09 September 2011 by Tristan Gooley
Thank you to Andrew Boe, who has dropped me line explaining something that I have not noticed before:
“Leaves at the bottom of a tree are often larger on the shadier North side to make the most of available light. This is often the case in Sycamore. They will also be darker due to the high concentrations of chlorophyll.”
From now on, I’ll be on the lookout for these shady characters. Sorry, couldn’t resist.
Andrew has a bushcraft blog which is well worth checking out here.
02 November 2009 by Tristan Gooley
This just in from Richard Webber, Natural Navigator alumnus, researcher and correspondent:
‘After a long walk round Mam Tor and Lose Hill near Castleton, we
rested in a café for tea and slices of Derbyshire curd pudding.
Having been infected with the “Which Way Is South” Virus I was drawn
to the tree near by – see the pic. Half still had leaves while half
didn’t. My hypothesis was that the south facing side would hold its
leaves longer – given more light and warmth. I checked the map to get
a feel for where south was and, indeed, the leafy side was facing due
south. Looking at the branch structure I think this points to the
north being on the left of the picture where the branches seem to
growing more upwards than outwards – as on the leafy,…
Welcome to the home of natural navigation on the Internet.
Natural navigation is the art of being able to find your way solely by using nature. It encompasses using the sun, moon, stars, weather, water, land, sea, plants and animals.
The Natural Navigator is the school set up by Tristan Gooley to research and teach natural navigation. It is also the title of his book on the subject.
If you would like to know more about natural navigation you can browse the website, read about Tristan’s natural navigation book, or listen to a BBC Radio 4 interview with Tristan.
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