Workshops

We offer a range of workshops at our Annual Meeting for our in-person delegates. One of the many fantastic reasons for coming along to the Annual Meeting is to be in the room with like-minded ecologists and to share experience and knowledge with your community. The workshops are a great way to create those moments and engage with others at the meeting.

• Ticketed longer (up to 4 hours) pre-conference workshops – registrations open 18 July
• 1-hour lunchtime workshops  – registrations not needed

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Ticketed pre-conference workshops (In-person, 10 December – 14:00-18:00)

Please note – to attend a pre-conference workshop, you must book in advance as an add on to your main conference ticket. There is a small charge of £25.

Ecological models for non-mathematicians and non-programmers

Organisers: Rick Stafford, Bournemouth University (UK) and Vicky Dominguez Almela, University of Southampton (UK)

During this workshop, you will build working models of your own study (eco)system, and be able to make predictions about how the system will change in the future. We will use the BBNet R package (https://doi.org/10.1101/2024.06.12.598033), but no experience of complex maths, R or programming is needed to do this.

How to do awesome evidence synthesis

Organisers: Phil Martin, Basque Centre for Climate Change (BC3) (Spain) and Matt Grainger, Norwegian Institute for Nature Research (Norway)

The increase in scientific literature means that evidence synthesis in ecology is crucial. However, it often lacks robustness. This workshop offers a whistle-stop tour of different types of evidence synthesis, how to carry out a systematic review, and useful tools, using a mix of lectures and practical sessions.

Adapting Payments for Ecosystem services to support farmers and conserve agrobiodiversity

Organisers: Sophie Jago, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (UK) and James Borrell, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (UK)

Conserving crop agrobiodiversity is crucial for sustainable development and food security, yet efforts lag behind broader biodiversity conservation. This workshop introduces an adapted Payments for Ecosystem Services toolkit, to equitably support farmers in conserving threatened agrobiodiversity. We use real data, experiences and scenarios from communities in Ethiopia’s Kaffa biosphere reserve.

Integrating behavioural ecology into rewilding

Organisers: Dr. Mohammad Farhadinia, University of Oxford (UK) and Dr Luciano Atzeni, University of Oxford (UK)

This workshop emphasizes movement data’s role in conservation translocations and rewilding, covering performance measures, the impact of behavioural ecology, methods for characterizing animal movement in new ecosystems, and how machine learning supports these efforts. Explore these critical aspects to enhance conservation and rewilding success.

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Lunchtime workshops (In-person, 11 and 12 December)

You do not need to pre-book for lunchtime workshops, and these are included as part of your delegate ticket.

ECR Grant Writing Workshop

Organiser: Dylan Byrne, British Ecological Society (UK)

Are you an early career researcher looking to fund your next ecological project? Join our grant writing workshop! Topics covered include key grant writing tips, common reviewer feedback,  and practical advice.

Careers in nature recovery

Organisers: Rebecca Senior, Durham University (UK) and Nathalie Pettorelli, ZSL (UK)

This workshop aims to provide postgraduate and recent graduates in ecology with guidance on careers in nature recovery. Areas covered include a review of possible career options, CV matching exercises and interview tips for people considering careers inside and outside academia. Facilitators will bring perspectives from diverse career trajectories.

Values and responsibilities of ecologists in the Anthropocene

Organisers: Dr Hazel Norman, British Ecological Society (UK) and Professor Marc Cadotte, University of Toronto (Canada

Ecologists proactively engage in several roles to communicate the critical importance of biodiversity; besides researchers, ecologists act as communicators, practitioners, policy makers, teachers, activists, and other roles. Recommendations and decisions related to climate change and biodiversity loss should be informed by our core values as ecologists, but ecologists seldom reflect openly on those values and how they inform our responsibilities. We propose six core values for ecologists: curiosity about nature, empathy with all beings, intellectual humility, personal integrity, academic rigor, and inclusivity that should guide the practice of every ecologist and suggest how they can be integrated as responsibilities in the different roles that ecologists take in society.

