The importance of communication
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Last week I hosted the Limestone Pavement Partnership’s first conference, attended by 40 academics, students and conservation professionals from a range of organisations. The conference took place in Lancashire and after a series of talks we visited Gait Barrows National Nature Reserve. Limestone pavements have received very little research attention and that means it is critical that we ensure the research we do carry out is accessible to the people who really need it – conservation practitioners who are responsible for making management decisions about limestone pavements.
The conference was really successful, we heard about pavement management in Ireland, learning lessons from the management of extensive areas of pavement in the Burren. We heard about the challenges of managing limestone pavements in different regions of England and we heard about research projects focussed on limestone pavements. There was lots of discussion and it was great to have chance to talk as we walked around Gait Barrows admiring the beautiful pavement and the spring flora.
Both PhD student Hannah Risser and I presented about the work we will be doing as part of the Quarry Life project. We set out our plans for the experiment and what we are hoping to achieve. It generated some very positive feedback and useful discussion with many keen to see the results we will present in coming years. This builds upon a presentation I gave a couple of weeks ago to Natural England staff. In the next couple of weeks I will also talk to undergraduate students about the research as they visit limestone pavements and a former quarry and look at the vegetation and learn how to survey it. Inspiring and teaching the next generation of ecologists is an important part of being an academic.
It is my plan that this experiment will run over several years and throughout this time I will continue to ensure that the results reach the people that matter, through conversations, conference presentation, blogs and published articles.
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