What Natural Heritage Should We Save? Colin Beale
Event details
When we think of ‘heritage’, we often envision stately homes or ancient monuments. But what of our living heritage? Colin Beale of the University of York explores the living highlights of the British landscape and asks the question: how do we decide which parts of nature we should save?
Just as tastes differ when it comes to our built heritage, so do people's values for different aspects of our natural landscape. Colin will discuss National Nature Reserves as the ‘cathedrals’ of our conservation estate and Sites of Special Scientific Interest as the natural equivalent of our local parish church.
He’ll examine, how, as the UK seeks to meet global commitments to protect and restore nature, we choose which sites to protect. He’ll also consider how people are an integral part of the UK's natural heritage and explore how future climates and future people may depend on our natural heritage in completely different ways.
Join Colin to discover how protected areas safeguard our future, why every natural ‘church’ and ‘cathedral’ matters, and how we can collectively decide what to pass on to the next generation.
‘What Natural Heritage Should We Save?’ is one of a number of events taking place as part of a special edition of YorkTalks. Celebrating University of York’s research at its best, we invite you to explore a dynamic landscape of curated talks, live performances and hands-on activities staged in the historic Heslington Hall and its grounds on the theme Heritage Reframed.
About the speaker
Colin Beale is Professor of Ecology and Conservation Biology at the University of York. Working within the Leverhulme Centre for Anthropocene Biodiversity, he is an expert in the intersection of biodiversity, climate change and land management. His research focuses on understanding the distribution of species and the drivers of ecological change across scales. With research interests from the savannas of East Africa to the protection of biodiversity in the UK, Colin uses advanced spatial modelling and remote sensing to address critical conservation challenges. His work informs international policy on habitat restoration and the management of protected areas, frequently bridging the gap between theoretical ecology and practical, on-the-ground conservation solutions.
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