(Photo: Olivier Hess)

The F.L. Attenborough Lecture Isabella Tree Writer and Conservationist

     

Lecture outline

Isabella will talk about the huge potential of rewilding to restore biodiversity and store carbon, based on the latest science coming out of the Knepp rewilding project. Using Knepp’s work with the pioneering Weald to Waves nature corridor project, she’ll show how rewilding can connect isolated nature areas together, creating living landscapes and providing the life support systems for sustainable farming. We can all play our part, from large landholdings to urban parks, from private gardens to window boxes.

Biographical note

Isabella lives with her husband, Charlie Burrell, in the middle of a pioneering rewilding project in West Sussex. Her award-winning book Wilding – the return of nature to a British farm was voted in the top ten science books for 2018 by The Smithsonian and has been made into a major documentary film. Her book, co-authored with Charlie, The Book of Wilding – a practical guide to rewilding big and small (Bloomsbury, 2023) has been described as ‘a handbook of hope’.

In 2020 Isabella was awarded a CIEEM Medal for her contribution to ecology and environmental management, and in 2021 received the Royal Geographical Society’s Ness Award. Isabella and Charlie were jointly awarded the Zoological Society of London’s Silver Medal ‘for outstanding contributions to the understanding and appreciation of zoology’ in 2023.

Attending the lecture

The lecture is open both to members of the Society and to guests.

The lecture will take place in Hansom Hall - how to find Hansom Hall.

The lecture will also be streamed on Zoom. A recording of the lecture may be available to members only.

Leicester Museum and Art Gallery Joint Lecture Professor David Mattingly FBA MEA Professor of Roman Archaeology, University of Leicester

Lecture outline

In advance of my retirement in summer 2025, this lecture will offer some reflections on how my view of the Roman empire has changed over the course of a career spent, drawing in particular on my work on Britain and North Africa. The lecture will explore how perceptions of the Roman empire still remain profoundly influenced by modern colonial experiences. I shall argue for the need to reassess the impacts of empire and to examine the very varied experiences of Roman colonialism that occurred across its provinces. The city of Leicester, both ancient and modern, provides an interesting backdrop for challenging our assumptions about Roman imperialism

Biographical note

David Mattingly has published extensively on Roman imperialism and on different parts of the Roman empire (Italy, Britain, Jordan, North Africa) as well as its Saharan neighbours. He has been at the University of Leicester since 1992 and Professor there since 1998.

Attending the lecture

The lecture is open both to members of the Society and to guests.

The lecture will take place in Hansom Hall - how to find Hansom Hall.

The lecture will also be streamed on Zoom. A recording of the lecture may be available to members only.