Speakers announced for Trees for Climate Change, Biodiversity and People symposium

The symposium, organised by the British Ecological Society in collaboration with the Woodland Trust and the University of Kent’s Positive Environmental Futures Signature Research Theme, will take place on the 28-29 June 2023 at the University of Kent. It aims to move beyond research communication towards transforming policy decisions and implementing applied conservation by using science and evidence. 

Plenary talks will be delivered by:

• Forrest Fleischman, Associate Professor of Environmental Policy in the Department of Forest Resources at the University of Minnesota
• Yadvinder Malhi, Professor of Ecosystem Science at the University of Oxford, Jackson Research Fellow at Oriel College, Oxford and Director of the Leverhulme Centre for Nature Recovery
• Action for Conservation (AFC), a UK charity working to empower young people from diverse backgrounds to become the next generation of environmentalists
• Laura Kravac, Head of Programmes at AFC, will be joined at the symposium by one of the young people the charity work with.

 In addition to plenary speakers, there will be a series of talks and panel discussions under three themes. 

 Culture, heritage & histories of trees will explore our inherent historical and current connection to native woods and trees, and the important ecological role they play in our landscape. Understanding this is imperative to informing how best to enable trees to thrive and adapt to pressures from climate change. Speakers in this topic will include: 

• Aliyu Salisu Barau, Professor in Urban Development and Management at the Department of Urban and Regional Planning at Bayero University Kano. 
• Zoe Davies, Professor in Biodiversity Conservation based at the Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology (DICE), University of Kent.
• Coralie Mills, Founder of the specialist consultancy ‘Dendochronicle’. 

 Tree health will look at the invasive species which are wreaking havoc on native woodland ecosystems. Alongside driving the mass loss of tree species and wildlife that depend on them, invasive species also bring  vast costs to the economy. Speakers in this topic will include: 

• Mark A Burgman, Professor of Risk Analysis and Environmental Policy at Imperial College London 
• Lucio Montecchio, Full Professor at the University of Padua teaching Forest pathology, Amenity trees pathology, Health and well-being or ornamental trees.
• Julie Urquhart, Associate Professor in Environmental Social Science at the Countryside and Community Research Institute (CCRI) at the University of Gloucestershire.

Finally, the symposium will delve into 30 x 30 targets and landscape restoration. Following COP15 and the commitment to protect 30% of nature by 2030, evidence is required to inform practical delivery and opportunities to achieve these ambitions, whilst considering the social motivations and perceptions of landscape scale restoration. Speakers in this topic will include: 

• Nick Hanley, Professor of environmental and one health economics in the School of Biodiversity, One Health and Veterinary Medicine at the University of Glasgow. 
• Hazel Jackson, Head of Conservation Outcomes & Evidence at the Woodland Trust.
• Andy Stott, Lead negotiator for the UK at COP15 and science adviser in Defra. 

 Alongside the diverse programme of practitioners, economists, academics, policy makers and activists, further speakers will be selected from an open call for abstracts, closing at 17:00 (BST), Thursday 30 March. To submit an abstract for a talk or poster presentation please visit our website.

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 Find out more about our speakers, submit an abstract, or register for the event