MEMBRA: Understanding Memory of UK Treescapes for Better Resilience and Adaptation
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Birmingham
Department Name: Sch of Biosciences
Abstract
MEMBRA responds directly to Theme 3 of the call: "Resilience of UK Treescapes to global change", whilst also covering aspects of Theme 1 and 2.
Memory is the acquisition, retention and transmission of information guiding future action. It is used habitually by humans (e.g. in reading this Summary), is easily detectable in the behaviour of animals, and is the basis of machine-learning computer codes. Is it meaningful to talk of the 'memory of trees'? Science has established that plants can write and access a record of prior stress, making the phrase as meaningful to discuss as the selfishness of genes or the (artificial) intelligence of a machine. Writers and artists have responded creatively to how this new knowledge is altering our relationship with trees - perhaps most notably Richard Powers in the Pulitzer Prize winning novel 'The Overstory'. This co-ownership of the idea of tree memory across science and the Arts makes it particularly suited to the Future of UK Treescapes programme. Processes related to plant memory may be fundamental in allowing treescapes to swiftly adapt and therefore survive and thrive under the rapid environmental shifts of the Anthropocene.
The imprinting of memory in plants mostly happens by altering its epigenetic signature: i.e., changes that occur to the DNA that alter the activity of some genes, but that do not involve changes of the DNA sequence itself. The specific epigenetic marks known to be responsible for long-term memory, including transgenerational resistance, arise from the replacement of hydrogen atoms by methyl groups in the DNA base, cytosine. Very recently, a study in poplar has demonstrated transgenerational maintenance of epigenetic marks, pointing to a potential transmission of memory in long-lived perennial plants. However, whether long-lived plants can acquire, retain, and transmit memory from stress remains unknown. MEMBRA will study epigenetic changes and transgenerational memory as a result of stress in key tree species present in UK treescapes. Different abiotic (i.e. drought, frost, elevated CO2) and biotic stresses (i.e. insect infestation and disease) have been selected on the basis of our preliminary data showing that they alter important traits, e.g. growth, within UK treescapes. This project will also take into consideration past experiences. Trees have marks of past interactions with the environment recorded into their wood as they grow. We will analyse tree rings and isotope markers of drought stress to visualise a complete lifetime picture of the responses of trees to their past environment. The combination of ecology, tree rings and molecular techniques will allow us to assess the ability of previous stresses in improving the resilience of UK treescapes.
The understanding of stress memory in trees opens new paths to consider, e.g. the re-conceptualisation of environmental ethics and even tree consciousness. MEMBRA will collate information on how memory has been represented as a characteristic of trees. The project will study how this alters our understanding of the evolution and resilience of treescapes, how a consideration and appreciation of memory in trees can foster moral understanding of treescapes, and how the resulting ethical valuing of trees challenges a utilitarian and monetised 'ecosystem services' valuation of treescapes.
MEMBRA will provide the tools to identify the species and populations that will result in better resilience and adaptation and that will therefore be used in conservation and planting strategies. With the knowledge on how a consideration and appreciation of memory in trees can foster moral understanding of trees, we will identify and use new language to incorporate the concept of tree memory into policy-based initiatives. The final convergence of the results of MEMBRA will feed into policy development and the flourishing of the first stages of a memory-inspired intentional forest: the MEMBRA Treescape.
Memory is the acquisition, retention and transmission of information guiding future action. It is used habitually by humans (e.g. in reading this Summary), is easily detectable in the behaviour of animals, and is the basis of machine-learning computer codes. Is it meaningful to talk of the 'memory of trees'? Science has established that plants can write and access a record of prior stress, making the phrase as meaningful to discuss as the selfishness of genes or the (artificial) intelligence of a machine. Writers and artists have responded creatively to how this new knowledge is altering our relationship with trees - perhaps most notably Richard Powers in the Pulitzer Prize winning novel 'The Overstory'. This co-ownership of the idea of tree memory across science and the Arts makes it particularly suited to the Future of UK Treescapes programme. Processes related to plant memory may be fundamental in allowing treescapes to swiftly adapt and therefore survive and thrive under the rapid environmental shifts of the Anthropocene.
The imprinting of memory in plants mostly happens by altering its epigenetic signature: i.e., changes that occur to the DNA that alter the activity of some genes, but that do not involve changes of the DNA sequence itself. The specific epigenetic marks known to be responsible for long-term memory, including transgenerational resistance, arise from the replacement of hydrogen atoms by methyl groups in the DNA base, cytosine. Very recently, a study in poplar has demonstrated transgenerational maintenance of epigenetic marks, pointing to a potential transmission of memory in long-lived perennial plants. However, whether long-lived plants can acquire, retain, and transmit memory from stress remains unknown. MEMBRA will study epigenetic changes and transgenerational memory as a result of stress in key tree species present in UK treescapes. Different abiotic (i.e. drought, frost, elevated CO2) and biotic stresses (i.e. insect infestation and disease) have been selected on the basis of our preliminary data showing that they alter important traits, e.g. growth, within UK treescapes. This project will also take into consideration past experiences. Trees have marks of past interactions with the environment recorded into their wood as they grow. We will analyse tree rings and isotope markers of drought stress to visualise a complete lifetime picture of the responses of trees to their past environment. The combination of ecology, tree rings and molecular techniques will allow us to assess the ability of previous stresses in improving the resilience of UK treescapes.
