Between 26 and 30 June, a Glastonbury Festival event involving conservationists from the University's Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology (DICE) will help contribute to the future of woodland in the UK.
Now in its fourth year, the Sex & Bugs & Rock ‘n Roll project highlights scientific and environmental matters to the general public at popular UK summer events and music festivals.
This year the focus is woodlands and climate change and is designed to give visitors the opportunity to understand how climate change could affect woodlands and the animals that live there.
One of the ‘headline’ events for the Glastonbury 2019 project is a game that will help researchers find out why people love woodlands. They’ll be asking festival goers to create their ideal woodland using a selection of tree species, animals and woodland plants. Conservationists from DICE and the Lancaster Environment Centre will then evaluate the images to find out which aspects of woodland diversity are important to people.
For each person who plays the game, Wytham Woods will plant an acorn from an ancient oak tree at Wytham Park near Oxford.
Sex & Bugs & Rock ‘n Roll is led by the University of Lancaster, with the universities of Kent, Oxford and Exeter, the Met Office, the New Phytologist Trust, the Field Studies Council, and the Forestry Commission all supporting the initiative.
Professor Zoe Davies from DICE, who has helped shape the event, said: ‘The Sex & Bugs & Rock ‘n Roll tour is a great way to engage the public with major scientific issues in a fun, informative and engaging manner in a great setting. We hope as many people as possible will come along.’
Sex & Bugs & Rock ‘n’ Roll will be in the Glastonbury Festival’s Green Futures Field, 26–30 June.