The Wessex Portal

The Wessex Portal

Promoting research and collaborations across the universities, local communities and the world

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Public Engagement

The first SAMARCH family science event of 2022 goes swimmingly!

13/05/202213/05/2022Katie Thompson

In March this year, SAMARCH featured at the Family Science Fair at the Dorset Museum in Dorchester as part of British Science Week. Genoveva Esteban, Katie Thompson and students from Bournemouth University ran interactive activities on the life cycle of Atlantic salmon and showed participants how to determine the age of a fish!  There was a fantastic turnout and involvement (interaction with >1,000 people!) from all visitors. If you want to know more or take part in next year’s event, please email Genoveva on gesteban@bournemouth.ac.uk or Katie on thompsonk@bournemouth.ac.uk. Don’t forget to visit the SAMARCH website for more details on the EU Interreg project!

Contributors, Public Engagement, SAMARCH (SAlmonid MAnagement Round the CHannel) #BournemouthUniversity, #BritishScienceweek2022, #Dorchester, #EuropeanCommission, #FamilyScienceFair, #PublicEngagement, BUResearch, Interreg, Outreach, research, Salmon, SAMARCH

World Wildlife Conservation Day

04/12/202104/12/2021Katie Thompson

Wildlife conservation day seeks to spread awareness about persevering and protecting the natural world and its inhabitants

Today were are showcasing the fascinating Atlantic salmon. Atlantic salmon spend most of its life at sea, but makes an epic journey back to the river or stream they were born in.

Atlantic salmon feed on different species when they live in freshwater and when they are out at sea.

Try our colouring sheet and see if you can match the species with the drawing!

Public Engagement, SAMARCH (SAlmonid MAnagement Round the CHannel)

Discover our underwater world

21/11/202121/11/2021Katie Thompson

Head on over to this website to find out more details on the exciting project Bournemouth University researchers have been working on! #SAMARCH #Underwaterworld #Outreach #Publicengagement #BU_CEES

Find out more here!:

https://bubsw.squarespace.com/home/underwaterworld

Public Engagement, SAMARCH (SAlmonid MAnagement Round the CHannel)

SAMARCH making a splash at the first Science Festival in Weymouth (UK)

17/11/202117/11/2021Katie Thompson

SAMARCH featured at the first ever Science Festival in Weymouth (Dorset, UK)! Genoveva Esteban and Katie Thompson from Bournemouth University ran an interactive activity on the life cycle of the Atlantic Salmon at the spectacular location: The Nothe Fort. They were delighted with the turnout and look forward to more face-to-face events to showcase SAMARCH. If you have any questions, please email Genoveva on gesteban@bournemouth.ac.uk or Katie on thompsonk@bournemouth.ac.uk.

Go to SAMARCH website for more details on the EU Interreg project!

Public Engagement, Research, SAMARCH (SAlmonid MAnagement Round the CHannel)

Skype a Scientist

20/06/202127/01/2022Katie Thompson

Genoveva Esteban and Katie Thompson from the Department of Life and Environmental Sciences at Bournemouth University engaged with a Skype a Scientist session to talk about salmon conservation to celebrate the International Year of The Salmon. They spoke to 90 school children about the fascinating world of Atlantic Salmon – the pupils were shocked to learn how large Atlantic Salmon can grow!

#Atlantic
News, Public Engagement #Skypeascientist, atlanticsalmon, InternationalYearofTheSalmon

BU Virtual British Science Week 2021

12/03/202112/03/2021Katie Thompson

British Science Week Virtual Event 5–14th March. Join Genoveva Esteban and Katie Thompson from the Department of Life and Environmental Sciences for our virtual event this British Science Week. We have lots of activities for you, your family, and friends to get involved in; everyone is welcome! From wildlife colouring sheets to a live talk with the The Linnean Society of London, there is something for everyone. All details can be found on our event website: https://bubsw.squarespace.com/. If you have any questions, please email me on thompsonk@bournemouth.ac.uk. We look forward to seeing you there!