The understanding of stress memory in trees opens new paths to consider, e.g. the re-conceptualisation of environmental ethics and even tree consciousness. MEMBRA will collate information on how memory has been represented as a characteristic of trees. The project will study how this alters our understanding of the evolution and resilience of treescapes, how a consideration and appreciation of memory in trees can foster moral understanding of treescapes, and how the resulting ethical valuing of trees challenges a utilitarian and monetised 'ecosystem services' valuation of treescapes.
MEMBRA will provide the tools to identify the species and populations that will result in better resilience and adaptation and that will therefore be used in conservation and planting strategies. With the knowledge on how a consideration and appreciation of memory in trees can foster moral understanding of trees, we will identify and use new language to incorporate the concept of tree memory into policy-based initiatives. The final convergence of the results of MEMBRA will feed into policy development and the flourishing of the first stages of a memory-inspired intentional forest: the MEMBRA Treescape.
Organisations
- University of Birmingham (Lead Research Organisation)
- University of Leeds (Collaboration)
- Atlas Performing Arts Center (Collaboration)
- Woodland Trust (Collaboration)
- University of Leicester (Collaboration)
- Arabidopsis Events (Collaboration)
- Forestry Commission (Collaboration)
- Forest Research (Collaboration)
- JOHN INNES CENTRE (Collaboration)
- University of Exeter (Collaboration)
- Small Woods Association (Collaboration)
- University of Innsbruck (Collaboration)
- Bangor University (Collaboration)
- The National Forest Company (Collaboration)
Publications
Bradwell, A.J.
(2022)
Forest Innovation to tackle the Climate and Biodiversity Emergencies
Flores B
(2024)
Critical transitions in the Amazon forest system
in Nature
Jeynes-Cupper K
(2023)
Long distance signalling and epigenetic changes in crop grafting
in Frontiers in Plant Science
MacKenzie A
(2024)
Building forests for the future
in Food and Energy Security
Mayoral C
(2023)
Elevated CO2 does not improve seedling performance in a naturally regenerated oak woodland exposed to biotic stressors
in Frontiers in Forests and Global Change
Rabiey M
(2022)
Scaling-up to understand tree-pathogen interactions: A steep, tough climb or a walk in the park?
in Current opinion in plant biology
Rodrigues A
(2022)
A test of the fast-slow plant economy hypothesis in a subtropical rain forest
in Plant Ecology & Diversity
Sanchez-Lucas R
(2025)
Elicitor Specific Mechanisms of Defence Priming in Oak Seedlings Against Powdery Mildew
in Plant, Cell & Environment
| Title | On the memory of trees |
| Description | This work makes use of data from the MEMBRA project, which explores the ways in which epigenetic 'memory' may allow trees to 'learn' and retain adaptation strategies in response to stresses such as climatic warming or increased carbon dioxide, and even pass them on to their offspring. Data from the project is used to generate musical material through the process of sonification. This idea of (perhaps imperfect) memory struck me as somehow very musical, and in the piece various small and large scale bits of music come back in strangely altered or adapted forms. |
| Type Of Art | Composition/Score |
| Year Produced | 2024 |
| Impact | The composition is a novel intepretation of biological memory as contacted within epigenetic marks. This raises knowledge of this type of memory and inspires further investigation. |
| URL | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EtAe3SD5hIA |
| Title | On the memory of trees... |
| Description | This work makes use of data from the MEMBRA project, which explores the ways in which epigenetic 'memory' may allow trees to 'learn' and retain adaptation strategies in response to stresses such as climatic warming or increased carbon dioxide, and even pass them on to their offspring. Data from the project is used to generate musical material through the process of sonification. The composer, Prof Scott Wilson from the University of Birmingham, states "This idea of (perhaps imperfect) memory struck me as somehow very musical, and in the piece various small and large scale bits of music come back in strangely altered or adapted forms". |
| Type Of Art | Performance (Music, Dance, Drama, etc) |
| Year Produced | 2024 |
| Impact | The arrangement was played by the Ligeti Quartet at the concert "CrossCurrents: The Memory Project" performed on Friday 8th March at the Elgar Concer Hall (Bramall Music Building - University of Birmingham), as part of the Barber Lunchtime Concert serie. |
| Title | Yoga Tree Salutations |
| Description | Together with the Walking Forest, we co-created a yoga routine that we called MEMBRA Tree Salutations. |
| Type Of Art | Performance (Music, Dance, Drama, etc) |
| Year Produced | 2024 |
| Impact | Impact in society to be able to practice a form of exercise in the outdoors and bond with the trees through trauma and healing. |
| URL | https://www.walkingforest.co.uk/the-journey/tree-salutation |
| Description | MEMBRA has advanced the concept of memories of stress in trees. The project has also integrated science and humanities to inform our approaches to enhancing resilience of UK Treescapes. We provided experimental verification of how trees are capable of adapting to stress and transferring these memories to progeny through epigenetics-based imprinting of memory. Moreover, we have explored narratives of collective treescape experience and human-tree environmental ethics -'understories' - to reveal how the understanding of tree memory impacts on our decision-making capabilities and our moral relationship with trees. Project Objectives & Key Findings and Outputs linked to objectives: Objective 1. To measure the effects of stresses on forest dynamics. • Discovery that forests in Great Britain are failing to adapt to climate change. MEMBRA scientists have discovered that across the UK there has been a failure of forest regeneration with a 30% decrease in small tree recruitment rates and a 90% increase in sapling mortality rates during the past 40 years. This sharp decline in regeneration capacity is likely caused by combination factors including successional development, of disturbances including climate conditions, excessive browsing and introduced pathogens. • We have found that ash dieback disease is likely already negatively influencing carbon stocks and regeneration capacity in GB forests. Fieldwork to monitor over 8,000 trees Objective 2. To measure the extent to which stressful experiences result in changes in DNA methylation in exemplar UK tree species. MEMBRA scientists have discovered significant changes in both the growth and to the epigenome of native trees exposed to biotic and abiotic factors that are influenced by climate change. We have worked to address five hypotheses: • H1: stress triggers a change in DNA methylation. We have been able to prove this in all the stresses tested. The levels of change have varied, addressing the following