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Conservation Research Institute

 

Wed 01 Oct 18:45: A Buzzing of Bees: Tales of Honeybees Through History Joint meeting with the Cambridgeshire Beekeepers' Association (NB Wednesday)

Conservation-related talks - Sun, 21/09/2025 - 13:02
A Buzzing of Bees: Tales of Honeybees Through History

Dino Martins will talk about the relationship between honeybees and people.

Honeybees are one of the most familiar and widespread insects that are kept, managed, exploited and familiar to humanity. It is often said that ‘There is a crisis around bees’, but the reality is that overall honeybee numbers are actually increasing worldwide, the result of more intensive management, mass production and commercial trade of queens and colonies.

With examples drawn from around the world, this talk will highlight the complex, multi-faceted relationship we have with honeybees and explore how we can all play a role in better stewardship of the planet.

Joint meeting with the Cambridgeshire Beekeepers' Association (NB Wednesday)

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Thu 09 Oct 18:45: The Past and Future of Natural History

Conservation-related talks - Sun, 21/09/2025 - 13:02
The Past and Future of Natural History

Brian Eversham will present a history of naturalists over 3000 years, of trends in wildlife and the study of wildlife, and some personal thoughts on where it’s heading, and where the next generation of field naturalists might come from.

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Thu 16 Oct 18:45: Searching for (and finding) Snow Leopards

Conservation-related talks - Sun, 21/09/2025 - 13:02
Searching for (and finding) Snow Leopards

Peter Pilbeam will describe the trials and tribulations of searching for snow leopards in the Altai mountains in southern Siberia and in the Tian Shan mountains in Kyrgyzstan. And (eventually) finding them in Ladakh in north-eastern India, in China, and in Mongolia.

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Thu 23 Oct 18:45: Conserving Butterflies: Past, Present and Future

Conservation-related talks - Sun, 21/09/2025 - 13:02
Conserving Butterflies: Past, Present and Future

In this talk, final year PhD student Matt Hayes discusses how he combines fieldwork and studying museum specimens to research butterfly populations from the past and present.

Matt’s work is partnered with the Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire with whom he trials management strategies to see how species can be protected from some of the negative impacts of climate change and extreme weather events.

Matt also studies the UK butterfly specimens held at the University Museum of Zoology in Cambridge to see how wildlife of the past can inform modern day conservation action.

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Thu 30 Oct 18:45: Plastics in the Environment

Conservation-related talks - Sun, 21/09/2025 - 13:02
Plastics in the Environment

Claire Barlow will talk about plastics: amazing materials that have transformed our lives, but at a cost. Their durability, one of the properties that makes them so useful, means that large and small pieces of plastic waste find their way into the natural environment, causing many different problems.

We will look at where the plastic waste comes from, and investigate some of the ways in which it affects living organisms. Solutions are not easy, but there are a lot of good initiatives and there is some hope for the future.

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Thu 06 Nov 18:45: Looking for the Goshawk - The Lost Raptor

Conservation-related talks - Sun, 21/09/2025 - 13:02
Looking for the Goshawk - The Lost Raptor

Conor Jameson will give a personal, narrative account of the natural history of this mystery-shrouded bird of prey: how it lives, where it lives, and why it might be missing from our lives.

But there are increasing reports of goshawks, which at last are getting ‘out of the woods’. His search takes him to some unexpected places, at home and abroad.

The talk focuses on how this adventure turned into the essay which won him the BBC Wildlife Nature Writer of the Year, and then the book, which received awards from the Society of Authors and the Royal Literary Fund.

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Thu 13 Nov 18:45: Unsung Songbirds: Vocal Communication and Cognition in Corvids

Conservation-related talks - Sun, 21/09/2025 - 13:02
Unsung Songbirds: Vocal Communication and Cognition in Corvids

Corvids — members of the crow family including jackdaws, ravens, and magpies — are known for their remarkable behavioural flexibility and complex social lives.

Claudia will share insights from her research into how corvids communicate and make decisions, revealing the intricate ways these birds respond to and navigate their social environments.

The talk explores how vocalisations are used to maintain relationships, coordinate actions, and convey social information, and how ecological and social factors shape their cognitive processes. By examining corvids through the lens of socio-ecology, we gain a deeper appreciation for the diversity of animal minds.

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Thu 20 Nov 18:45: A Visit to the Vercors

Conservation-related talks - Sun, 21/09/2025 - 13:02
A Visit to the Vercors

Monica Frisch will describe discovering some of the delights of the Vercors National Park in eastern France, with its dramatic limestone mountain scenery, fascinating flora, including alpine specialities such as gentians and orchids, beautiful butterflies and some of the other natural history.

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Thu 27 Nov 18:45: History of the Little Wilbraham River

Conservation-related talks - Sun, 21/09/2025 - 13:02
History of the Little Wilbraham River

David Lomas is an active member of the Wilbraham River Protection Society as well as the CamElyOuse Catchment organisation.

He will explain the complex history of this chalk stream, its relationship to the adjacent habitats and why its survival is under threat as Cambridge continues to expand.

The Little Wilbraham River is just one example of the 29 water bodies in the Cam catchment – all of which are increasingly challenged by human activity.

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Wed 01 Oct 18:45: A Buzzing of Bees: Tales of Honeybees Through History Joint meeting with the Cambridgeshire Beekeepers' Association (NB Wednesday)

Conservation Talks - Sun, 21/09/2025 - 13:02
A Buzzing of Bees: Tales of Honeybees Through History

Dino Martins will talk about the relationship between honeybees and people.

Honeybees are one of the most familiar and widespread insects that are kept, managed, exploited and familiar to humanity. It is often said that ‘There is a crisis around bees’, but the reality is that overall honeybee numbers are actually increasing worldwide, the result of more intensive management, mass production and commercial trade of queens and colonies.

With examples drawn from around the world, this talk will highlight the complex, multi-faceted relationship we have with honeybees and explore how we can all play a role in better stewardship of the planet.

Joint meeting with the Cambridgeshire Beekeepers' Association (NB Wednesday)

Add to your calendar or Include in your list

Thu 09 Oct 18:45: The Past and Future of Natural History

Conservation Talks - Sun, 21/09/2025 - 13:02
The Past and Future of Natural History

Brian Eversham will present a history of naturalists over 3000 years, of trends in wildlife and the study of wildlife, and some personal thoughts on where it’s heading, and where the next generation of field naturalists might come from.

Add to your calendar or Include in your list