Annual Review 2018-19
Find out how we fulfilled our vision for a world inspired, informed and influenced by ecology in this year’s Annual Review.
Explore highlights from this year’s activities below, or download the full review.
READ THE FULL ANNUAL REVIEW 2018-19 (PDF)
A year to look on with pride
“It’s been another year full of highlights for the British Ecological Society. Selecting what makes the pages of this, our Annual Review for the year from November 2018 to October 2019, has once again been a difficult task. I could not be prouder of all that the Society’s does.”
BES President Richard Bardgett introduces this year’s achievements.
Summer school success
In July, a new generation of ecologists completed another successful BES summer school. This year 30 students from schools around the country descended on a field studies centre in Malham tarn in the Yorkshire Dales. The week-long residential course provided them with an incredible opportunity to delve into the world of ecology and its relevance to many of the challenges facing us today.
Netflix and krill
Widening the reach of ecology is one of the Society’s core aims, and we have increased public engagement in various ways. After research published in People and Nature found that nature documentaries lacked visual depictions of threats to nature, the producers of Netflix documentary Our Planet got in touch with the authors to discuss the findings and how they should factor into future productions.
In October, we headlined the Earth Zone of New Scientist Live, an annual science festival welcoming over 40,000 public visitors to the London ExCel centre. In conjunction with the festival, we published Why Ecology Matters, a virtual collection of research articles from all our journals. It aimed to showcase how ecology can make a difference in our world and was free to view for a month after the event.
Science at the core
Supporting ecological science continues to be at the heart of our work, and this year we launched a new journal People and Nature. The quality of paper submissions exceeded our expectations and we are very excited to offer a multidisciplinary outlet that explores the relationships between humans and nature.
A two-year trial in the journal Functional Ecology is under way to assess whether hiding author details during peer review reduces bias against underrepresented groups. The results will help determine the best ways of minimising sources of potential bias in the publishing process.
A new home for ecology
The BES moved to new premises between Islington and Old Street in central London. From selection of furniture to energy use, we are ensuring our workplace maintains a gold standard of sustainability and minimises our carbon footprint.
These are just a taster of all we have achieved this year.
Read the full Annual Review 2018-19 (pdf)
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