hypotheses: • H2 & H3: The strength and the frequency, respectively drive the change. We have been able to demonstrate that stresses that have had a significant challenge to the trees, such as disease caused by ash dieback disease in ash, and acute oak decline in oak, result in the largest change in DNA methylation. On the contrary, stresses that do not challenge the tree survival had minimal impacts, such as exposure to elevated CO2. Moreover, we have found a very strong correlation between levels of ash dieback disease colonisation and DNA methylation: the stronger the strength the more DNA methylation, which proves H2 right. The effect of drought is still under investigation and these results will allow us to fully address H3. We have however observed that a single insect defoliation event at a specific point in time results in major changes in global DNA methylation, going against H3. • H4: the age of the tree is important for the imprinting of memory. We have proven this hypothesis right, as young ash trees respond by changes in DNA methylation at a greater level than mature trees. Experiments on the assessment of drought and elevated CO2 are still being performed. However, we have observed that the levels of acute oak decline in mature oak trees (young trees do not show the syndrome) does not correlate with an increase in DNA methylation, therefore pointing towards another confirmation of H4. • H5: life-history strategy is important for the imprinting of memory. Whereas different species have been tested and changes due to the stresses have been found, specific stresses where more than two species were tested have not shown a clear correlation with the life strategy of the species. For instance, the effect of eCO2 have been very similar (and minimal) in both oak and hazel. The results obtained in ash and oak on the effects of disease seem to prove H5 wrong, however further experimental results are needed, specially with the experiments involving drought, which are still under investigation. Other results from Objective 2: One of the first results on the impact of elevated CO2 in oak unravelled changes in DNA methylation throughout the growth season. We have observed dramatic changes in CHH methylation (and other contexts of methylation) from Spring to the Summer and Autumn collections. This is a highly interesting result which we had not anticipated and that has led to a new hypothesis that stresses early on the growth season could trigger stronger imprinting than stresses occurring late into the growth season. Further experiments are being conducted with the gathered experimental material to test this new hypothesis. In addition, a publication is being prepared with these results. Objective 3. To detect memory imprinting of stressful experiences transmitted to following generations in exemplar UK tree species. We have observed phenotypic changes in the progenies from trees exposed to stresses: • Oak eCO2 progenies grow faster and are more resilient to the pathogen powdery mildew, however this is dependent on acorn production (we have observed these phenotypes only in mast years). On the contrary, hazel eCO2 progenies have a compromised germination and in several years, they have failed to germinate sufficiently to perform experiments. • Oak progenies from trees exposed to drought are more resilient to drought. • Progenies from AOD parents do not seem to have an altered phenotype against this syndrome. • Oak progenies from trees exposed to insects do not show an increase in resilience to this stress. • Ash progenies are currently being tested due to issues germinating the seeds (due to seed dormancy). Similarly, beech drought progenies have been collected in the Autumn 2024 due to lack of seeds in previous years. • Certain changes in DNA methylation have been observed in progenies: Oak AOD and eCO2 progenies show Differentially Methylated Regions (DMRs) to the parents. Innovative methods: Objectives 2 and 3 have required the sequencing and processing of 15 species by condition, with 8 biological replicates each (when possible). Therefore, to process these data in a high-throughput manner, we have developed an analysis pipeline, which will be published shortly for the use by the scientific community. Objective 4. To test whether past droughts can impact the response of trees to subsequent drought events and diseases. This objective is very much linked to Obj1 and we have found that climate sensitivity across GB forests is variable, dependant on existing climatic gradients. Objective 5. To explain the implications of Objectives 1-4 for the understanding of multispecies consciousness and agency. The scientific findings of the MEMBRA project have led into an exploration of how the 'Rights of Trees' might integrate with a broader narrative regarding the rights of nature. Moreover, through a series of arts-humanities initiatives, we have brought together researchers and stakeholders from across different disciplines to refine our understanding of memory in trees and how disrupting current perspectives might impact upon our ethical relationship to trees. Activities in collaboration with the WF. Left: Ring of Truth performance, right: MEMBRA Yoga Salutations Objective 6. To integrate the capacity of tree species to develop memory into the spectrum of tree form and function and test its influence on forest resilience. We are currently working on this objective. For the last year, we have worked towards the integration of the ecology and the biology data to link favourable tree traits with molecular markers of resilience. These has required further fieldwork and molecular work, which is currently being completed. Objective 7. To create a language that incorporates the understanding of tree memory and agency This objective is focused on creating a "dictionary" or catalogue of terms that reflect these concepts, aiming to advance "linguistic justice" for trees and challenge current human-centred perspectives. The volume frames how MEMBRA is focused on understanding tree memory, specifically epigenetic memory, where trees pass down resilience strategies in a wider cultural shift towards respecting and integrating greater agency for trees, a cultural priming as it were. By incorporating ancient philosophical approaches and modern studies into the catalogue, the text aims to guide policymakers and society towards a more respectful, symbiotic relationship with trees, thus addressing the ethical implications of how humans interact with natural objects like trees. The Valuing Treescapes conference (July 16-18, 2024) addressed MEMBRA's objectives, particularly those related to decision-making, the creation of language around tree memory and agency, and support for policy through stakeholder engagement and plain-language reporting. Objective 8. To support policy decision-making through plain-language reporting of results, contributions to governmental strategies, and targeted delivery of early views of results to chosen stakeholders. We delivered the Policy Decisions workshop on the 16th and 17th January 2025. |
