News & Stories – Oxford Nature Network

Selected News and Stories

wildflower meadow with fields and trees in distance — Wildflower meadow in Oxfordshire. Photo Yadvinder Malhi

The great significance of observing nature in your back garden

Yadvinder Malhi shares his rediscovery of nature at the local level Like many, I have found solace and refuge in local nature over this year of pandemic and lockdown. When able to escape from Zoom calls and cabin fever, I’ve wandered and exercised in my local floodplain meadow of the Thames. I’ve used books and […]

Nature Networking Coffee morning & talk

Join us on October 22nd 2026 at 10.30 in Seminar rooms 1&2 in the Oxford Martin School for refreshments and pastries, at 11am our speaker will join us for an informal talk. 4 million UK votes for nature. The Why and How of school-based nature education (a brief introduction). Kim Polgreen. Dept. of Education & […]

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Would a whitelist work better to regulate the world’s wildlife...

Dr Dan Challender and Dr Amy Hinsley discuss a new paper in which they evaluate the potential of ‘reverse listing’ to regulate international wildlife trade, highlighting that this approach is not a panacea. Globally, people use and trade at least 50,000 wild species for food, medicinal products, construction materials, and to support their livelihoods, among […]

Inspired by Nature. Powered by People

Celebrating a Remarkable Nature Festival 2026. On Saturday 27 June, as Oxfordshire experienced one of the hottest days of the year, hundreds of people came together for something worth celebrating: a festival that connected people with nature, with each other and with the inspiring work taking place to protect our environment. Despite the heatwave, The […]

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The Oxford Nature Network is a network of researchers and practitioners in and around the University working on biodiversity.

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Worm munch matters

Read (and listen to) Ella’s article published in Aeon magazine The lives that slither and scurry beneath the soil’s surface are vital for ecological health: now we can listen in to them Soil is the foundation of many ecosystems above ground: the medium from which plants grow, and the basis of most food chains. However, […]

For plants facing climate change, staying alive beats reproducing

Oxford researchers have found that plant resilience depends more on year-to-year survival than on growth or reproduction, with fluctuations in water availability emerging as the strongest environmental driver. A University of Oxford study has answered a deceptively simple question: what makes some plant populations more resilient than others to year-to-year environmental change? The answer surprised […]

How sports stars can also be influential climate leaders

Sam Hampton, University of Oxford and Steve Westlake, University of Bath Extreme heat has become one of sport’s toughest opponents. This summer’s Fifa World Cup has once again raised concerns about players competing in dangerous temperatures. But football is far from alone. Tennis players have battled through extreme heat at Grand Slam tournaments. Marathon races […]

The measure of flourishing

Human prosperity depends on nature, but no global metric has captured this with precision. Enter the Nature Relationship Index Yadvinder Malhi has written an article for Aeon magazine, presenting a new metric which asks not only how wealthy or healthy societies are, but what kinds of landscapes, cities and planetary relationships their prosperity produces. […]

World’s most influential companies make nature promises, but most lack...

The problem with the accountability gap Researchers identified 180 large transnational ‘keystone’ corporations across multiple sectors with significant environmental impacts and disproportionate influence over the biosphere. Although 79% had made some form of biodiversity pledge, only 13% reported sufficiently detailed, transparent, and specific (robust) commitments1 to allow others to assess if targets have been […]

How to Engage With, and Have Impact on, Marine Governance:...

Early career researchers are often really keen to ensure that their work has policy impact, but don’t know where to start. This new piece led by Denis Karcher is aimed at marine researchers, but its lessons are general. It’s full of useful advice from people who’ve worked at the policy-science interface for decades, including Chris […]

Business models for biodiversity

It feels like the central question of the nature finance, & business and biodiversity paradigm is: can you make money in a way that improves biodiversity? I spent the last 5 yrs on this, mostly from a critical perspective. In our new preprint, “Business Models for Biodiversity,” we’ve assembled some of the world’s best academics […]

Beyond the textbook: learning in Borneo’s rainforests

In this guest blog, undergraduate student Bethan Sheldon reflects on her two-week field course in the Danum Valley, Malaysian Borneo, and how immersive fieldwork deepened her understanding of rainforest ecology, biodiversity, and conservation. Waking up on our first morning in the Danum Valley, we saw a young orangutan high in the canopy above the road […]

Building facilitation capacity for multi-stakeholder wildlife management across Central Africa

Conservation challenges cannot be solved by any one organisation, discipline, or sector working alone. Addressing the complex issues such as wild meat and wildlife trade in Central Africa requires researchers, policymakers, practitioners, and local communities to work together. Effective facilitation is what turns these diverse perspectives into meaningful dialogue and collective action. With this in […]

The hidden value of nature sketching

The University of Oxford has a long history of the observational recording of nature, in part due to a collection of botanical specimens and illustrations, known as the Oxford University Herbaria. Liliana Rezende, from the Oxford University’s Smith School reflects on how drawing and documenting nature can help preserve memories, deepen our connection with nature, […]

Professor Yadvinder Malhi Retains Place in ENDS Power List for...

We are delighted to congratulate Professor Yadvinder Malhi, Director of the Leverhulme Centre for Nature Recovery, on being recognised in the academic category in the ENDS Power List 2026, which recognises the UK’s most influential and impactful environmental professionals. The annual list celebrates individuals who have made a significant contribution to environmental science, policy and […]

Oxford’s New Nature Festival Celebrates Biodiversity, Community and Environmental Action.

Oxford’s Nature Festival will bring together researchers, artists, community groups, environmental organisations and families for a week of public events celebrating nature, biodiversity and environmental action across Oxfordshire. Events will run from 21–27 June 2026, culminating in a free, full-day festival at the Oxford University Museum of Natural History on Saturday, 27 June. The Festival is being […]