#BritishScienceWeek#bsw#britishscienceweek#STEM#BSW21

Blog, Conservation, Events, Public Engagement #bsw21, BritishScienceWeek2021, LES, SciTech

Public engagement

10/03/201808/11/2021Katie Thompson

Wessex Portal Public Engagement 

The Wessex portal team have been involved with an array of public engagement events. These were led by Professor Genoveva Esteban and two research assistants Katie Thompson and Jack Dazley.

As our site features a variety of interests, from local to global environmental sciences, we showcased different themes around these events.

Our first two events incorporated two areas of research, one on Microbiology and the other showcased the Dorset Coast Digital Archive:

Poole Maritime Festival: Microbiology and DCDA: 19th – 21st May 

Festival of Learning: Microbiology and DCDA: 8th – 12th July 

Bournemouth Air Festival: Wildlife Conservation: 1st – 3rd September

The first two events allowed members of the public to learn about the types of microscopic life which can be found in aquatic environments, and enabled people to earn more about the Dorset coast digital archive (DCDA), an archive of historical photos dating back to the 1740s. As well as educating and engaging the public with this work, staff and students from other departments were also able to learn about the research the Wessex portal team is involved in.

The most recent event took place in August 2017, where we incorporated a variety of different themes. We wanted to look at a range of species, showcasing biodiversity in a range of different research themes. These included the following themes:

  1.  Microbiology: Included samples from the first forms of life taken from freshwater ecosystems at the FBA site.
    2. Invertebrates: Examples of freshwater invertebrates taken from kick samples at the FBA site. Damien Evans, a demonstrator at Bournemouth University provided samples from a collection of invertebrates.
    3. Shells and fossils: The stand incorporated samples of fossils and information for people to learn about extinct species and more about fauna that lives in shells.
    4. Endangered species: We used this area to showcase research within the life and environmental sciences department at BU, with materials from senior lecturer Roger Herbert. We also held a raffle to raise money for African elephant research.
    5. Conservation craft corner: We used this area as make your own ‘pom pom’ animal, where the public made creatures of the past, present and of their own imagination from what they saw on the stand.

Join our website, and follow us on FB and twitter for regular updates where you can contact us directly for any more information!

Public Engagement Public Engagement
Participants needed for workshop on ‘Research capacity for sustainable ecosystem-based management of estuaries and coasts’ in South Africa

Participants needed for workshop on ‘Research capacity for sustainable ecosystem-based management of estuaries and coasts’ in South Africa

23/01/201823/01/2018Katie Thompson

Under the Researcher Links scheme offered within the Newton Fund, the British Council, in partnership with the South African National Research Foundation, will be holding a three day workshop on the above theme in the premises of the Oceanographic Research Institute, uShaka Marine World in Durban South Africa, on 19-21 June 2018. The workshop is being coordinated by Dr Luciana Esteves (Bournemouth University, UK), Prof Trevor Hill (University of KwaZulu-Natal, SA), Bronwyn Goble (Oceanographic Research Institute, SA) and Katie Smyth (University of Hull, UK) and will have contributions from leading researchers from the UK and SA (Prof Mike Elliot, Prof Andrew Cooper, Dr Ursula Scharler and Dr Louis Celliers). We are now inviting Early Career Researchers from the UK or South Africa to apply to attend this workshop. All travel and accommodation expenses will be covered by the Newton Researcher Links programme. The application form, with more details on the initiative, is attached and should be sent to lesteves@bournemouth.ac.uk before the deadline of 16th March 2018.  The successful applicants will be notified by 23rd March 2018.