| Exploitation Route | We would like to include short case studies in various sections of the report to illustrate the topics being presented. These might include examples of best practice of achieving interdisciplinarity, working with non-academic partners and novel ways of disseminating research findings. We will contact individual projects who we have identified as good case examples, but if you feel any of these topics have been a particular strength of your work, please let us know and we can explore the potential to include them. Case-study 1: Ring of Truth project has been a cross-disciplinary collaboration between scientists, artists and lawyers to write, produce and perform the play at TimberFest 2023. This project was led by Lucy Neal from The Walking Forest. The genesis of the project came from conversations between The Walking Forest and MEMBRA scientists at the first MEMBRA Creative Lab. Lucy is continuing to work on the ideas and concepts of this project outside of MEMBRA so we hope the initial performance of 'The Ring of Truth' will contribute to a larger movement that explores the ideas of the right of nature. https://www.lawyersfornature.com/ring-of-truth/ https://membra.info/the-ring-of-truth-at-timberfest/ Case-study 2: Project MEMBRA has allowed PDRA David Wallace-Hare to undertake research outputs focused on potential end users of its research concerning which trees survive best and pass on their resilience strategies to their descendants by a type of intergenerational stress-induced memory called epigenetic memory. He recognised that priming trees for climate change had commercial and socioeconomic benefits outside the forestry sector, the project's initial focus, namely, for tree growers, nonprofits focused on tree growing and planting, architects and urban planners, and tree surgeons, as priming will eventually allow us to select the most resilient trees for planting and will give planters the ability to track resilience markers across generations, ensuring successful transmission and saving time and money in replanting ill-adapted trees. Our three-day conference, Valuing Treescapes, at the University of Exeter, included speakers and invitees from many of these groups. Tree surgeons were a group I was especially sensitive to as a trustee of the Ancient Tree Forum, an arboriculture charity focused on the protection of ancient and veteran trees as well as a training provider to the arboriculture sector (a programme called VETcert offered in partnership with the Arboricultural Association). As a trustee, he was keenly aware that tree priming and immunology, and the legal standing and agency of trees, were not on the radar of either charity though likely of interest to both. This was one of the reasons why he invited as speakers, aside from the MEMBRA scientists and the head of the Arboricultural Association, several prominent lawyers working on tree law in the UK, to get them all in the same room and out of their respective knowledge siloes. |
| Sectors | Agriculture Food and Drink Environment Government Democracy and Justice |
| Description | Contribution to 'Communicating outside of academia' workshop |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Participation in a guidance/advisory committee |
| Impact | Outputs from the workshop will inform future strategies to improve communication between cross-discplinary groups. |
| URL | https://www.uktreescapes.org/events/communicating-outside-of-academia-16-june-2022/ |
| Description | Landscape Decisions Policy Document |
| Geographic Reach | Multiple continents/international |
| Policy Influence Type | Participation in a guidance/advisory committee |
| URL | https://leicester.figshare.com/articles/report/Making_Landscape_Decisions_to_Meet_Net_Zero_Carbon_Pa... |
| Description | MEMBRA Policy Decisions Workshop |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Participation in a guidance/advisory committee |
| Description | Policy document on Net Zero |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Participation in a guidance/advisory committee |
| URL | https://leicester.figshare.com/articles/report/Making_Landscape_Decisions_to_Meet_Net_Zero_Carbon_Pa... |
| Description | FUSION FOREST: a holistic approach for the design of disease-suppressing treescapes |
| Amount | £756,747 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | MR/Z505766/1 |
| Organisation | United Kingdom Research and Innovation |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 02/2025 |
| End | 01/2027 |
| Description | Land Use for Net Zero Hub |
| Amount | £6,590,156 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | BB/Y008723/1 |
| Organisation | Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 11/2023 |
| End | 03/2027 |
| Description | The Tree of Knowledge (ToK): communicating the complexity of forest resilience. |
| Amount | £75,775 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | NE/Y004124/1 |
| Organisation | Natural Environment Research Council |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 11/2023 |
| End | 04/2025 |
| Title | Pipeline for analysis of bisulfite sequence data obtained from tree-species |
| Description | Analysis of bisulfite sequence data obtained from tree samples brings unexpected challenges when compared to sample analysis from other organisms. Therefore this requires different analysis pipelines of these samples. This novel protocol have been developed as part of the MEMBRA project. |
| Type Of Material | Biological samples |
| Year Produced | 2024 |
| Provided To Others? | No |
| Impact | Future publication of the protocol will be useful for other research groups who encounter similar challenges. |
| Description | Arabidopsis Events UK |
| Organisation | Arabidopsis Events |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Private |
| PI Contribution | Lead MEMBRA and work with Arabidopsis Events UK in project management. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Manage the MEMBRA project. |
| Impact | None yet. |
| Start Year | 2021 |
| Description | Atlas Arts |
| Organisation | Atlas Performing Arts Center |
| Country | United States |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| PI Contribution | Led roundtable discussions, led workshop, talked through arts-academic collaborations |
| Collaborator Contribution | AA introduced me to several potential stakeholders, staff took time to join roundtables and workshop and provided transport on Skye. |
| Impact | Roundtables, workshop, visit |
| Start Year | 2023 |
| Description | Bangor University |
| Organisation | Bangor University |
| Department | School of Biological Sciences Bangor |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Lead MEMBRA project and oversee collaboration at Bangor FACE facility. |
| Collaborator Contribution | To measure the effects of stresses on forest dynamics. BangorDiverse and BangorFACE populations that have been monitored for growth since establishment and integrate this data with environmental and diseases records. |
| Impact | None yet |
| Start Year | 2021 |
| Description | Collaboration with Ilse Kranner |
| Organisation | University of Innsbruck |
