News & Stories – Page 9 – 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 & […]

an image will be here soon. — An image will be here soon

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 […]

A complete cross-department network

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

LaMB View 1

All Stories

Acrylic on canvas, projected stop motion animation, Raspberry Pi 3 Model B+ computer, time-of-flight sensor, laser emitter and receiver.

Working at the crossroads of art and science

Art can be an effective way of communicating scientific research. It can connect people from different backgrounds, stimulate discussion, and produce knowledge and understanding. Moving beyond the written word can make research more accessible and help scientists to think about the key messages and meaning of their work. Incorporating visual methods into research design can […]

crowd watching female researcher on a spaoboc speaking — Apply to be one of our 2022 speakers

Women in STEM Soapbox Science event

We are pleased to announce that the Biodiversity Network will be supporting the 2022 MPLS Women in STEM Networking event. After a successful online event last year, we are looking forward to enabling the community to meet face-to-face. The event provides a chance to meet Oxford’s Women in Science, Engineering and Maths societies, speak with […]

Quantifying and reducing the biodiversity impact of our food: UNIQ+...

by Agnieszka Sokolowska As a first-generation immigrant from a working-class family, graduate study always seemed distant and unreachable. In fact, I never even considered it as an option for my own future. Applying for the UNIQ+ programme, I already knew that I wanted my career to be related to my passion for environmentalism and sustainability. […]

screencapture of blog posts, featuring a seal in marien waste, and lilly pad and flower and a reptile — The Conservation Optimism blog

Conservation Optimism; Being Positive About the Future

An interview with Julia Migné by Michaela Rychetská The significance of climate change has brought a new light on the importance of conservation. Droughts, wildfires, floods, storms, and other extreme events are occurring more rapidly than ever and sow the seeds of fear in our lives – into mine for sure. While this negative news […]

Art, Biodiversity, and Climate Collaboration

We’re pleased to announce that The Biodiversity Network is a member of an exciting network: The Art, Biodiversity, and Climate Network (ABC Network), which brings together members of the Oxford ONE network, the Biodiversity Network, the Oxford Climate Research Network and The Flute & Bowl: Oxford Art and Science to bridge the gap that separates […]

Yadvinder in the rainforest with a note book and pen — Yadvinder in the rainforest

Where the wild things should be: Yadvinder Malhi and why...

Rainforests are amazing places – great biodiverse ecosystems and carbon sinks. But, as a million nature programmes have shown, they are also full of things that could kill you: insects as big as your fist, some of the deadliest snakes alive, even the frogs can be nasty. Not unreasonably, this might well deter many people […]

head and shoulders of a Sumatran Rhino in jungle — Sumatran Rhino photo by Barney Long

IUCN’s New “Green Status of Species” Measures Impact of Conservation...

From California condors to East Asian mangroves, IUCN’s New “Green Status of Species” Measures Impact of Conservation Action New research led by the Department of Zoology’s Dr Molly Grace, published today in Conservation Biology, applies the IUCN Green Status of Species for the first time. This is a new Global Standard to measure how close a species is to being fully […]

Landscape of trees at dusk — A ‘Treescape Opportunity Map’ has been created for the county of Oxfordshire showing where tree cover might be increased.

Environmental Change Institute (ECI) Administrator to support the Oxfordshire Treescapes...

Contractual details: 40{4136d53bac2007e4117f1d8828c187063ea0a85f13bd7ca9434591c56c4e6ea2} FTE Term: 12 weeks in first instance, possibility of extension Salary: £12 – £15 an hour Location: Oxfordshire (other locations can be considered) Background Healthy Ecosystem Restoration Oxfordshire (HERO) is a network initiative supported by the Oxford Martin School, University of Oxford, and coordinated by the Environmental Change Institute. The initiative explores […]

city skyline reflected in water — Photo: Hollie Booth

On COVID-19, and rebalancing our relationship with nature: what have...

Story by Hollie Booth The Interdisciplinary Centre for Conservation Science (ICCS), based at Oxford’s Department of Zoology, have spent the past 15 months looking at how post-pandemic recovery plans can help (or hinder) conservation efforts. This includes the launch of Pledge for our Earth, where individuals commit to doing their part in resetting our relationship with […]

Photograph of Melissa carrying out fieldwork in Bolivia with jaguar plet behind her — llegal trade and human‐wildlife conflict are two key drivers of biodiversity loss and are recognized as leading threats to large carnivores. Photo by Melissa Arias.

What are the drivers of the illegal wildlife trade in...

I was a stranger who looked and sounded foreign, yet before even asking who I was or what I wanted, she welcomed me into her home with a smile and hurriedly dragged a chair so that I could sit. When I told her that I was researching jaguars and their interactions with people in the […]

Blacktip reef shark swimming in the shallows — Swimming with sharks. Photos by Hollie Booth (Insta: @the_hollitype)

Lessons from Misool: a nature-positive approach to the tourism sector...

Most business models of the 21st century have a net negative impact on nature. They fundamentally rely on using natural resources – oil for fuel, land for infrastructure, cotton for textiles – with few incentives to replace or regenerate what is lost. As of 2020, human-made materials outweigh all living things on earth, and the destruction […]

Skyline view of Ho Chi Minh City — Credit: Alegria Olmedo

Characterising wild meat consumers in Vietnam

In early 2019, I travelled to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam to conduct research on the consumption of meat from wild animals in local restaurants. I had shortlisted a few restaurants where this consumption took place and had the opportunity to visit some of them. The restaurant we walked into was rather empty for a […]