University of East London Homepage

UEL invites you to join in a celebration of East London’s abundant biodiversity

Tuesday 7 September 2010

Spider

As part of the United Nations International Year of Biodiversity, the University of East London has arranged a number of high profile events intended to celebrate East London’s surprisingly abundant biodiversity.

The first event, the BioBlitz, which takes place on Sunday 12 September, from 10am to 9pm, offers people who live local to Tower Hamlets Nature Reserve the opportunity to explore the area with fresh eyes, under the highly-skilled guidance of naturalists, scientists and other experts.

The team, in partnership with Friends of Tower Hamlets Cemetery Park, members of the London Natural History Society and supported by OPAL (the Open Air Laboratories Network), will use their considerable knowledge and expertise to help people try and identify as many different species of flora and fauna as possible. Working against the clock, the results will then go on to contribute to an official scientific survey. The day concludes with a bat survey.

On Monday 13 September, the University will host an invite-only conference entitled Going Wild in the City, attended by academics, students, local authority officials, social housing groups and environmental organisations. The conference will address the best ways to protect and promote the fragile ecosystems which exist in the green spaces of East London.

Further events include the screening of a short documentary by Dan Brearley called ‘Weed it and Reap’, about an ex-drug addict who now runs a group of natural gardeners, all were or are homeless people, recovering drug addicts or people with mental health issues, whose health and wellbeing has been improved through their work with nature.

The University is also hoping to organise a trip to a local nature reserve for international students at the start of the academic year.

Peter Donovan, Field officer for Animal Behaviour in the School of Psychology, said: “UEL is an international university with strong local roots in East London. We are excited to be a UK partner in the United Nations International Year of Biodiversity 2010. Our campuses are in a heavily populated, densely built-up part of the country, so it is important for us to celebrate and promote urban biodiversity.

We are supporting the BioBlitz event in order to engage the public in recognising and enjoying the surprising biodiversity that exists in urban London. There are several small reserves and sensitively managed parks across the city and we would hope Londoners will seek them out and take these to their hearts”.

If you are interested in attending the BioBlitz event on Sunday then simply turn up at the Soanes Centre in the park at 10am on the day, ready to be amazed by the rich variety of flora and fauna right on your doorstep.

Notes to Editors

The University of East London (UEL) is a global learning community with over 28,000 students from over 120 countries world-wide. Our vision is to achieve recognition, both nationally and internationally, as a successful and inclusive regional university proud of its diversity, committed to new modes of learning which focus on students and enhance their employability, and renowned for our contribution to social, cultural and economic development, especially through our research and scholarship. We have a strong track-record in widening participation and working with industry.

Information for screenreader users:

For a general description of these pages and an explanation of how they should work with screenreading equipment please follow this link: Link to general description

For further information on this web site’s accessibility features please follow this link: Link to accessibility information