by Iona Cunningham-Eurich, Chloe Bentze and Lucas von Chamier
In 1979, a group of UCL students began publishing the journal ECOS (https://www.ecos.org.uk), as an outlet for challenging, independent writing on nature conservation. To mark its 40th anniversary, its publisher the British Association of Nature Conservationists (BANC) with the UCL Conservation Society hosted a joint UCL event.
Our aim was to create a dialogue between 'old wisdom and new energy' - three past UCL students, matched with three current or recent UCL students, sharing their perspectives on arguably the greatest issue of our times...the ecological and climate crisis.
Our speakers included
· Tony Juniper (Chair of Natural England)
· Stephanie Hilbourne (former Chief Executive of the Wildlife Trusts)
· Chris Howe (Head of Food and Landscapes, WWF)
· Kesella Scott-Somme (Aquatic Research Assistant for Earthwatch)
· Lily Unger (UCL Geography)
· Carolyn Thompson (ZSL/UCL PHD)
Chris Howe opened our evening with a brilliant speech on the changes in stance on conservation throughout his lifetime, and how education is key in the future of conservation and our connection with wildlife. Being the only one of our panellists to have not only a masters in nature conservation (at UCL), but also in creative writing, his story-telling skills were reflected in his talk and kept us engaged from beginning to the end. He built on this, telling us how important it is to be able to have a narrative when talking about nature conservation to the general public, as this is key in making sure that people of any background can understand the importance of conservation and get involved.
Our second speaker was Kesella Scott-Somme, a UCL Msc Aquatic Conservation alumnus and one of the founders of the UCL Conservation Society! She currently works for a Non-Profit Environmental Organisation that aims to promote conservation and various conservation-related opportunities around the world. Kesella told us about her interests in plastics pollution and emphasised that any action/achievement that aims to protect the environment, no matter how big or small, is important - Optimism is key!
Tony Juniper CBE, our keynote speaker, also has a Conservation Masters from UCL, was Vice-chair of Friends of the Earth from 2008-2009 and is currently Chair of Natural England - advising governments on environmental matters around England. He provided us with a lot of food for thought concerning interactions between politics and environmental protection, and how difficult it is to resolve these conflicts.
Lily Unger provided a more practical approach to conservation. Nt only did she complete the Msc Aquatic Conservation at UCL,she pursued a PHD which focuses on paleolimnology, the study of mud, and how this can help the most endangered duck in the world. She showed, through this case study, how mud and the story it tells can be really important to conservation, help restore environments and tell us more about past environments which would have been suitable.
Stephanie Hilbourne, former Chief Executive of the Wildlife Trusts elaborated on the importance of translating conservation science to policy and policy makers. Take away message: it’s difficult. She projected leadership- and her charisma inspired to go out and inform people on conservation issues.
Finally, Carolyn Thompson (PhD) spoke to us about her experiences working with gibbons and how she is combining social sciences and biology to help gibbon conservation on one of the rarest mammal species in the world. A self-funded PhD, she was able to give us some tips on fundraising (pro tip: use a great video!). She believes that collaboration between local people and scientists is key for conservation: after all, they are the people who live in these areas and are in a place to be able to do the most to help local wildlife!
All three of our older speakers did a Masters in Conservation at UCL: one of the first universities in the UK to offer such a course - widely considered one of the best conservation Masters courses in the country.
The evening finished with snacks and nibbles and great conversations between up-and-coming and older conservationists. This was the first event we have hosted with such a profile and we look forward to organising more!
Thank you to all who attended, and thank you to our wonderful speakers. Special thanks to Gavin Saunders and Lucas von Chamier for organising such an interesting an successful event.
