Workshop on Tropical Rainforest Field Stations 29 – 30 June 2010 Edinburgh, UK

CHEC is very pleased to report the success of the CHEC workshop on Tropical Rainforest Field Stations held in parallel with the 18th Commonwealth Forestry Conference in Edinburgh on 29th and 30th June, 2010.

The workshop succeeded in bringing together key practitioners and specialists who discussed the feasibility and effectiveness of using field centres for research, for training university and school students and for assisting the development of local communities. Participants also discussed the challenges facing field stations and how future co-operation should be used to help the work of field stations around the world.

Caryll Stephen, Chairman of CHEC’s Board of Governors opened the meeting with a reminder of human dependence on natural systems and the need for us all to take responsibility for our impacts on the environment. The workshop which followed consisted of presentations about tropical rain forest field stations and a wide ranging discussion on Tuesday 29th June and a report to the Commonwealth Forestry Conference at a lunch-time meeting in the Edinburgh International Conference Centre.

CHEC thanks the Commonwealth Foundation for its support of the workshop. CHEC also thanks the Very Reverend Graham Forbes, Provost, St. Mary’s Cathedral, Sarah Grotrian, and Eleanor Morris for their help and aid in Edinburgh.

A full report on the workshop is available in CHEC Points No. 34 (pdf).

A follow-up meeting is being held at the ECOSummit 2012 in Columbus, Ohio, USA on Monday 1st October 2012.

2009 International Human Ecology Conference 29 June – 3 July 2009 Manchester University, UK

‘Human Ecology for an Urbanising World’

The Conference examined the status of, and current challenges facing, human ecology around the world. It brought together as many as 150 scholars and practitioners associated with the study and practice of human ecology to demonstrate the relevance of the discipline, and its philosophy and applications, for the contemporary environment and for society.

The program included roundtable discussions, open forums and field trips (in and around Manchester along with the Peak District) for raising questions, exchanging ideas, and discussing issues or plans for the future of human ecology.

Special thanks go to the Commonwealth Foundation for enabling CHEC to bring delegates from its various Chapters. CHEC was delighted to see members, old and new, from around the Commonwealth including Australia, India, Kenya, Malta, New Zealand, Nigeria and Sri Lanka.

A short report on the Conference is available in CHEC Points No. 33 (pdf) and a selection of papers is published in the Journal Human Ecology No. 24.