Welcome to our long form articles about the exciting research being done. Our work is world relevant and important for decision makers, researchers and the general public alike. We hope this format helps to introduce you to research an a way which is interesting and useful to you.
In this piece Josie Morgan, 1st Year Geography student and writer for the SoGE Student Writers Group, examines the ways running can change people's perceptions of and relationships with place, speaking from her own personal experiences and drawing on interviews with people running her local Parkrun in North Wales.
Ewan Messenger, a 3rd year geography student and writer for the SoGE Student Writers Group, explores the ways that geography, both as a subject at Oxford and as a discipline more widely, has begun to respond to its colonial roots.
SoGE DPhil student Charden Pouo Moutsouka co-organised the 2026 “Geographies of Fascism and Authoritarianism in Global Africa” conference at SoGE. Here, Charden shares discussions from the conference and reflects on his work convening the event.
A team from the University of Oxford and Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust created a therapeutic horticulture garden in a psychiatric intensive care unit for young people, as part of a new study looking at how green spaces can benefit patients and staff.
Arwen Tarling, 1st Year Geography student and writer for the SoGE Student Writers Group, investigates the current transport policies in place in Oxford, including the new (and somewhat controversial) congestion charge.
Did you know rivers release greenhouse gases? This World Wetlands Day, we spoke to Professor Bob Hilton (Professor of Physical Geography and Group Lead, Earth Surface Geochemistry) about his research on how rivers, streams and deltas release carbon dioxide and methane, and how these emissions may change as climate change accelerates.
More than 48,600 species – including animals, plants, and fungi – are threatened with extinction. This is 28% of all assessed species. On this World Wildlife Conservation Day, we sat down with Dr Molly Grace, Senior Departmental Lecturer at SoGE and Programme Director for our MSc in Biodiversity Conservation and Nature Recovery, to discuss all things conservation, favourite animals and plants, and how research in this space is developing.
How can art help us understand and respond to the politics of climate change? Ahead of International Artist Day, Dr Janet Banfield discusses the performance and politics of The Herds, when life-size puppet animals undertook a 20,000km walk from the Congo Basin to the Arctic Circle.
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.
Who exactly is most at risk? And how do structural inequalities shape disease spread and public health outcomes? For World Health Day 2025, Dr Janey Messina takes a closer look at the key factors that drive spread and vulnerability to infectious disease outbreaks.
