More than 160 young champions of conservation science flocked to Cambridge from all over the world for three days in March for the 17th Student Conference on Conservation Science (SCCS). The TBA is a co-founder and co-organiser of this unique forum – the only international conservation conference aimed specifically at students – and the Cambridge TBA team was delighted to welcome 14 TBA alumni, including two speakers, for the 2016 event.
In the session of student talks which focussed on tracking biodiversity change, Malagasy alumnus Solohery Rasamison (TBA course Kibale 2006) shared his experiences of monitoring forest birds using satellite data. In another session, dedicated to frogs, Kenyan Jacob Ngwava (TBA course Kibale 2010) talked about the plight of the critically endangered Du Toit’s torrent frog, not seen since 1962. The elusive amphibian is the subject of an on-going research project which Jacob is leading in the Mount Elgon region of Kenya.
In between the student talks, workshops and plenary sessions, there was time to meet old friends and make new contacts in the TBA network, and to take a closer look at the research posters on display. One of these was presented by Ghanaian alumnus Issah Seidu, showcasing work from his TBA student project on dragonflies in Amani in 2015.
TBA Director Rosie Trevelyan was happy to see so many alumni from Europe and Africa in Cambridge, and to hear their latest news. “I am so proud of you all, and what you are achieving. It is fantastic what you’ve been able to do after your TBA courses.” she said.
“And remember, you are all part of the TBA network, and this is vital, because we are all aiming for the same thing; to do more in conservation and research.”
This year, there was an artistic attraction alongside the student conference, which attracted many of the delegates, including Jacob Ngwava. A new exhibition is presenting works by artists Ackroyd & Harvey (Heather Ackroyd and Dan Harvey) in the David Attenborough Building.
One of their pieces, called ‘Seeing Red..Overdrawn’ features an interactive banner 23ft long and 10ft high on which is printed a list of more than 4,700 threatened species. Visitors were invited to write over a species name in bold ink, and that is exactly what Jacob did. First, though, he had to find the Du Toit’s torrent frog, high up on the banner in the wall of names, and climb a step ladder to reach it. Finding the torrent frog in its natural habitat is proving a lot more difficult.
