Staff Newsletter 3 May 2024
- Annabel Jackson (Deactivated)
Important Information
Training available! Responding to Students in Distress
When: Thursday 16th May, 10:00 - 12:30
Location: Biology building, B/B/006
Following the success of last year's training exploring how staff can positively respond to students in distress, the Science Faculty Student Wellbeing Team will be delivering the session again on the 16th of May. The session explores a wide range of issues that staff may encounter with students and positive ways to respond. We aim to boost your confidence when supporting students in often challenging circumstances and the training is open to all staff.
If you would like to come along, please complete the registration form.
If you would like to find out more about the training, contact Robert Bennett, our Student Wellbeing Officer, who will be co-delivering the training (robert.bennett@york.ac.uk).
Departmental Events
Sustainability Seminar
Date / Time: Wednesday 8th May at 12:05
Location: Zoom
Speakers: Mary Rice & Katrin Izquierdo
Title: A Career in Government Social Research
The seminar outlines what a career in Social Research with the civil service might look like, as well as outlining the student placement year and potential career paths via the fast stream and mainstream application process. The presentation is aimed at students pursuing an undergraduate degree with minimum 30% research-based modules or for masters students. The presentation lasts approximately 45 mins, with time after for students to ask questions.
Book launch celebrations
Date / Time: Friday 10th May, 16:00 - 17:30 then 18:00 - 20:00
Location: Environment Building, ENV/005
Adam S. Green (York) and Nancy Highcock (Oxford) invite you to help celebrate their new book, Cities and Citadels: an archaeology of inequality and economic growth. Environment and Geography are hosting two events on Friday 10th May. Please come along to chat with Adam and his co-authors.
Research Forum hosted by the Department of Archaeology: From 4-5:30pm, we invite members of the University of York to join us in the Environment Building (ENV/005) to participate in an informal discussion of the book. The invitation is open, and we look forward to hearing voices from across relevant departments, including Archaeology, Environment and Geography, Economics and Related Studies and History. The Research Forum will be held in the same spirit of discussion and collaboration that formed the basis for the book, a project that combines the often very different voices and viewpoints of its co-authors. Rather than a traditional lecture and Q&A session, we will provide a brief precis of the book, and then ask the non-archaeologists in the audience about how their own research interests may benefit from data from the past—or how our understanding of the past may benefit from advances in debates outside of archaeology. We also welcome participants to have a quick look over the book before the event. Thanks to a generous grant from the University of York, it is fully open-access
Public Lecture: An archaeology for future economies: From 6-8:00pm, we will introduce the book to the broader public, holding a pair of micro-lectures for the public at the University of York’s Environment Building (ENV/005). We will introduce the book, discuss the relationship between inequality and economic growth in the past, then chart a trajectory of growing inequality that spans millennia, from the first farmers to the Iron Age Origin of Billionaires. Each micro-lecture will be followed by a brief question and answer session, and the event will be followed by a drinks reception.
Coming to our senses in a world of transformation: With Christian Houge and Ioan Fazey
Date / Time: Wednesday 15th May, 18:30 - 20:00
Location: Environment Building, ENV/005
Join us in a journey of deep exploration of Christian Houge’s evocative art, engage deeply with your senses, and begin to explore how you, personally and collectively, can play a more direct role in tackling the challenges facing people and our planet.
Places are limited so sign up early!
YESI International Fellows Seminar Series - Diversifying livelihoods for flood-resilient communities: Alternative sustainable development pathways in the Nigerian drylands
Date / Time: Tuesday 7th May, 13:30 - 14:30
Location: Environment Building, ENV/105X
Join us for the second in our YESI International Fellows Seminar Series with Dr Ummi Khalthum Mohammed from Bayero University Kano, Nigeria.
This seminar explores the potential of diversifying livelihoods as a key component of building flood resilience within Jigawa State in Nigeria’s drylands.
Other Events
Erle Ellis visit to LCAB
Date / Time: Tuesday 7th May, 15:30 - 16:30
Location: Berrick Saul Treehouse, BS/104
The Leverhulme Centre for Anthropocene Biodiversity here at York is delighted to be welcoming Erle Ellis to the Centre next week!
Bio:
Erle Ellis is Professor of Geography and Environmental Systems at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC). A Global Highly Cited Researcher, he studies the ecology of human landscapes to inform sustainable stewardship of the biosphere. He teaches environmental science and landscape ecology, which he has also taught at Harvard’s Graduate School of Design. He is a Visiting Fellow at Oxford’s Martin School, Lead Author of the IPBES Transformative Change Assessment, Fellow of the Global Land Programme, Senior Fellow of the Breakthrough Institute, and former member of the Anthropocene Working Group. His book, Anthropocene: A Very Short Introduction, was published in 2018.