| Country | Austria |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | We provided samples from oak trees from the BIFoR-FACE facilities for metabolomic analysis to complement the methylation analysis |
| Collaborator Contribution | They have run experiments to test the levels of different metabolites on the samples that we collected from CO2 exposed oak trees |
| Impact | Still to come |
| Start Year | 2014 |
| Description | Forest Research Consultancy |
| Organisation | Forest Research |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Public |
| PI Contribution | Advisor on Trees Outside Woodland project |
| Collaborator Contribution | Support for design and implementation of brief, and participation in policy workshop |
| Impact | Workshop, and documentation from third party that I supported (literature review, podcasts, etc.) |
| Start Year | 2023 |
| Description | Forestry England |
| Organisation | Forestry Commission |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Public |
| PI Contribution | Lead MEMBRA project and work with Forest England to promote the outputs of the project. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Forestry England will provide links to planting the MEMBRA treescapes and through our work that will intedidfy resistant germplasm and site and as a possible host location for our events. Forestry England contact is Dr Eleanor Tew, Natural Capital and Resilience Programme Manager. |
| Impact | None yet. |
| Start Year | 2021 |
| Description | John Innes Centre |
| Organisation | John Innes Centre |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | We provided plant progenies from the BIFoR-FACE facilities and the insect-exposed trees for them to run experiments with different insects |
| Collaborator Contribution | They run the experiments with insects, in two consecutive years |
| Impact | Not yet |
| Start Year | 2022 |
| Description | Small Woods and Small Woods Wales |
| Organisation | Small Woods Association |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| PI Contribution | Lead MEMBRA project and oversee how the project outputs are relevant for collaboration with the Small Woods Association. |
| Collaborator Contribution | SmallWoods will work with MEMBRA to identify possible sampling sites, as a host of a MEMBRA Nursery and a location for our Creative and Public engagement events. Our contacts are Natasha Simons, Coed Lleol Research & Evaluation Officer and Ian Baker, SmallWoods CEO. |
| Impact | None yet. |
| Start Year | 2021 |
| Description | The National Forest Company |
| Organisation | The National Forest Company |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| PI Contribution | Lead MEMBRA project annd initiate collaboration with The National Forest Company to promote and enhance project outputs. |
| Collaborator Contribution | National Forest collaborated with MEMBRA as a possible sampling site and as a host location for our events. MEMBRA contact is Jo Maker, Festival & Arts Officer. |
| Impact | None yet |
| Start Year | 2021 |
| Description | University of Exeter |
| Organisation | University of Exeter |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Lead the MEMBRA project and manage the activities of the Exeter project team. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Explain the implications of biological discoveries for the understanding of multispecies consciousness and agency. In collaboration with the Walking Forest, the Exeter team will run two workshops entitled "Creative Laboratories" where we will bring together scientists and different specialist artists and cultural practitioners in provocateur creative tasks. We will organise three public engagement workshops leading to the creation of the MEMBRA Tree Nursery and ultimately, the MEMBRA Treescape. To create a language that incorporates the understanding of tree memory and agency. This objective will produce a 'dictionary' of the language used to describe trees and tree memories, thinking across Latin scientific names, ancient case studies, the latest evolutionary ecology research, critical zone studies, and the language used in the biological objectives to create a body of data. To support policy decision-making through plain-language reporting of results, contributions to governmental strategies, and targeted delivery of early views of results to chosen stakeholders. This will integrate outputs from other objectives regarding which forests and tree populations should be the target for conservation and planting strategies. To do this, a policy-based two-day event will be organised. |
| Impact | Planning collaborative events with the Walking Forest. |
| Start Year | 2021 |
| Description | University of Leeds |
| Organisation | University of Leeds |
| Department | Faculty of Biological Sciences |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Lead MEMBRA project and oversee the tree-ring analysis conducted in Leeds, led by Professor Roel Brienen |
| Collaborator Contribution | To test whether past droughts can impact the response of trees to subsequent drought events and diseases. Project memebrs at Leeds will assess the impact of past drought events on trees using a combination of tree-ring widths and isotope analysis, testing how past drought events affect responses to subsequent drought events. |
| Impact | None yet. |
| Start Year | 2021 |
| Description | University of Leicester |
| Organisation | University of Leicester |
| Department | School of Biology |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Lead MEMBRA project and oversee the isotope analysis conducted at by Professor Arnoud Boom. |
| Collaborator Contribution | To test whether past droughts can impact the response of trees to subsequent drought events and diseases. Leicester project members will assess the impact of past drought events on trees using a combination of tree-ring widths and isotope analysis, testing how past drought events affect responses to subsequent drought events. |
| Impact | None yet. |
| Start Year | 2021 |
| Description | Woodland Trust |
| Organisation | Woodland Trust |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| PI Contribution | Lead MEMBRA project and manage how project outputs will interact with Woodland Trust activities. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Woodland Trust will work with MEMBRA to identify possible sampling sites, in the planting of the resilient MEMBRA nursery and as a venue for events. MEMBRA contact is Emily Gray, Conservation Research Advisor. |
| Impact | None yet. |
| Start Year | 2021 |
| Description | 'Communicating outside of academia' Workshop |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | MEMBRA participants contributed to this Treescapes workshop at explored effective cross-sector communication. June 16th 2022. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://www.uktreescapes.org/events/communicating-outside-of-academia-16-june-2022/ |
| Description | 5th Epicatch meeting. Epigenetic responses and memories of plants under environmental stresses Bordeaux, France |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | Reporting on tree research in a conference that focusses on more short-lived organisms. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| URL | https://epicatch5.sciencesconf.org/ |
