Wild About Nature

15 October 2010 - 3 July 2011

‘Wild About Nature' was a chance to discover the museum’s collection of plants, mosses, shells, birds’ eggs, butterflies, rocks and fossils. On display were fossils of plants that died over 300 million years ago, shells smaller than a grain of rice and exotic butterflies from around the world.

The specimens were all collected by local people over the past 250 years. This was the time of the Industrial Revolution, with more and more of the countryside being swallowed up to build factories, houses and roads. People took a keen interest in documenting the natural world around them and collecting plants, rocks and shells was one way to hold on to nature. Local societies, such as the Stalybridge Naturalists Society, were formed, with members enjoying excursions to the seaside and rambles across the moors. Many of the items on display were collected locally on the moors or by rivers. At the same time, the growth of the British Empire meant there were always new places to explore and new species to be discovered.

The exhibition coincided with the Year of Biodiversity and was put together with help from Tameside Council’s Countryside Service and Renaissance North West.