How have plants adapted over centuries or millennia to survive and recover from human interference? David Moreno-Mateos and his team are analysing tree species in Brazil’s Amazon Rainforest to find out, and to help inform and improve future restoration practice.
News
Why ‘de-extinct’ dire wolves are a Trojan horse to hide humanity’s destruction of nature
In a thought-provoking feature for The Conversation, Dr Rich Grenyer, Associate Professor in Biodiversity and Biogeography, examines the ethical and ecological concerns surrounding de-extinction, arguing that the allure of reviving species like dire wolves risks diverting attention from the ongoing human-driven destruction of the natural world.
Serious play for serious researchers
On July 1st, the School of Geography and the Environment (SoGE) held a Lego Serious Play (LSP) workshop aimed at fostering collaboration among staff and students conducting research in Oxfordshire. Facilitated by games-based learning expert Sarah LeFevre, participants used LSP to explore research synergies, encourage creative thinking, and promote interdisciplinary collaboration. The workshop allowed researchers to step outside their routines, connect with others, and consider novel approaches. Feedback showed high satisfaction, with participants finding the workshop valuable for networking and expressing interest in applying the LSP methodology themselves.
NEWS
Getting shorter and going hungrier: how children in the UK live today
Children’s lives in the UK are changing. They are becoming shorter in height. More of them are going hungry than they were a few years ago. Recently, more have died each year than they did a few years ago. Increased poverty, more destitution and the effects of ongoing austerity are the clear culprits. Prof Danny Dorling explores why this has happened to our children in an article for The Conversation.
IN THE MEDIA
Academics say flying to meetings harms the climate - but they carry on
An overwhelming majority of survey respondents at a top research university agree that air travel contributes to climate change, but many - especially professors and PhD students - often fly to conferences anyway, according to a study, co-authored by Dr Debbie Hopkins and Prof Tim Schwanen, published last month in Global Environmental Change. The study was featured in an article in Nature in September.
IN THE MEDIA
I was picked for Team GB. Then long Covid dashed my Olympic dream
In a recent article in The Times, Oonagh Cousins, a researcher at the School of Geography and the Environment, shares her experience of contracting long Covid and how it has affected her life, including losing the chance to compete in the Olympics. Cousins emphasises the need for more research into long Covid and chronic illnesses like ME.
IN THE MEDIA
The Money in Motherhood: Selling Intimate Data in Fertility and Pregnancy Apps
Fertility and pregnancy tracking apps, popular with millions worldwide, collect sensitive data on users, raising privacy concerns, especially after Roe v. Wade's reversal. Dr. Josie Hamper's research highlights how these apps commercialise pre-motherhood, driving consumer culture. Users often trade their intimate data for insights, accepting targeted ads and data sales as a norm.
NEWS
While some cities clear homeless encampments, others are granting a ‘right to shelter’
In a recent article published in The Conversation, Tiger Hills, a DPhil Candidate in the School of Geography and the Environment, examines the implications of a US Supreme Court decision upholding an Oregon city's ban on outdoor camping. The article delves into the broader issues of homelessness, public space, and the emerging legal recognition of a "right to shelter." Hills explores how this decision, along with similar cases in Canada, could reshape the legal and social landscape surrounding homelessness and public space.
IN THE MEDIA
Forest restoration can boost people, nature and climate simultaneously
Forest restoration can benefit humans, boost biodiversity and help tackle climate change simultaneously, new research suggests. The new study, by the universities of Exeter and Oxford, found that restoration plans aimed at a single goal tend not to deliver the others. However, “integrated” plans would deliver over 80% of the benefits in all three areas at once.
IN THE MEDIA
Oxford researchers propose ‘Carbon Removal Budget’ to tackle climate change
New research from the University of Oxford, published in the journal Carbon Management, makes the case for a novel ‘Carbon Removal Budget’ to help tackle climate change. It would sit alongside the Carbon Budget that governs how much CO2 can safely be emitted globally.
IN THE MEDIA
SoGE awarded Gold and Silver at the Green Impact and LEAF awards 2024
At the University of Oxford’s Green Impact and LEAF end-of-year showcase and celebration on the 9 July 2024, the School of Geography and the Environment earned Gold accreditation in the Green Impact awards for the second time and Silver accreditation for our Geolabs in the LEAF (Laboratory Efficiency Assessment Framework) scheme.
NEWS
Professor Susan J Smith to become President of the British Academy in 2025
Congratulations to Professor Susan J Smith (Geography, Anne's College and DPhil, Nuffield College, University of Oxford) who is to succeed Professor Julia Black as President of the British Academy, taking up office in July 2025 for a four-year term.
IN THE MEDIA