Generating knowledge exchange across disciplines and sectors: Exploring challenges and opportunities

Organisers: Sarah Golding, University of Surrey (UK) and George Warren, University of Surrey (UK)

Tackling ecological challenges can only be achieved through successful collaborative working and effective knowledge exchange between different disciplines and sectors. This interactive workshop will encourage participants (from any sector/discipline) to reflect on opportunities for knowledge exchange and overcoming potential challenges for generating meaningful impact.

An Introduction to Acoustic Indices for Ecological Research

Organisers: Dr Fran Tattersall, Wildlife Acoustics (USA) and Paul Howden-Leach (MCIEEM), Wildlife Acoustics (USA)

Acoustic Indices are an emerging ecological research technique, and this workshop provides an overview for anyone considering using them. Through case studies and a live demonstration in Kaleidoscope Pro we will explore how ecologists can apply Acoustic Indices to monitoring and research projects.

Become an Emerging Leader and Manager (ELM)

Organisers: Rob Brooker, The James Hutton Institute (UK), Pen Holland, University of York (UK) and Thorunn Helgason, University of Edinburgh (UK)

If you’re interested in people and processes, supporting colleagues and making work spaces into better places to do better science, then this workshop is for you! The new BES ELM network is a “safe space” for mid-career ecologists to explore and grow into leadership and management roles. In this session, with your input, we will start to define the ELM structure, vision and activities for the coming year.

Language and Impact: Talking to policymakers as an expert

Organisers: Tessa Amorosi, Central Saint Martins, UAL (UK) and Rebecca Walley, British Ecological Society (UK)

Using an idealised timeline for a research project, we will map stakeholder engagement from initial ideas to policy impact. We will consider how and why our language changes in this process – from funding applications, to pitching to journalists, to giving evidence at a Select Committee Inquiry.

Towards a statistics curriculum for ecologists

Organisers: William Kay, Cardiff University (UK) and Crispin Jordan, University of Edinburgh (UK)

Statistics is essential for ecologists, but many struggle with its application due to a lack of standardised training. This workshop will discuss the content, teaching time, software, and pedagogy necessary in a statistics curriculum for ecologists. Participants will benchmark courses, gain new perspectives, and contribute to a peer-reviewed output.

Is a fellowship for you?

Organiser: Dylan Byrne, British Ecological Society (UK) 

This workshop is for anyone in their early-mid career stage considering a fellowship as a possible career option. Global fellowship opportunities will be covered, including what the application process involves, the most common mistakes and what funders look out for. You will also have the chance to hear from past fellowship winners.

Prediction is impossible: Navigating complexity and deep uncertainty in our efforts to anticipate the future of biodiversity

Organisers: Anita Lazurko, UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (UK) and Nick Isaac, UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (UK)

The future of biodiversity is shaped by diverse socio-economic and biophysical drivers operating across various spatial and temporal scales. This workshop will expose delegates to scenario development approaches that challenge them with new ways of thinking about the inherent ‘openness’ and unknowability of the future and possible pathways toward a more desirable future for people and nature.

Research with impact: Communicating with stakeholders and the public

Organisers: Lydia Groves, British Ecological Society (UK)

Publishing research that ‘has impact’ is often spoken about but can be difficult to achieve. This workshop will equip participants with the confidence to communicate their research with those who matter, as well as discuss how changes to policy, practice or behaviour may be achieved through case studies.

A new Guide to Peer Review – maintaining a robust and fair system for all

Organisers: Samantha Ponton, British Ecological Society (UK)

In this workshop, editors from the BES journals will provide an overview of peer review, from hands-on practical advice about how to write a good review, to explaining less tangible aspects such as reviewer ethics. Attendees will receive a copy of the newly updated BES’s Guide to Peer Review.

Interdisciplinary publishing for ecologists

Organisers: Philip Dooner, British Ecological Society (UK)

This workshop will lift the lid interdisciplinary publishing, helping guide prospective authors through choosing a journal, preparing a manuscript, navigating peer review, and making their work relevant to a broad audience. We will cater to researchers who are extending beyond their core training to contribute to a seamless understanding of social-ecological questions across disciplinary boundaries.