Workshop Outline

Coastal and estuarine ecosystems worldwide are under pressure from population growth, urbanisation and other land-based and marine activities. In the United Kingdom (UK) and South Africa (SA), coastal areas greatly contribute to the local and national economy by supporting key urban centres and industries (tourism, fisheries, ports). Climate change tends to exacerbate existing problems, including but not limited to flooding, erosion, water quality and resource availability, which can have implications on environmental quality, food production, water supply and human health. Ecosystem-based management (EBM) has emerged as an integrated approach for the sustainable management of the trade-offs between socioeconomic development and nature conservation. EBM requires a transdisciplinary understanding of the natural system, nature-human interactions, and how they change through time. The workshop will bring together researchers from SA and the UK to discuss how they can collaborate to support EBM through the development of long-lasting UK-SA collaboration and government-research partnerships. The workshop aims to attract researchers from the social and natural sciences to create the required combination of expertise to co-construct, advance and share knowledge to support estuarine and coastal EBM. The integration of scientific and practical knowledge will be facilitated by the participation of NGOs and government practitioners.

Workshop objectives

Activities will include a mix of scientific and technical discussions to stimulate capacity building opportunities through mentorship and sharing of experiences and knowledge. The workshop will focus on: identifying skills and knowledge required to enable research on EBM; the dissemination of good practice for the development of collaborative research (including equity and diversity in multicultural teams); and sharing information concerning funding opportunities. A key objective is to create long-lasting cross-sector (government-research) and UK-SA collaboration that facilitates research impact on policy and decision-making (i.e. to improve environmental health in estuaries and coasts and related economy). It is envisaged that participants, mentors and coordinators will identify opportunities for visiting fellowships, co-supervision and mobility of postgraduate students and stimulate the creation of formal training/degrees in SA universities in collaboration with UK researchers and SA practitioners.

Download the application form here:

Research capacity for sustainable ecosystem-based management of estuaries and coasts application

 

Blog, Conservation, Global Collaboration, News, Public Engagement 2018, Bournemouth University, British Council, Coasts, Durban, Ecosystem-based management, Estuaries, Fisheries, National Research Foundation, Newton fund, Oceanographic Research Institute, Ports, Researcher Links, South Africa, South African National Research Foundation, Sustainable, Tourism, University of Hull, University of KwaZulu-Natal, uShaka Marine World, Workshop

UK Hedgehog Decline And What We Can Do About It

10/02/2017Jack Dazley

According to an annual UK wildlife survey carried out by the BBC Gardener’s World Magazine, there has been a decline in hedgehog sightings across the country. 51 percent of the 2600 participants did not see any hedgehogs in 2016, compared to 48 percent in 2014. The British Hedgehog Preservation Society (BHPS) stated that one of the major components contributing towards hedgehog decline in the UK is habitat loss and fragmentation, an ever increasing problem in urban environments.

So, what can be done to save the hedgehog? There are several actions people can take to help hedgehogs thrive again. Creating a wild corner in the garden, letting grass grow tall and encouraging the growth of native plants such as Meadow Foxtail, Cock’s-foot and Ox Eye Daisy will encourage insect life and with it hedgehogs. Breaking down barriers presented by gardens by making small holes at the bottom of fences helps hedgehogs to travel in between gardens, and leaving extra food such as meat-based pet food, mealworms or raisins will encourage hedgehogs, and this is particularly important during cold winter months when invertebrate prey is scarce.

Image credit: Gillian Day

 

Conservation, Conservation Forum, Public Engagement conservation, Ecology, Hedgehog, UK wildlife

February at Café Scientifique: How well can you hang a picture frame?

31/01/2017Katie Thompson

When: Tuesday 7 February

Where: Café Boscanova, 650 Christchurch Rd, Bournemouth, BH1 4BP

How well can you hang a picture frame? – Dr Sharon Docherty, Bournemouth University

Our environment is full of information that allows our brain to make decisions about whether or not we are in an upright position. How we interpret this upright position (vertical) is based on the combination of signals our brain receives from the visual (eyes) and vestibular (inner ear) systems as well as muscles and joints throughout our body (proprioception).

This talk will outline what we know about how vertical is perceived in different age groups and also how it can be affected by clinical conditions such as neck pain and diabetes

Public Engagement Boscanova, Bournemouth University, Brain, Cafe Scientifique, Clinical, l Research, Lecture

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