Networking Sessions

We are excited to have a range of networking sessions on offer at a Festival of Ecology. These are free to delegates with no pre-booking required, however, do ensure you join the sessions on time. All socials will run from 19:00 GMT (excluding the Teaching & Learning Group event, which runs from 12:45 GMT).

Our Special Interest Groups (SIGs) cover many specific areas of ecology and organise meetings and events throughout the year. They’re a great way of staying in touch with people in your research area. Join a SIG social to take part in activities ranging from bingo to a hat contest!

In addition our LGBT+ network and BAME network will be running socials, providing opportunites to network in an informal and inclusive setting.

Networking Sessions

BAME Ecologist Network Social Evening
Join us for the first social event hosted by the BAME Ecologist Network. We’ve planned a relaxed hour with lots of chances to drop in and out of smaller rooms to meet and greet other members of all career stages. Since we sadly can’t provide virtual refreshments, do bring a drink and some snacks!

Big BES Quiz of the Year
Complete a week of great science and new connections with a classic quiz organised by the BES!

Contagion Mixer
Parasites & Pathogens Group
Calling all Parasites and Pathogens to our Biosafety Level 4 social event! Bring your favourite pet parasite to our beauty pageant, wear a festive face mask, and take part in our film-based sick quiz.

EGGHEADS Quiz
Ecological Genetics Group
Join our Ecological Genetics Group as we bring you the ultimate EGGhead Quiz! Come along and connect with others, make friends, and team up for our quiz! There’ll be prizes for winners so don’t miss out!

LGBT+ Network Mixer
We’re proud to say the LGBT+ mixer is still going ahead this year, in a virtual format but as welcoming as ever! We will, as usual, provide a fun and informal event in an inclusive setting. The event will be a little structured this year, to facilitate the opportunity to circulate, meet and chat virtually with fellow LGBT+ ecologists. We can’t provide the refreshments for you on this occasion, but please bring along a drink or two if you like!

Lunchtime Lightning Learning
Teaching and Learning Group
Let’s chat about the future of teaching and learning ecology post-COVID! Were there any benefits to remote learning? What were the main challenges and lessons learned in 2020? Bring your lunch and network with us in this enlightening discussion in a new world of quarantine and zoom!

Macro Networking BINGO!
Macroecology Group
Make new contacts and reconnect with existing ones in a networking extravaganza! We’ll have small breakout rooms for informal chats and will rotate them, so you meet as many people as possible. To break the ice, we’ll provide conversation starters on a Bingo card. Can you complete Macro Networking Bingo? 

Mapping Movements – the Science and the Art
Movement Ecology
Flex your mapping skills, the Movement SIG challenges you to show us what you’ve got and create some animal movement maps! We’re looking for pretty, nerdy, dynamic, and heavy-R-use maps, and we’ll announce the winners at our social! Keep your eye on our Twitter page for more details and how to submit @BES_Move_SIG

Palaeoecology SIG Social
Palaeoecology Group
Who doesn’t want to wear their favourite palaeoecological proxy whilst talking about palaeoecology?  The Palaeoecology SIG social includes a hat/headdress contest (with prizes!) as a festive start to a social discussion – draw your favourite proxy on a post-it note & stick it to your forehead or wow the community with your creativity!

Peat&Quiz
Peatlands Research Group
The Peatlands SIG welcomes you to the Peat &Quiz! Bring a drink and participate in our quiz with some key peat topic discussions. We look forward to meeting all of you! Follow us on Twitter @BES_peat to keep updated with our latest news.

PEPG Super Christmas Quiz
Plant Environmental Physiology Group 
Cash prizes are up for grabs in the Plant Environmental Physiology Group’s Christmas Quiz! Join our laid-back and informal quiz for a chance to meet some other plant environmental physiologists.

Quantitative Ecology Quiz Night
Quantitative Ecology Group
We will be having (as close as possible to) a good old-fashioned pub quiz, featuring music, picture rounds, and general knowledge questions! Following the quiz, attendees will ‘pub crawl’ between social rooms to get chatting to others in the SIG. There will be cash prizes for the winners!

The BESAG Aquatic Ecology social
Aquatic Ecology Group
The BESAG social offers a chance to meet aquatic ecology enthusiasts in a relaxed setting. Come along to play our caption competition, and complete ecological-themed challenges. There will be prizes! Follow us on twitter @BES_AquaEco and on the chat channel for more details.

The Ecology Games
Citizen Science Group, Climate Change Group, Forest Ecology Group
Join the Climate Change, Citizen Science and Forestry SIGs as we warm up for Christmas with your favourite ecology games! Come along for team games, dressing up and social interactions – beer not provided.

The Next Big Idea: Micro to Landscape
Agricultural Ecology Group, Microbial Ecology Group, Plant, Soils, Ecosystems
An evening of fun and science! Working in small teams, we’ll kick off with a silly quiz, and then move on to a chance to win cash prizes for the most outrageous and adventurous research ideas! Extra points for botanical or microbial themed drinks or costumes!

The Quirky Conservation Ecology Quiz
Conservation Ecology Group
Funny, irreverent, …irrelevant? Join us for the Conservation SIG quiz, and take on quizzical gems like ‘What is that mystery animal noise?’, and the photo round ‘goat… or human?’ Join as a team or just come along as an individual. Prizes will be on offer!