Ecoscapes: Harnessing the power of people Jointly hosted by the Department of Biology and the Leverhulme Centre for Anthropocene Biodiversity.

Talk
This event has now finished.
  • Date and time: Tuesday 1 April 2025, 12.30pm to 2pm
  • Location: In-person only
    BS/104, The Treehouse, Berrick Saul Building, Campus West, University of York (Map)
  • Audience: Open to staff, students (postgraduate researchers only)
  • Admission: Free admission, booking required

Event details

Join us for the next in a series of interdisciplinary discussions bringing together a diversity of perspectives on changing biodiversity in the Anthropocene. 

The University of York has an estate of 200 hectares, comprising built environment, parkland, lakes, wetlands and landscaped gardens. This estate provides numerous opportunities for biodiversity enrichment research, education, public engagement and well-being. It provides the focal point for the City Nature Challenge. 

The current Ecological Management plan runs out at the end of 2025 - what can we do to enrich our campus for biodiversity and people? What is our vision for biodiversity on campus? 

In this Ecoscapes we explore campus biodiversity, through the lenses of research, education, public engagement, well-being and estates management and in the context of the University and the City of York.

Speakers

Gordon Eastham, Campus Estates Management

I talk about our aspirations for habitats and biodiversity on campus, but also the challenges that are faced in trying to manage the campus to encourage biodiversity. 

Aimée Little, Department of Archaeology

The background and aims of the Craftwell project: a feasibility and acceptability study of outdoor heritage crafting for wellbeing and mental health on campus.

Liz Hurrell & Laura Chapman, Department of Environment and Geography

The University campus as a living lab: 80% of the University estate is green space, providing important opportunities for education, research and leisure for the University community. How can we integrate and make the most of our built and natural environments?

Kian Hayles-Cotton, Department of Biology & LCAB

I will discuss how we can monitor biodiversity on the University estate and how we can use this monitoring to help train undergraduate students get important hands-on experience outside the classroom. I will go onto explore how monitoring and experiencing biodiversity can be used as a tool to engage the public and effect change through our research.