From 12-14th December 2024 Michelle Farrell attended the 44th Conference of the Association for Environmental Archaeology, hosted by Oxford University. She presented her work using pollen-based land-cover models to reconstruct the establishment, expansion and persistence of heathlands in western Jutland, Denmark. In keeping with the conference theme of ‘Past Environments for Emerging Worlds’, her presentation also considered the lessons that may be learned from an understanding of prehistoric human-heathland relationships when managing these threatened habitats in the present day. 

Inspirational keynote addresses from Chris Baines and Meriel McClatchie, who asked “What does the world want from environmental archaeology?”, and “What does environmental archaeology want from the world?”, respectively, set the scene for three days of thought-provoking discussions as environmental archaeologists from across Europe and beyond demonstrated how their proxy data can be used to engage with and address present-day global challenges. With sessions focused on data, soil, sustainability and biodiversity, wildlife, farming, and landscapes, the vital role that environmental archaeologists have to play in addressing current environmental issues became abundantly clear – providing, as Meriel highlighted in her keynote address, we can get a seat at the table.