Lord Drayson, UK Science Minister, has confirmed that the Research Excellence Framework (REF), the successor to the RAE, will reward scientists for engaging with the public. Responding to the consultation on the REF early last year, via the Biosciences Federation, the BES specifically argued for public engagement, and engagement in policy, to be recognised in the REF.

Speaking at the World Conference for Scientific Journalists, and reported in yesterday’s Times Higher, Lord Drayson stated that the Government “believe(s) that scientists have a duty – particularly when they are funded by taxpayers – to engage in the public arena, to engage in communication of the challenges and the potential ethical concerns about their science, and that will be included in the REF.” He went on to say “if a scientist does a great job in this area, (it is important) that it is recognised in the assessment because at the moment we don’t have any way of showing that this is regarded as an important component of what being a scientist is about”.

Lord Drayson said that the details of how to implement this component of the REF were being worked on by HEFCE and stressed that it would not substitute for research excellence: public engagement would remain voluntary. In highlighting the types of activities that would be eligible, he gave interacting with the media, taking part in debates, and standing up to talk about science as examples. Engagement with policy work was not mentioned, as far as the BES understands.

See original article: Drayson says REF will give points for public outreach, THES, 9 July 2009

The short-haired bumblebee, declared extinct in the UK in 2000, is to be re-introduced to this country from New Zealand, under a new project facilitated by the Bumblebee Conservation Trust.

The short-haired bumblebee was transported to New Zealand in the nineteenth century to aid the pollination of crops. Now, in an effort to compensate for recent pollinator declines in the UK, and to tackle habitat loss, the Bumblebee Conservation Trust, Natural England and Hymettus have launched a scheme to bring the bee back.

Dr Nikki Gammans, Project Officer at the Bumblebee Conservation Trust, will bring 50 – 100 short-haired bumblebees back to the UK from New Zealand at the end of this year. The Trust will then instigate a captive breeding programme, with the aim of facilitating successive releases of the bee around Britain from 2010. The first release will be at Dungeness in Kent, the last recorded location of the native short-haired bee before its extinction in this country.

The initial release will be accompanied by efforts to improve the habitat for bees at the Dungeness RSPB reserve and work with farmers to increase bee-friendly areas on their land. 98% of the wildflower meadows have been lost across the UK in the last 60 years. The BCT and Natural England hope this project will contribute to the restoration of areas of habitat suitable for bumblebees across the country.

Original story from the Guardian

The British Ecological Society has organised an event at the British Science Festival this year, working with the Bumblebee Conservation Trust and Royal Horticultural Society to explore how you can make your garden more hospitable to pollinators. Dr Nikki Gammans will join us to talk about the reintroduction programme. ‘Gardening for wildlife: can suburbia become Britain’s largest nature reserve?‘ will take place on Monday 7 September at the University of Surrey, Guildford. <a href=”http://www.britishecologicalsociety.org/policy/science_festival_2009.php”>Find out more.

British Waterways has today launched its sixth annual wildlife survey, encouraging members of the public to visit canals, rivers and streams and record the wildlife found there.

This year’s survey will focus particularly on the bumblebee and is supported by the Bumblebee Conservation Trust. The survey also has the support of the British Dragonfly Society.

British Waterways plan to use the data from the survey to inform its management of the 2,200 miles of waterway it maintains, along with associated banks and verges.

Visit Waterscape.com for more information and to download a sheet to record your sightings.

Recent research published in the British Ecological Society’s Journal of Applied Ecology has revealed that analysis of language content used in debate between stakeholders could help find common ground to manage conflicts.

The researchers used the case study of hedgehog eradication on Scottish islands; hedgehogs were introduced to combat garden pests on one island but spread to a further three and became invasive, threatening ground nesting bird species. The issue was divisive and resulted in pro-bird and pro-hedgehog groups.

The researchers analysed stakeholder documents and media reports and found the pro-hedgehog group to be emotive, informal and focused on animal welfare issues, whereas the pro-bird group focused on the conservation of the birds and native wildlife, using more scientific language. The media, in this case, tended to be biased towards the hedgehogs, highlighting the killing of the individual hedgehogs, rather than the protection of entire populations utilising the islands.

Content analysis was found to be useful in finding common ground whilst a debate is ongoing, since it cannot be used until the text and media reports have been produced.

There may be lessons to be learned for those working in policy and public engagement. The media err towards an imbalanced non-scientific view, highlighting the plight of the targeted individuals rather than providing a balanced account of the whole situation, and motivations behind the action taken. Its often easier to conceptualise the ‘few’ over the ‘many’, and the media often plays on this. Providing greater weight, to the environmental concerns, communicated with clarity, whilst considering the favoured opinion may help engage the public in all the issues involved in debate.

Article source: Webb, T.J. and Raffaelli, D. (2008). Conversations in conservation: revealing and dealing with language difficulties in environmental conflicts. Journal of Applied Ecology. 45: 1198-1204.