What we’re about
Science and art both rely on observation and synthesis: taking what is seen and creating something new from it. Our society could hardly exist without either, but when they come together our culture is enriched, sometimes in unexpected ways....
Upcoming events (3)
See all- Alive at the End of the World | Eco-Anxiety and How We Got HereLinnean Society of London, London
Order your free ticket here https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/alive-at-the-end-of-the-world-eco-anxiety-and-how-we-got-here-tickets-876041161697
Please do consider a donation. All your kindnesses - big or small - go a long way in helping us in our science and nature outreach.
In-Person event ONLY.
Join us for a discussion on the history of estrangement and disconnection from nature, the birth of the idea of eco-anxiety and its spread. Our panellists: writer Melanie Challenger, ‘climate-aware' psychotherapist Caroline Hickman and journalist Siddarth Saxena will lead this conversation through various ideas around how we understand nature-human relations how this has transformed, biodiversity loss and our evasion of nature, how this is affecting the youth, and finding the language to express these anxieties.
We hope you can bring your voice to this event to discuss the impact on young minds, and how we can best address these deeply emotional responses to the planet's distress.
Melanie Challenger is a writer, researcher and broadcaster on environmental history and the history and philosophy of science, Deputy Co-Chair of the Nuffield Council on Bioethics, and a Vice President of the RSPCA. Her books include How to Be Animal: What it Means to Be Human (2021).
Caroline Hickman is a lecturer at the University of Bath in social work and climate psychology, a practicing ‘climate-aware’ psychotherapist, and a researcher focused on eco anxiety and distress about the climate and ecological crisis in children and young people globally.
Siddarth Shrikanth is the author of The Case for Nature. Siddarth holds a BA in Biological Sciences from Oxford, an MBA from Stanford, and an MPA from Harvard. He previously worked in corporate sustainability for McKinsey and environmental policy for the World Bank, and was a writer at the Financial Times. He now works in climate and nature investing at Just Climate.
The title of the event was inspired by this book of poetry.
- Brand new steam locomotive for the 21st centuryLancaster Hall Hotel, London
To attend this event register for free guest membership of the Society of Chemical Industry here
https://www.soci.org/events/london-group/2024/brand-new-steam-for-the-21st-centuryThe A1 Steam Locomotive Trust is building from scratch a recreation of Sir Nigel Gresley's P2 design. The construction will be illustrated using original engineering drawings and it will be explained how certain weaknesses in the original are being removed using modern computer design and modelling.
SPEAKER
Graham Nicholas (A1 Steam Locomotive Trust)Biography
Graham Nicholas is a chartered mechanical engineer and a career railway man, with specialism in certification and approval of rail vehicles and experience of rail vehicle manufacture and maintenance in the UK, Europe, North America and China. He has been involved with the A1 Steam Locomotive Trust for approx. 25 years, offering his professional services in a mainly voluntary capacity to support the aims and aspirations of the Trust. With this background, he has become an expert in engineering standards for heritage vehicles running on the national UK rail network.PROGRAMME
18:00 Registration and refreshments
18:30 Technical presentation
20:00 Buffet - The Scent of a Species | Playing Sherlock in NatureLinnean Society of London, London
This is part of Pint of Science 2024 event.
CLICK HERE TO BOOK YOUR TICKET.
This is an in-person event ONLY. During drinks sessions in the Library, you can view our current exhibition 'Lovely as a Tree'.
Agenda of the evening
1700: Drinks and networking in the Library
1800: Welcome to the Linnean Society
1810: Speaker Stephanie Holt
1830: Audience Q&A
1840: Pint of Science Quiz!
1900: Drinks break in the Library
1930: Speaker Joanne Littlefair
1950: Audience Q&A
2000: End of programmeDoes the air trap the essence of us all? What do we shed unknowingly into our environments? Find out about environmental DNA, and how it is transforming the way we discern species presence, populations and aiding biodiversity conservation. Come listen to these real life species detectives in our historic venue – the Linnean Society of London, where Charles Darwin and Alfred Russel Wallace first presented their theory of evolution! As this is a listed building/room unfortunately food and drinks cannot be consumed during the event but there will be time to get a drink before & during the break.
It's all in the Air! Combining Air Monitoring and DNA to Understand Nature on a Big Scale
Dr Joanne Littlefair (Lecturer, University College London)
The UK faces issues in trying to track and count species, which are the basic tools we have to understand biodiversity. In the last few years, scientists have been exploring how environmental DNA – shed by all animals and plants – could prove the key to monitoring species on a much bigger scale. Recently, scientists have discovered how this DNA is released into the air and have been examining how this can help us to track biodiversity on land.Behind the Bars: eDNA’s Potential in Conservation
Stephanie Holt (Ecologist and Natural Historian, Natural History Museum)
New techniques in genomics such as eDNA and metabarcoding can provide us with rapid and detailed new datasets, but what is the value of these new tools and the data they generate to conservation goals and habitat management decisions at a local or site-based level? This talk will discuss what potential opportunities these advances give us, and some of the pitfalls we might need to overcome.
