Meet the Exhibitors: Who’s who at the Festival of Nature 2018

We asked our exhibitors three quick questions to help paint a picture of the wild and wonderful organisations you will find at this year’s Festival of Nature:

“1. What does your organisation do? 2. Why will Festival-goers love your exhibit? 3. What’s your favourite animal and why?”

Association of Science and Discovery Centres – say hello at Bristol Festival of Nature (9/10 June)

1. Association of Science and Discovery Centres brings together the UKs major science engagement organisations to play a strategic role in the nations engagements with science.
2. One of our major national programs, Operation Earth, is the result of a partnership between ASDC and NERC, the Natural Environment Research Council. We’ve created a set of amazing activities and a family show, which are running in Science Centres across the UK this year. We’re taking a couple of these along to the Festival of Nature, come see us, and take part in a Crystal Maze-style hunt for air particles!
3. Orangutans – unbelievable to see up close, and incredibly interesting social structure for great apes.

Bath City Farm – say hello at Bath Festival of Nature (2 June)

1. The Farm is a hub for the local community, acting as a place of engagement and learning and Play.
2. Visitors will have a chance to meet and handle some of our rare breed chickens while learning more about what we do and how to get involved.
3. I love the pygmy goats because they are so affectionate and full of character even though they love creating mischief!

Blue Campaign – say hello at Bristol Festival of Nature (9/10 June)

1. BLUE is a national awareness campaign encouraging people to re-wild parts of their lawn, school grounds, parks and road verges into little nature reserves, letting nature do all the work.
2. Festival-goers will love this campaign as it requires no money, less time-consuming grass cutting and a chance to really help restore both biomass and biodiversity.
3. Our favourite animal is the field vole.

British Science Association – say hello at Bristol Festival of Nature (9/10 June)

1. We engage and inspire adults and young people directly with science and technology, and their implications.
2. They will be amazed at how easily our senses can be fooled, and learn how we interpret what we (think) we see.
3. Tardigrade. Awesome creature that is resistant to almost anything you can thrown at it, including the vacuum of space!

Canal and Rivers Trust – say hello at Bath Festival of Nature (2 June)

1. We look after the bustling and beautiful Kennet & Avon and peaceful and idyllic Bridgwater & Taunton Canals.  Twitter @CRTKennetAvon
2. Because visitors will be able to learn more about the wonders of their local waterway through games, information and activities for all the family.
3. The Kingfisher, for its stunning colouring and also because it is so elusive, it is always a real treat to see!

Centre for Sustainable Chemical Technologies – say hello at Bristol Festival of Nature (9/10 June)

1. The CSCT, University of Bath, works with international industrial, academic and stakeholder partners to undertake research in sustainable chemical technologies.
2. We have some fascinating interactive activities for all ages to engage with and learn about the scourge of microplastics and what researchers at the CSCT are doing to combat this challenge.
3. Our favourite animal is a squid due to many reasons: they have 3 hearts, they have a  camouflage ability tochange colour to suit their environment but mainly due to the fact that they make great hats!

Falmouth Universty, Orbis – say hello at Bristol Festival of Nature (9/10 June)

1. Orbis, an exhibition of 3rd year work from Marine and Natural History Photography. We want to engage people in our stories.
2. Festival goers will love our exhibit because it brings them a tiny perspective into an exciting microscopic world that is vastly overlooked and undiscovered. They can combine photography with scientific discovery to take their very own microscopic image home with them!
3. Orbis, latin for world, means that as a collective we do not have one favourite animal but give all creatures the recognition that they deserve.

One Tree per Child – say hello at Bristol Festival of Nature (9/10 June)

1. One Tree Per Child plants trees in Bristol alongside running an exciting education programme teaching people the benefits of trees.
2. Festival goers will find out about the wealth of trees in Bristol, where we have planted and opportunities to come along and plant over the 2018-19 season. Children will be able to plant some seeds, make some trees from scrap and paint trees throughout the seasons. Families can try out our Festival Tree Trail answering questions about trees across the site to try and win a fruit tree for their garden.
3. Our favourite animal is the jay. A relative of the magpie we often see these reclusive birds when we’re out planting our trees across Bristol. We’ve seen more this year than ever before so hopefully they’re making a bit of a resurgence across the city. They’re often seen in pairs as they mate for life.

