Events and lectures
We offer many events across our departments specific to many age groups.
Herdman Symposium
In recent years this symposium has become a significant event in the North West England attracting over 250 participants each year.
The Herdman Symposium has been running since 1973 and is an annual regional gathering of Earth Scientists. For one day every year, the Herdman Symposium delivers a new scientific programme of talks given by internationally leading experts across earth sciences and centred on topical issues of the day. It is organised by the Herdman Society, which is the geology and geophysics undergraduate society at the University of Liverpool with links to physical geography and environmental geoscience.
The symposium is pitched at the undergraduate level, although our excellent speakers manage to excite interest across all levels including postgraduate students, academic staff, local geological society members, school students and teachers.
Herdman Symposium 2026
The Herdman Society's 53rd Symposium, exploring world-leading research on new and emerging technology in geoscience.
The Herdman Symposium has been held annually at the University of Liverpool since 1973, making it one of the longest-running and best-established geosciences events in the UK. It is organised by the Herdman Society which, founded in 1918, is one of the oldest student geology societies in the UK.
This year, the theme of the Herdman Symposium is "Emerging Technology in Geoscience". The talks will explore new and emerging technologies, and how geoscientists are both developing and utilising them to learn more about our planet and others. The speakers are as follows:
- Prof. Sanjeev Gupta, Imperial College London: Martian rovers
- Dr. Amber Leeson, Lancaster University: Remote sensing of glaciers
- Dr. Dave Hodgetts, VR Geoscience: Digital outcrop models
- Prof. Kirstine Dale, Met Office: AI in weather forecasting
- Dr. Elisabetta Mariani, University of Liverpool: SEM microscopy
- Dr. Jim Whiteley, AtkinsRéalis: Geophysics technology in industry
*Note: All talk themes are provisional and subject to change.
As usual, the event will take place from 9:30am-5pm in the Central Teaching Hub on the University of Liverpool, with a buffet lunch provided to attendees. The first talks will start promptly at 10am.
Past events
- Herdman Symposium 2025 - Earth sciences in the anthropocene
- Herdman Symposium 2024 - Energy and sustainability
- Herdman Symposium 2023 - Looking Back and Looking Forward in Earth Science
- Herdman Symposium 2022 - Impacts of geoscience
- Herdman Symposium 2021 - "Virtual Herdman symposium 2021: dynamic Earth".
- Herdman Symposium 2020 - "Climate variation throughout Earth's histroy".
Access2Nature
Access2Nature offers a transformative experience for care-experienced young individuals through a three-day immersive programme focusing on environmental education. We aim to raise awareness about climate change, habitat loss, and pollution and uncover potential career paths in conservation.
We hope to empower our participants to appreciate nature through experiences, understand nature through science, and work with nature, through skills
When, where, what?
15 miles away from the busy city of Belfast lies a hidden world. Here, nature is in charge. Lighthouse Island is home to >3,000 pairs of Manx shearwater (a small seabird), wildflowers, otters and much more besides.
Over three days, we aim to introduce participants to three key issues: climate change, habitat loss and pollution and, through hands-on activities, explore how these are impacting nature and what we can do about it.
Contact Dr Ollie Padget for more information.