Vacation is one of the only times my phone goes silent. Runs outside my office, my notifications are muted, and sometimes, if inside. Complete digital detox mode My devices are hidden in a drawer or in the glove compartment of my car.
But on a recent vacation, I made a tech pivot. I spent the weekend waving my phone at the sky using apps to tune in to the wilds of Britain’s Isles of Scilly. Drifting about 30 miles off the country’s southwest coast, the small archipelago is sometimes referred to as the ‘Galapagos of the UK’, thanks to its isolated location and unique microclimate. Scilly rides the warm Gulf Stream, and without frost or heavy rainfall, it’s an Eden for flora and fauna not found on the mainland.
“Each island has a little microclimate and quirks in their ecosystems,” says Jilly Halliday, one of Tresco’s resident beekeepers. “Tresco has an evolved microclimate with historical imports of species and accidental stowaways from New Zealand such as the adorable stick insects. We see the impact of human influence on the mainland compared to how beautiful and intact our islands are.”
For me, Tresco, and in particular, Tresco Abbey Garden, was a perfect playground for scanning subtropical plants, identifying unfamiliar birdsong, mapping cloudless constellations—and settling a debate: Will apps enhance or dull my enjoyment of the natural world? ?