| Description | BBC Learning English podcast |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
| Results and Impact | Portions of Estrella Luna Diez's BBC interview about tree memories was used as a learning resource for teaching english on the BBC website and in a podcast. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://www.bbc.co.uk/learningenglish/english/features/6-minute-english/ep-211230 |
| Description | BBC radio interview and podcast |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
| Results and Impact | MEMBRA PI Estrella Luna-Diez was interviewed on the BBC World Service program on the 'Crowd Science' program. The question they considered was 'Do plants have immune systems?' Estrella explored whether plants and trees can remember their past experiences of pests or diseases, and if they can pass memories of those attacks on to their offspring. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/w3ct1pr0 |
| Description | BEIS Forests & Carbon team |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | An invited webinar to the BEIS Forests, Land Use, & Carbon Markets team, 29/03/2021, entitled "BIFoR FACE - a globally-significant UK contribution to informing responses to the climate emergency". |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | BIFoR Community conference: Forest as communities, forests in communities. |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Conference presentation |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| URL | https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/research/bifor/about/annual-meetings/2024-annual-meeting/2024-bifor-ann... |
| Description | Climate Literacy Bootcamp |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Skills Bootcamp designed to help employees in the West Midlands incorporate climate literacy practices into their everyday working lives. At each event, 20-30 professionals from the West Midlands region engaged with an intensive series of lectures/workshops/discussions. I provide the "Climate and Forests" aspect each year. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023,2024,2025 |
| URL | https://www.wmca.org.uk/news/climate-literacy-course-helping-professionals-to-build-a-better-future/ |
| Description | CoP26 essay |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Contribution to University of Birmingham policy briefs "Addressing the Climate Challenge" (a CoP26 essay collection): chapter entitled Not just standing there: the carbon utility of established forest. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://blog.bham.ac.uk/publicaffairs/wp-content/uploads/sites/89/2021/09/Addressing-the-climate-cha... |
| Description | Contributor to BBC Radio 4's In Our Time |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | I was a contributor to BBC Radio 4's In Our Time episode on Virgil's Georgics, and talked about environmental decision-making, landscape and agricultural ethics, as well as the poem itself. The weekly audience is over 2 million listeners, with more over time. I have since been contacted by several people who heard me speak. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| URL | https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001lyt4 |
| Description | Costing the Earth |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | A substantial section of the BBC Radio 4 environment documentary programme, Costing the Earth, was given over to an interview with doctoral researcher Anna Gardner and early results from BIFoR FACE. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m00120wg |
| Description | Cove Park presentation |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Presentation at Cove Park 'fringe COP26' workshop with artist Laura Hopes, who is part of the Field\work grant, that included information on both grants. The workshop was held over several days, so I also talked at length about the grants in discussion and conversation outside the presentation. Participants included artists, curators, environmental activists, government representatives, academics from a range of subjects, postgraduates, agricultural workers. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://covepark.org/turbulence-emergence-enchantment-a-compendium-of-climate-literacies/ |
| Description | Creative Lab #2 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Study participants or study members |
| Results and Impact | Participation in Creative Lab #2, which was held at the Blackadon Farm in Devon. This event brought together a crossdisciplinary group of project members to discuss potential future impacts of the project. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | Darwin & diversity |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Essay entitled "A 150-year-old note from Charles Darwin is inspiring a change in the way forests are planted", published 4th November 2021 in the online magazine, The Conversation. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://theconversation.com/a-150-year-old-note-from-charles-darwin-is-inspiring-a-change-in-the-way... |
| Description | Defra: sci-fi forest |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Invited seminar to Defra Forest Team (~50 people in attendance), Midlands Arts Centre, Birmingham, 19th March 2024 |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| Description | Facebook video for BBC Learning English |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Facebook video entitled 'Do trees have memories?' in which Estrella Luna-Diez is interviewed about her research exploring tree memories. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=299180745421097 |
| Description | Future Treescapes Conference 2024 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Future Treescapes 24, our final conference and a celebration of the ground-breaking achievements and outputs of the UK Treescapes Programme. Between the government's target to plant 30,000 hectares of trees a year over the next 30 years and experts' calls for a refocus on tree establishment and resilience, it is clear there is still a lot of knowledge that needs to be unlocked. This dynamic conference brings together researchers, stakeholders, policymakers and woodland enthusiasts to reveal what the latest research can contribute to our trees, woodlands and forests. It is your opportunity to collaborate with Treescapes' researchers to open up current knowledge and help translate it into practice. At the conference, attendees will be able to explore the tools and methodologies coming out of the programme, shape the potential future of our treescapes and debate the future needs of research and policy in this space. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| URL | https://treescapes24.zohobackstage.eu/FutureTreescapes24 |
| Description | Gardeners' World |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | A significant section of an edition of the popular TV programme Gardeners' World was dedicated to BIFoR FACE. The section was presented by QUINTUS PI Rob MacKenzie and included early results from FACE-related projects. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m0010cm7/gardeners-world-2021-episode-28 |
