Giving Bees a Break

Hurray! We have been awarded a modest sum of money from the Cooperative Community Challenge Fund to do a Grey Matters project supporting pollinators. This will allow us to work with 10 local schools to help them develop pollinator friendly spaces. We get to use the money to buy plants and seeds and give them to the schools and to develop a demonstrator plot here at the Hub.

We are already underway planning our demonstrator garden which will have a swanky insect hotel as a major feature. Children and teachers will come to the Hub to collect plants, seeds and some ideas on how to plan their own garden. Our Grey Matters Gardening group know a thing or two about gardening and wildlife. We want participating schools to watch their new spaces and tell us what insects and animals they attract.  For more information on how to get involved see our Hub website or give us a ring on 01782 733555.

Science by Stealth, Murder and Spookiness

The last month at the Hub has been all about Science by Stealth!

We decided to run a Halloween public science event, Spooktacula, and just see what happened. We threw our doors open and the public flooded in!  Its amazing just how much science you can pack into Halloween. For a start I delivered a talk on the history of all the traditions, like dressing up and pumpkin carving. I also covered the Salem witches and the link with ergot, a fungus that is suspected of causing the strange, and probably at the time, quite frightening symptoms that people exhibited. Then the mayhem started:

Visitors on the day carved over 100 pumpkins, made deadly molecules from models, explored real hearts and lungs, made fake wounds with fake blood, made plastic from cornflour, explored a crime scene and solved a crime and had lots of fun! Oh, and learned lots about science.

The cast of "Keeled Over"

That was not all. In the evening staff took on a different appearance as the Hub went back in time to 1949, when the University was founded. Guests were invited to a black tie award ceremony that quickly took a turn for the worse when academic and prize winner Dr Peter DeKay, aka MSc student Daniel was brutally murdered. This was of course all in the aid of fun with guests from the local area all invited to help our period staff solve the crime using forensic science. The night was great fun and one we hope to repeat in the Spring with another similar event. 

What was evident that people had fun and didn't really notice that they were actually learning.....Science by stealth.
Sharon George, Nov 2012

Badger or bust?

This week badgers are in the news. People are certainly divided on the subject, some seeing them as a pest and threat to livestock, others as an integral and much loved member of British wildlife that needs to be preserved.

The row exists because it seems that a trial cull is going to go ahead despite the fact that a scientific trial (the Krebs trial) provided doubt over the effectiveness of culls in controlling rates of TB (tuberculosis) in cattle. The trial evidenced a reduction of around 16%, give or take, could be possible over 9 years. The study also highlighted that badgers are more likely to move around, as their social groups are disrupted to establish new groups. This movement could make things worse. On a Radio 4 this morning the reasons for the cull were discussed at length. It seems that a further 6 years data has been used to come up with the decision. There was suggestion that data had been "cherry picked" to give the result needed to justify the cull to satisfy farmers and voters.

This whole affair highlights our constant clash with nature and the environment in our existence on the planet. If we didn't rely on the cattle then we wouldn't be culling the badgers. 

All sorts of moral questions arise from these issues. Does the government have the right to cull a native or indeed otherwise member of our wildlife for economic reasons? Should we cull so many badgers if the effectiveness to control TB is so low? At the same time we have the right to deny farmers a living? One thing is certain. These things should be done right, for the right reasons and based on solid scientific data.

This is a perfect example of the need for interdisciplinary understanding amongst our politicians, scientists and the general public to understand and tackle these issues effectively to protect our environment and wildlife and economy.

If you are interested these issues we have a talk on Badger Conservation at the Sustainability Hub on Wednesday 28th November from 5pm to 6pm. All welcome. To book contact Colette on 01782 733555 or c.a.smallwood@keele.ac.uk

Sharon George

Rockets, Robots and Recycling

This summer has been a blast!

We thought we would open our doors to the public and see what what would happen. We have been open on Wednesdays and Saturdays. Mostly families with children turned up and we did science ...by stealth. We had snakes and reptiles and minibeasts. A water challenge really tested our team's ability to stay dry! Great fun.

Simon the Scientist was a great hit with his robots and rocket workshops. Some of them went really high! We even managed to get one stuck on the roof!!!!

Here are some pictures of us doing what we do.

Is the UK making the most of its sustainable resources?

Its been an interesting few weeks with major announcements on energy development in the UK coming out thick and fast. The latest is that carbon capture and storage is going to be re-awakened. This method, provided power stations take the technology further than just being CCS "ready", will pipe carbon dioxide waste gas from power stations to underground reservoirs hopefully locking the gas away from the atmosphere. This comes in the wake of an announcement that Horizon will not, with its current partners, be taking forward major nuclear developments. What is clear is that the UK needs to change the way it is currently operating if we are to maintain a lifestyle and infrastructure to current levels and there are several untapped options open to help us meet our energy needs.

The UK has great energy potential in hydroelectricity, biomass, anaerobic digestion, offshore and onshore wind, solar, tidal and wave energy. The UK has a large and craggy coastline offering some of the best tidal barrage and tidal stream potential in the world. I am struck that the UK not only has excellent sustainable energy potential but a fantastic skills base in engineering and manufacturing to exploit it with the minimum impact to our ecology and environment.

Understanding the environment that these technology systems operate in is vital to the efficiency and environmental impact. This semester we have been privileged to welcome experts to the Hub on issues of offshore power management, fuel cell development, green IT, sustainable construction and water pollution. Running these events I realised the role the Hub was playing in bringing strands of sustainable development together and the opportunity to bring people together. I am therefore encouraged as I focus my attention on the launch of a series of talks and courses for businesses and organisations on technology, sustainability and materials development that we are doing our part to support the sectors that will play a vital role in keeping our lights on!

Dr Sharon George
Hub Manager

Keele University Sustainability Hub

Well, we have survived our first month and what a month it has been!

When we opened we were not really sure who our audience would be . Since our launch symposium on the 17th October we certainly have hosted the full range. Visitors have included the Paliamentary Environmental Audit Committee, Staffordshire Business Environment Network, the Chamber of Commerce and numerous schools and businesses. Our events have been a big hit with Really Rubbish Week capturing the imagination, with school children making Really Rubbish Music and even launching Really Rubbish Rockets!

One of our major acheivements this month has been the launch of our Grey matters Membership with over 50 enthusiastic attendees engaging with the Hub around matters of Changing Planet, Sustainable Living and Gardening.

We have been encouraged by the amount of support and interest since our opening and look forward to the future!


Sharon George
Hub Manager