Ms thesis Ecological Notes on Machair-land, K. J. F. Park

The work Ecological notes on Machair-land, circa 1952, may have been the basis Kenneth J. F. Park's intended Ph.D.

It comprises c. 200 pages of manuscript text, including numerous figures, graphs, illustrations, and maps. There are 9 large sepia photographs (laid on card). The text discusses climatic factors, geological and edaphic factors (influenced by soil), agriculture, distribution of Machair-land, the South Harris and Ensay Machairs, Manish Machair (Ensay); Hargabost / Northton / Luskentyre (all South Harris), primary succession, erosion and secondary succession, along with an introduction and summary.

Ecologist Kenneth J. F. Park had first studied Agriculture at King's College - probably Newcastle-on-Tyne - but he transferred to the study of Pure Botany taking an Honours Degree. Along with others from the Department of Botany, King's College, he investigated the flora and fauna of the Inner and Outer Hebrides. He wrote Ecological notes on Machair-land which was unpublished. Machair-lands are the fertile low-lying grassy plains of the north-west coastline of Scotland.

After completing his period of National Service with the Royal Air Force, Park undertook research work with a view to taking a Ph.D. degree, but instead he accepted a post at Moorhouse Field Station (Moorhouse Nature Reserve), Garrigill, Upper Teesdale, in 1954.

Kenneth J. F. Park died in a drowning accident in 1960 while Officer-in-Charge of the Moorhouse Field Station. While patrolling the upper stretches of Teesdale, he had fallen into the swollen Tees near High Force.

Open to bona fide researchers, but please contact repository for details in advance of visit.

Purchased October 2014. Accession no: E2015.06.

Catalogued by Graeme D. Eddie 23 April 2015