Originally published in Wild Times (Doncaster DNA - and since writing (post covid-19) started a new project #BirdsongOnthePlanetoftheApes) William Ruskin (1819-1900), thinker, critic and artist urges us to make sense of our environment, by directly by observing every detail, being in and studying nature (some of which took place on his walks in Yorkshire). Artists across time have layered observation, curiosity, material exploitation and imagination, to explore our place