Nature can be defined by the phenomena of the physical world collectively, including plants, animals, the landscape, and other features and products of the earth, as opposed to humans or human creations¹.

Defining nature and discerning what qualifies as natural raises intriguing questions. This definition is in itself a contradiction, stating that nature is the phenomena of the physical world collectively, including features and products of the Earth, as opposed to human or human creations, yet are humans and their creations not products of the Earth too? Despite our evolutionary kinship with all life on this planet, we often perceive ourselves as separate from the ‘natural’ elements of Earth. Our creations and habitats for example, the built environments in which we reside, are considered unnatural elements of the landscape. However, many species live in ‘built’ environments, termites for example, without forfeiting their status as natural or wild. This project aims to explore why have we excluded ourselves from the definition of nature and what implications this has on the way in which we interact with our environment, using the River Lea as a case study to do so.

The River Lea stretches from its source at Waulud’s bank, Luton, to the point it meets the Thames at Bow Creek. Urbanisation and human activity have altered the course of the river to an unrecognisable state from what would have ‘naturally’ occurred. It is both human-made and naturally occurring, domesticated and wild. The following photographs document the river as it traverses through fluctuating conditions of human activity, calling into question the 'naturality' of its surroundings.

¹ Oxford English Dictionary, https://www.oxfordreference.com/display/10.1093/acref/9780198609810.001.0001/acref-9780198609810-e-4825.