walled garden, farm shop and a barn that could be considered for conversion into a bunkhouse to serve as residential accommodation for the Land Library.
This central location makes the Hayloft a perfect place for a 'Land Library', with space to hold a large library, as well as study spaces and reading rooms for residential guests of the Land Library.
The larger part of the hayloft could house a beautifully light and lofty single-roomed library containing books on food and farming, local, national and global histories of land and land struggles, geography, geology, flora and fauna, as well as Penpont's collection of estate maps, dating from the late 1600s onwards, and local history publications. This space could also be utilised for Land Library events, for example book talks or banquets celebrating local food and farmers.
The smaller part could, through the construction of a mezzanine and dividing walls, be converted into quiet reading and study rooms for artists, researchers and others who could apply to spend protracted periods of time at the Library.
The Hayloft's proximity to the Dovecote is such that the two could be connected by a reading garden, designed to provide quiet, cocooned spaces for outdoor reading and study, as well as ideal habitats for birds and insects that could be observed from the Dovecote Air Library.
As can be seen from the images above, the Hayloft would require extensive repairs to fulfil this function. Cost estimates have not yet been worked up.
A Place for All Living Beings
A Land Library located at Penpont and taken forward by Gaia, Penpont, AFC and allies like the RM Land Library, would have huge and tangible benefits for the human and more-than-human communities that call Penpont home.
The potential exists for the Land Library to meaningfully serve wider efforts to restore Penpont's biodiversity, engage people with this special place, celebrate the Estate’s past, present and future, and physically restore the (potentially) wild spaces the Land Library will inhabit.
The Land Library could help Gaia re-establish its longstanding, intercultural ‘Learning Centre’ away from London, while providing an additional hub for AFC and the Youth Leadership Group’s activities and, potentially, employment and/or vocational opportunities for the young people involved with AFC and Penpont via the Youth Leadership Group.
The Land Library will provide major public benefit through the restoration of significant but dilapidated historical buildings, helping preserve and celebrate Welsh national heritage. The development of a repository of literature, revitalisation of landscapes and provision of events and courses open to the public will help visitors to Penpont reconnect with the living world they are a part of, improving both their mental and physical well-being.
The Land Library will also create spaces that enable artists, researchers and others who might choose to live and work at the Land Library for protracted periods of time to enhance their cultural, historical, artistic and other forms of self expression, providing benefits for all who discover, enjoy and are changed by their work.