People’s Trust for Endangered Species – say hello at Bristol Festival of Nature (9/10 June)

1. We protect the most threatened species in the UK and around the world through ground-breaking research, practical conservation and education. (can ground-breaking be one word?!?!)
2. People will discover what they can do to help wildlife in their own neighbourhood and get involved with our summer of wildlife action.
3. Do we have to choose?! We have worked with over 200 species – how can you choose between such great animals like snow leopards, stag beetles or dormice!?

TREE AID – say hello at Bristol Festival of Nature (9/10 June)

1. We plant trees across Africa’s drylands and help families in poverty use them to grow nutritious food and generate incomes.
2. We have lots of tree products for the festival-goers to taste and try! Come along to our stall to discover how amazing trees are; learn about the benefits they provide for communities in the African drylands and how they really can change lives! We’ll have an interactive activity for people to get involved with and a chance to enter our free prize draw to win some great prizes!
3. My favourite animal is a The Burkina Faso honeybee!

University of the West of England – say hello at Bristol Festival of Nature (9/10 June)

Dr Corra Boushel Corra is Communications Officer for ClairCity, an EU Horizon 2020 funded project to raise awareness of urban air pollution and carbon emissions

1. How can cities reduce their air pollution in a way that helps all residents lead happy, healthy, successful lives.
2. Get involved in testing for air pollution with pipettes and microscopes, find out how clean the air in your area is on our interactive map and play our exciting game. Can you save Bristol?
3. Can I have a favourite vegetable instead? It’s a radish. You’ll have to come and find the ClairCity stand to find out why.

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Dr Stephanie Sargeant Stephanie is a Senior Lecturer in Environmental Science. Her interactive exhibit centres around Eel Conservation.

1. Developing new techniques to detect DNA organisms leave behind in the environment as a non-invasive monitoring method for conservation.
2. A chance to be a field scientist and collect DNA water and sediment samples from our pond!
3. My favourite animal is a whale shark.  Whale sharks are the largest fish in the world, live in the open ocean (my favourite place) and are filter feeders, sucking in microscopic plankton to their very large mouths.

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Dr Ruth Morse Ruth is a Senior Lecturer in Biomedical Sciences (Human Genetics). Her exhibit explores cell signalling pathways and their relationship with leukaemia, towards the development of therapies.

1. Understanding the complications from chemotherapy for leukaemia/cancer, and finding ways to determine who will show these complications and who won’t, so that we can change treatments for those at risk.
2. Most people know someone who has suffered from cancer, and they like to understand what causes it and how we can treat it, my research helps them to understand some of the complexities of cancer therapy.
3. I’m not sure why an animal is relevant to my research – perhaps that favourite animal for me should be a ‘human being’ as we are ‘complex beasts’ and exciting to study when comparing health and disease! Otherwise, my favourite animal is a frog – I did some research during my PhD on frogs, watching how their responses to their environment changed during development , and this helps us to understand the complexities of human development, but in a much shorter timeframe.

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Sophie Laggan Sophie is UWE’s Project Coordinator for Citizen Engagement in Healthy Urban Development

1. What if cities could make people and planet healthy? Come, explore these issues and have your say on what we can do to make cities more liveable.
2. Because it is fun! Play with jigsaws or our interactive website to learn about these issues and have your say.
3. Not technically an animal, but mychorrizal fungi! It lives in our soil, connecting up plants to spread nutrients, water and alert them of danger. Without this web we wouldn’t have food! We have a lot to learn about this fungal web and how it is analogous to human networks.

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Jennie French Jennie studies MSc Science Communication at UWE.

1. I am looking at whether images encourage adults to interact with nature in their local surroundings.
2. It showcases the diversity of the wildlife in and around Bristol and Bath as well as the talents of the amateur photographers living locally. Visitors can cast their vote on their favourite photo and help decide the winner of the competition.
3. My favourite animal is a swallow because they are so acrobatic and graceful when they fly fast. I also love the structure of their nests which they cleverly build from small mud pellets that keep them warm in winter and cool in the summer!

Wicked Weather Watch – say hello at Bath Festival of Nature (2 June)

1. Inspiring children to take an active interest in, and care about, climate change; and ultimately to lead more sustainable lives.
2. You can take a selfie with our life-sized cardboard polar bear! We will also have an Arctic expedition sled on our stand!  This is because we work with explorers like our founder Sir David Hempleman-Adams, who talk to young people about their Arctic adventures and changes they have witnessed in the region.
3. A narwhal. They are known as the ‘unicorn of the sea’.  And the tusk in the male can grow up to 3 metres long which is pretty incredible! Narwhal are one of the many animals at risk from climate change and the impact it is having on Arctic sea ice.