| Description | Hainan - Nature and World Heritage |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | In-person keynote, Main City Event of 2023 Cultural and Natural Heritage Day, Hainan, China, 10/06/2023 followed by tour of Hainan prospective site for World Natural Heritage |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | IUFRO Forest and Society towards 2050, Stockholm, Sweden |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Conference presentation at major international forestry conference |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| URL | https://iufro2024.com/iufro-world-congress-2024/forests-and-society-towards-2050/ |
| Description | Inside Science |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | A substantial part of an episode of the BBC Radio 4 science magazine programme, Inside Science, was given over to a discussion of first results from BIFoR FACE, including a long interview with doctoral researcher Anna Gardner. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m00108j0 |
| Description | MEMBRA Creative Lab #1 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Study participants or study members |
| Results and Impact | MEMBRA participants travelled to a Rewilding project location in Dartmoor to spend 3 days at the Creative Lab in which project participants got to know each other, discussed the project and where it would lead. This was led by project partner 'The Walking Forest'. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://membra.info/event/membra-creative-lab/ |
| Description | MEMBRA Cycles Project |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Study participants or study members |
| Results and Impact | The Cycles project was initiated after conversations from Creative Lab #1 and was led by Ruth Ben-Tovim from The Walking Forest artist group. This collaborative project was undertaken through a WhatsApp-based exploration of a group-perspective of the changing seasons. We look forward to the outputs from this project throughout 2024. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023,2024 |
| Description | MEMBRA Tree Nursery |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Engagement activity with the Birmingham Salt Road and the Dolphin Centre community groups organised by Walking Forest Artist Group. These sessions explored the scientific and cultural implications of the MEMBRA project with a cohort of people who do not usually engage with research projects. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2025 |
| URL | https://www.instagram.com/p/C9hQmkksejE/?img_index=1 |
| Description | MEMBRA Website |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | MEMBRA Website that will provide regular updates to the community. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://membra.info |
| Description | News coverage of Norby et al. |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Media coverage for Norby et al., 2024. Over 60 international news items with reach > 400M. Norby, R. J., N. J. Loader, C. Mayoral, S. Ullah, G. Curioni, A. R. Smith, M. K. Reay, K. van Wijngaarden, M. S. Amjad, D. Brettle, M. E. Crockatt, G. Denny, R. T. Grzesik, R. L. Hamilton, K. M. Hart, I. P. Hartley, A. G. Jones, A. Kourmouli, J. R. Larsen, Z. Shi, R. M. Thomas and A. R. MacKenzie (2024). Enhanced woody biomass production in a mature temperate forest under elevated CO2. Nature Climate Change. 14, 983-988. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41558-024-02090-3 . |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| URL | https://www.nature.com/articles/s41558-024-02090-3 |
| Description | Participation at COP26 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Dr Katherine Earnshaw participated in a COP26 associated workshop entitled 'Turbulence / Emergence / Enchantment: A Compendium of Climate Literacies'. This took place at Cove Park between 4-7 November 2021 as part of the COP26 fringe events. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://covepark.org/turbulence-emergence-enchantment-a-compendium-of-climate-literacies/ |
| Description | Participation in Treescapes 2023 conference |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Attendance a Treescapes conference in June 2023 in Cardiff. I participated in a panel sesson discussing interdiscplinary and crossdiscplinary working within the MEMBRA project. https://www.uktreescapes.org/events/future-treescapes-23/ |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| URL | https://www.uktreescapes.org/events/future-treescapes-23/ |
| Description | People, place, and Nature podcast interview |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | A 30-minute interview with Niall Williams for his "People, Place, and Nature" podcast. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WcO9CSozt7E |
| Description | Podcast for National Trust (internal) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | I was a speaker on a podcast called 'Landscape Histories for Landscape Futures', available to all National Trust employees nationally. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | Press release about Net Zero paper |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
| Results and Impact | Press release, including quotation from KE, released for Net Zero policy document. It was picked up by various outlets, and translated into e.g. Dutch for reporting internationally. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/01/220131110518.htm |
| Description | Ring of Truth at Timberfest |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | The Ring of Truth is a remarkable collaboration between academics, artists and lawyers to explore the certain question. of ''What are the Rights of Trees?'. This play was performed at TimberFest at the National Forest in July 2023. https://timberfestival.org.uk/day-splits/ The play is set in a fictional 2028 at a time in which the 'Rights of Nature' have been recently written into UK Law. The performance joins a courtroom in which prosecution is acting on behalf of the 'The Feanedock Oak' (located on the Timbrfest site in The National Forest), which is taking the UK Government to court to protect itself from the prevailing environment of increased carbon dioxide in-part caused by government activities. KE contributed to the writing of the play and performed in it. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| URL | https://membra.info/the-ring-of-truth-at-timberfest/ |
