Facilities
We offer state-of-the-art facilities, including ecology labs, genetics labs, a field ecology site on campus, as well as 300 acres of parkland where the Kent campus sits.
Alongside our state-of-the-art facilities and beautiful campus, we also take our students beyond Canterbury, to wider Kent and further afield. Field trips from Whitstable to Jersey to Costa Rica teach our students how to apply their ecological skills to real-world scenarios.
Research in conservation genetics is spread across two molecular laboratories. One is dedicated to DNA extraction and PCR (polymerase chain reaction) preparation, the other to PCR amplification and downstream analyses. Both are managed by Professor Jim Groombridge.
We also house an Ecology Laboratory, managed by Professor Richard Griffiths and Dr Jake Bicknell, featuring equipment for processing samples that are collected on field trips and for dissertation projects, also a small population of the golden mantella frog.
On campus we have our very own field ecology site which we use to study important populations of amphibians, and other species. We host one of the largest populations of great crested newts in the UK on campus. Here students get hands-on experience as part of formal learning, and some students choose to get extra experience by helping our research teams outside of formal classes. The field ecology site is managed by Professor Richard Griffiths and Dr Jake Bicknell.