How wild is wild? Social and cultural considerations when designing nature recovery

Last month, the British Ecological Society’s Rewilding Special Interest Group hosted Rewilding and 30 by 30 at ZSL in London, a one-day symposium on how rewilding can contribute to the global target of protecting 30% of land and sea by 2030. Guillemette Gandon is an Associate Programme Officer at the UN Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC), where she works on nature-based solutions and … Continue reading How wild is wild? Social and cultural considerations when designing nature recovery

The Regeneration of Mining Communities in South Wales

The Big Pit National Coal Museum By Arwen, Tom, Kerith & Justin – University of Surrey Students on the BSc in Environment and Sustainability programme Introduction The Big Pit National Coal Museum is a former coal mine renovated and opened as a tourist attraction on 1 April 1983. It offers underground tours and an above-ground interactive museum. Since opening, Big Pit has attracted over 4 … Continue reading The Regeneration of Mining Communities in South Wales

Exploring regeneration projects in South Wales

A Case Study By Doha, Cassidy, Cara, Katya and Annya – Students from the University of Surrey’s BSc Programme Introduction The coal-fields that span the geography of South Wales are considered ‘valleys’; whilst the history behind what is now dispersed soil tips, is considered to have started mid-19th century, its history can be traced back to the iron-ore extraction industry, where British exportation made its … Continue reading Exploring regeneration projects in South Wales

Can we count elephants from space? Towards a remote alternative to aerial surveys for large land mammals

Wilks et al. share their experience investigating the potential use of satellite surveys to identify elephants in the heterogeneous terrain of Botswana, Africa. A small Cessna plane flies low across the vast expanse of the Okavango Delta in Botswana, with all eyes abord peeled to detect and record elephants as part of the country-wide aerial survey every 4 years. The survey will fly over 20,000 … Continue reading Can we count elephants from space? Towards a remote alternative to aerial surveys for large land mammals

From Coalfield to Community: How Pentref Tyleri Is Regenerating South Wales

Case Study of Pentref Tyleri written by students of Environment and Sustainability at the University of Surrey By Aiyushi, Oliver, Anaya, Konnie, and Jasmine A Community Rebuilding After Coal As part of the Environment and Sustainability course at the University of Surrey, we have had the opportunity to visit South Wales to explore community and environmental regeneration after the closure of local coal mines. During … Continue reading From Coalfield to Community: How Pentref Tyleri Is Regenerating South Wales

Going the extra mile: environmental data collected by citizen scientists help shape new models of UK pollinating insect trends

Authors: Francesca Mancini, Claire Carvell and the PoMS partnership Our new paper “Modelling pollinator trends using multi-scale environmental data from the UK Pollinator Monitoring Scheme”, recently published in Ecological Solutions and Evidence, represents an important milestone for the UK Pollinator Monitoring Scheme (PoMS). Established in 2017, PoMS was designed to fill a critical evidence gap by collecting standardised data on bees, hoverflies and other flower-visiting … Continue reading Going the extra mile: environmental data collected by citizen scientists help shape new models of UK pollinating insect trends

Is hunting of migratory birds in Europe sustainable? A science-based assessment

Hunting can affect bird populations both by reducing their numbers and by changing how they behave. In Europe, many bird species that can legally be hunted are already in poor conservation status. Under the EU Birds Directive, hunting these species should only take place as part of a management plan that supports their recovery. To do this, it is important to know whether current hunting … Continue reading Is hunting of migratory birds in Europe sustainable? A science-based assessment

Out of the weeds: Building on lessons learned for better collaboration on aquatic plant management

Authors: Erin Smith and Sarah Rijkenberg Collaborative research approaches with local practitioners and community members are creating more meaningful environmental research. This process is often called ‘knowledge coproduction’, and it’s been shown to increase uptake of scientific findings, build interpersonal trust, and strengthen relationships between researchers and practitioners. Co-production is, however, not easy. We are still figuring out the best practices to make it work … Continue reading Out of the weeds: Building on lessons learned for better collaboration on aquatic plant management

Why forest cover around your coffee farm matters? Scaling up bird conservation in Colombia

Whenever you walk through a shade-grown coffee farm in the Colombian Andes, it is easy to feel optimistic about biodiversity. Tall trees form a canopy above the coffee shrubs, birds call from every direction, and the system looks far more “natural” than a monoculture field. For years, this kind of agroforestry has been promoted as a win–win solution for farmers and biodiversity. But how much … Continue reading Why forest cover around your coffee farm matters? Scaling up bird conservation in Colombia

Emerging gastric parasite risks in mountain gorillas: What we found and why it matters

Mountain gorillas are often celebrated as a conservation success story. Their numbers have increased thanks to long-term protection from conservation organisations, park authorities and local communities. However, the remaining two populations live in small, environmentally constrained habitats and recent veterinary records have documented cases of severe gastritis associated with strongylid nematodes in Virunga Massif. This raised an important question for us: are there changes in … Continue reading Emerging gastric parasite risks in mountain gorillas: What we found and why it matters