| Description | Roundtable with crofters on Skye |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | Two roundtable events with crofters from Skye, members of staff from Atlas Arts, and Lauren Gault (artist). The discussion included landscape decisions, classical agricultural texts, policy, ethics treescapes and lived experience. There were plenty of questions and explanations, and the crofters and the Atlas Arts team requested copies or details about Virgil's Georgics for further reading and reflection. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | Sonification of MEMBRA Outputs |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | In Autumn 2023 at MEMBRA Creative Lab 2 conversations amongst project members took place about the possible ways how one might represent epigenetic changes in SOUND. Team members Joe He and Marco Catoni followed up on this and met with Dr Scott Wilson, who is a member of faculty in Birmingham in the Department of Music. Scott was searching for a topic to guide a composition that looked at the idea of memory. This was a perfect match so Joe shared epigenetic data with Scott, who then transposed this into a composition. This composition was performed at the University of Birmingham on March 8th 2024. The performance was recorded by the BBC was will be broadcast at a later date. The result of the collaboration will take place at a free concert given by the Ligeti Quartet at the Elgar Concert Hall on University of Birmingham campus. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| URL | https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/schools/lcahm/departments/music/events/2024/spring-24/08mar-memory-proj... |
| Description | Speaker at the School of Plural Futures workshop |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Lead on workshop for Atlas Art's School of Plural Futures working with participants from Skye and Lochalsh. The participants ask questions and learn together about social justice, the climate crisis and about what it means to live and work in Skye/Lochalsh today. I co-ran a workshop with Lauren Gault, artist, about landscape ethics, classical texts, policy and decision-making. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| Description | The Air We Breathe |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | The University of Birmingham has opened a major new public engagement venue called The Exchange. The inaugural exhibition, called "The Air We Breathe", drew on many of the grants being reported here, both for air quality and for forests. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021,2022 |
| URL | https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/the-exchange/index.aspx |
| Description | The Plant BioProTech & IOBC-IR symposium, Castellon de la Plana, Spain |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | Opportunity to present tree-research to plant biotechnologists with a wider set of interests. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| URL | https://plant-bioprotech-2023.b2match.io/ |
| Description | The Ring of Truth at TimberFest |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | The Ring of Truth is a remarkable collaboration between scientists, artists and lawyers to explore the certain question. of ''What are the Rights of Trees?'. This play was performed at TimberFest at the National Forest in July 2023. https://timberfestival.org.uk/day-splits/ The play is set in a fictional 2028 at a time in which the 'Rights of Nature' have been recently written into UK Law. The performance joins a courtroom in which prosecution is acting on behalf of the 'The Feanedock Oak' (located on the Timbrfest site in The National Forest), which is taking the UK Government to court to protect itself from the prevailing environment of increased carbon dioxide in-part caused by government activities. Three University of Birmingham scientists, Bruno Cintra, Rachel Mailes and Scott Hayward presented evidence from the perspective of the Oak Tree, its Insect community and the underlying Soil to demonstrate the damage that has been caused by current climate. This unique collaboration was made possible through Treescapes support for the MEMBRA project, which has brought together artists and scientists to generate this thought-provoking production that will resonant with many people who are interesting in protecting their local environments. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| URL | https://membra.info/the-ring-of-truth-at-timberfest/ |
| Description | Tree Council |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | "BIFoR - an Introduction". Overview talk to Tree Council for their Away Day, 28th March |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | Trees for the future conference |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | A conference was organised in collaboration with the Association of Applied Biologists and the JABBS Foundation: Trees for the Future Diversity and complexity for resilience and carbon storage. The conference aimed explicitly to engage both researchers and practitioners, and focused on resilience of UK forests under climate change. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://www.aab.org.uk/event/trees-for-the-future-diversity-and-complexity-for-resilience-and-carbon... |
| Description | Treescapes Conference |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Estrella gave a talk in the Treescapes 2022 conference hosted at Imperial College. https://www.uktreescapes.org/events/future-treescapes-22-22-sep-2022/ |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://www.uktreescapes.org/events/future-treescapes-22-22-sep-2022/ |
| Description | Treescapes Webinar |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Estrella Luna-Diez, Rosa Sanchez-Lucas, Bruno Cintra gave a talk in a Treescapes webinar on January 12th 2023 entitled 'First stages in our endeavour to understand stressful memories in trees'. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| URL | https://www.uktreescapes.org/events/first-stages-in-our-endeavour-to-understand-stressful-memories-i... |
| Description | Valuing Treescapes Conference |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Study participants or study members |
| Results and Impact | This event considered how a 'rights of nature' approach to existing and new treescapes could inform their protection and further development in the UK. Outputs from this event will include a co-written report on language, ethics, and narratives that can challenge, and provide alternative models for, the utilitarian, monetised valuation of trees in the 'ecosystem services' framework. This event will explore the additional dimensions of 'value' to treescapes, and foreground the importance of language in tree description and depiction during policy recommendations on the future of treescapes and brought together a wide range of stakeholders who will attempt to define the value of Treescapes. These include scientists, artists, lawyers and classicists. Over 50 attendees attended this free event at the University of Exeter. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| URL | https://membra.info/event/valuing-treescapes-a-free-membra-conference-hosted-in-exeter/ |
| Description | What can trees really do for us? |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | An essay entitled "Climate crisis: what can trees really do for us?" published in the online magazine, The Conversation, on 12th October 2021. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://theconversation.com/climate-crisis-what-can-trees-really-do-for-us-168779 |