This summer, we had the opportunity to host an event series at Ness Botanic Gardens called Discover Nature @ Ness. As part of the Health and Life Sciences Faculty at the University, we’re always looking for ways to connect our research with the community, and this series provided a perfect platform to do just that.
Ness Botanic Gardens, located on the Wirral, has been part of the University for over 50 years. The Gardens have a long history of welcoming visitors and supporting education, research, and conservation efforts. With this in mind, we partnered with Ness to create a series of talks designed to share the expertise of our researchers with the public in an accessible and engaging way.
Throughout August, we held weekly talks on Tuesday lunchtimes, featuring researchers from the Institute of Infection, Veterinary, and Ecological Sciences (IVES). Each session focused on a different aspect of nature. Our goal was to provide attendees with new insights into the natural world while fostering a deeper appreciation for the environment around us.
The series began with the theme “Our World,” where Shona Bloodworth presented on the social science of pet vaccination in her talk, ‘PAW-sitive Health’, followed by Dr Andy Stringer’s discussion on global malnutrition in ‘An Egg A Day’. This session set a strong foundation for the series, with attendees expressing how much they learned from these talks.
The following week, we explored the theme of “Insects,” with Professor Greg Hurst delivering a talk on ‘Ladybirds and Their Enemies’, and Professor Rob Smith discussing ‘Working with Honey Bees’ in his personal capacity as a beekeeper. Feedback from the audience was very positive, with many noting how fascinating and informative the talks were.
For our third event, “Animals,” Dr Kaitlin Turnbull spoke unusual cases from the Small Animal Teaching Hospital in her talk, ‘Barking up the Right Tree’, while Dr Tamzin Furtado discussed equine welfare in ‘My (Not So) Little Pony’. Attendees continued to show high levels of engagement, with many returning from previous weeks.
The series concluded with “Creatures of the Garden,” where John Elliott, a volunteer at Ness and Merseyside Ringing Group, shared his knowledge on bird ringing, and Dr Julian Chantrey talked about his study on the challenges facing native squirrels in his presentation, ‘Squirrels and the Pox’, the research of which was carried out at the Gardens. This final session highlighted the collaborative spirit between the university and the volunteers who contribute to Ness’s success.
Overall, the feedback we received from attendees was overwhelmingly positive. Across all four events, we averaged a score of 4.7 or above in several key areas, including the quality of the talks, the suitability of the venue, and the overall enjoyment of the events. Attendees praised the speakers for delivering information in a way that was both engaging and easy to understand. One attendee commented, “Great session—really found the topics fascinating. Very well delivered by lecturers with expertise in their fields. Well done!” Another shared, “Fascinating lecture—very well presented at a level understandable to all—well done!” These comments reflect the success of our efforts to make science accessible and interesting to a broad audience.
The series attracted a diverse group of attendees, mainly older adults, but also some younger participants, including older teenagers attending with their parents. Many attendees were highly engaged, asking numerous questions and returning for multiple sessions. Nearly 200 people attended across the four sessions. Given the success of Discover Nature @ Ness, we’re pleased to announce that we plan to make this an annual event, covering a wider range of topics that our attendees have expressed interest in, such as wildlife, plants, and climate change. We’re also exploring the possibility of hosting Christmas lectures later this year.
Finally, I want to extend our thanks to everyone who participated—our speakers, the team at Ness Botanic Gardens, and of course, the attendees who made the series such a success. We look forward to continuing this tradition and welcoming even more members of the community to future events. If you know anyone who might be interested in delivering a talk, please feel free to reach out to us. We’re excited to see what the next year brings!