Talk:
Re-Culturing Nature to Sustain Biodiversity in the Anthropocene - Most of terrestrial nature, including Earth’s most biodiverse landscapes, have been shaped by millennia of sustained human use. These cultured ecosystems, including those sustained by indigenous peoples for millennia, and not natures without people, currently sustain the vast majority of biodiversity. Even Earth’s most intensively used working landscapes, including cities and farms, are crucial to achieving a nature positive future. Transformative changes in the cultural aspirations, institutions and practices that shape societal use and interactions with nature have unprecedented planetary potential to enhance and expand the biodiversity sustaining capacities of the anthropogenic biosphere of the Anthropocene.
Future Treescapes 24 Conference
Date / Time: Tuesday 11th June - Thursday 13th June
Location: Glasgow University Union and online.
The Future Treescapes 24 Conference is the final event of the Future of UK Treescapes Programme, where we will be sharing the latest research, advancements, tools and recommendations coming out of the programme. With the UK government's ambitious target to plant 30,000 hectares of trees annually over the next 30 years, and the urgent need to address tree establishment and resilience, this conference offers a vital platform to unlock essential knowledge in this field.
Here's what you can expect at Future Treescapes 24:
Celebrate UK Treescapes: Join us in celebrating the invaluable contributions of the UK Treescapes Programme towards a greener and more sustainable future.
Collaborate for Sustainable Treescapes: Engage with experts, policymakers, and enthusiasts to address critical decisions on woodland expansion, climate resilience, and environmental challenges.
Highlight Treescapes' Value: Explore the pivotal role of treescapes in mitigating climate change, enhancing well-being, and enriching the UK's heritage and culture.
Research Shaping Policy: Delve into core research themes aligned with UK government policies to support the nation's net-zero greenhouse gas emissions target and address environmental threats.
Turn Knowledge into Action: Collaborate with us to translate research outcomes into practical solutions for end-users and policymakers, ensuring meaningful impacts on woodland expansion and management.
Find out more information about our speakers and agenda, and sign up!
Attendance at the conference is completely free. Feel free to reach out to the team at treescapes@glos.ac.uk if you have any questions or require further information.
Pint of Science: Protecting our Thriving Planet: York vs. the World
Date / Time: Monday 13th May, 19:30
Location: Fulford Arms
"Pint of Science: Protecting our Thriving Planet: York vs. the World"
Every April for the last 8 years, people around the world 'compete' to find as many plants and animals in their cities. From 26 - 29th April 2024, York participated in the global City Nature Challenge (CNC) for the very first time to record the biodiversity around our dear city! There is a leaderboard; so how did York do against 700 other cities? What types of birds, trees, mammals, flowers, insects, fungi and other wildlife did we see, and why does it matter for the people of York? And, what happens next?
Grab an event ticket and join Smriti Safaya and her CNC team as they share insights from York's incredible efforts to spark future human-wildlife connections!!
Good News and Media Engagement
Lindsay Stringer gave a short online welcome address to participants at the final workshop for her Royal Society funded International Collaboration Award on "Improving access to clean and modern energy for cooking while reducing land degradation and biodiversity loss in Nigeria" and Abba and Stella attended in person, providing valuable research assistance. The event held in Abuja on 29 April was very well attended, including by the Vice Chancellor of Bayero University Kano, his Royal Highness the Emir of Nasarawa (who is also the former Minister of Environment) and stakeholders from the three study areas of Kaduna, Nasarawa and Abuja FCT. It received widespread media coverage including https://dailytrust.com/nigeria-lost-size-of-lagos-enugu-fct-to-deforestation-in-20-years-report/and https://thenationonlineng.net/94-4-percent-of-kaduna-nasarawa-households-use-fuelwood-for-cooking-study/ The Nigeria-based co-PI, Prof Aliyu Barau was also interviewed by BBC Hausa and we are awaiting news as to when that will be broadcast. In addition, Lindsay's paper published in Nature Sustainability last year was recognised by the China Geographical Society as the second most important research achievement in Chinese Geography of 2023 (see https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/WiVwnpFYwiOXGTFAJbL4tw - note the article detailing the recognition is in Chinese). The full reference of the paper (which is in English!) is: Li C, Fu B, Wang S, Stringer LC, Zhou W, Ren Z, Hu M, Zhang Y, Rodriguez-Caballero E, Weber B, Maestre FT 2023. Grazing modulates climate-driven ecological thresholds in China’s drylands. Nature Sustainability.
Chris Malley (SEI) has published a new paper: Improving consistency in estimating future health burdens from environmental risk factors: case study for ambient air pollution. Using a demographic model estimated strikingly different figures for future health burdens than traditional models.
Steve Cinderby and Jean McKendree (both SEI) have published a paper on glass return and refill schemes in the UK. Surveys showed that industry stakeholders endorse moves to increase the percentage of remelted glass used, as well as supporting local return and refill schemes.
Sarah Bridle was part of the FDTP Eco-Working Group which led to a report, published this week, outlining progress and future priorities for addressing environmental challenges in the food and drink sector - https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/food-data-transparency-partnership-agri-food-environmental-data/fdtp-towards-consistent-accurate-and-accessible-environmental-impact-quantification-for-the-agri-food-industry
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