BES Facebook pageBritish Science Festival 2009, 5 - 10 September
The BES ran a number of events at the Festival, engaging the public with ecology and ecological science.
The British Science Festival is one of Europe's largest science festivals, and in 2009 took place from 5 - 10 September at the University of Surrey in Guildford . With events for everyone, thousands of people visit the Festival for talks, plays, debates, hands-on activities and more.
Re: Design
Saturday 5th September
Suitable for families and teenagers (12+)
RE: Design is a fascinating dramatisation of the 30 years of correspondence between Charles Darwin in Kent, England and Asa Gray in Boston, USA.
Adapted exclusively from their own words - including previously unpublished letters - RE: Design offers a window onto the minds and worlds of these two groundbreaking 19th century naturalists as they debate the consequences for religious belief of Darwin's new theory of evolution by natural selection.
Intellectual debate around science and religion is interwoven with gossip, opinion and anecdotes about everything from war and slavery, to family incidents and unfortunate gardening accidents!
Re: Design was commissioned by the Darwin Correspondence Project at the University of Cambridge and written by playwright Craig Baxter. It was developed for the stage by director Paul Bourne of the Menagerie Theatre Company, Cambridge, UK.
About the playwright
Craig Baxter studied Zoology at Sheffield University and Playwriting at Birmingham University. His stage plays include St James and the Tattoo Man, Taking Liberties, The Ministry of Pleasure (published by Oberon Books), The Animals, Hard Sell, and a trilogy of community plays for Barking & Dagenham (including Big Bang published by ARC Theatre Press). He has adapted two of his plays for radio broadcast on BBC Radio 4: The Thrill of the Chaste and Monongamy. His next play The Altruists is about 20th Century evolutionary biologists.
A Climate Change Walk through RHS Garden Wisley
Sunday 6 September
Members of the public joined gardening experts from the BES and RHS for a unique tour of the Royal Horticultural Society's flagship garden at Wisley to find out more about how climate change will affect our gardens. The tour covered areas threatened by climate change, like woodland gardens, herbaceous borders and lawns, and examined areas better suited to change, from Mediterranean plantings to orchards.
Gardening for Wildlife: can suburbia become Britain's largest nature reserve?
Monday 7th September
10.00 - 12.00
University of Surrey Campus
A discussion between panellists from the BES, the Royal Horticultural Society, Bumbleebee Conservation Trust and researchers from the Climatic Research Unit, University of East Anglia.
The event highlighted the unprecedented recent declines in bumblebee species and the economic and environmental impact of the loss of these important pollinators.
Members of the audience learned how the green-fingered public can help protect bumblebees and other organisms, particularly how growing particular produce in your allotment or back garden can benefit biodiversity.
How can you 'garden for wildlife'?
The 2050 gardener will need to adapt to higher temperatures, lower rainfall and increased garden pests: new gardening tools and techniques will be needed to cope with these challenges.
- Planning for the Future: an interview with Ken Thompson and Helen Bostock; Guildford Magazine (and associated publications), September 2009. Ken and Helen explore twildlife gardening and offer tips on improving green spaces for wildlife.
