Something for the weekend #8 – the microclimatic value of planting our cities, one Buddhist view of environmentalism, and orchids. Oh, and we got married. | Prof. Jeff Ollerton – consultant ecological scientist and author

The latest in a regular series of posts to biodiversity-related* items that have caught my attention recently:

One of the best environmental writers around at the moment, Paul Kingsnorth, had an interesting essay on how Buddhism is helping him to come to terms with the current environmental crisis. It was published earlier this year but I’ve only just seen it. Paul is one of the founders of the Dark Mountain project, which I’ve mentioned before.

Here’s a piece about a fascinating study of how different types of vegetation can alter the average temperatures of our cities.

Related to this, the journal Nature has an article on the rise of urban ecology as a discipline.

A new evolutionary tree for the orchids has been published. I’ve not seen the paper yet but it looks fascinating.

Here’s some advice for postgraduate research students on how to fail your PhD Not sure I agree with everything that they say (e.g. not staying at the same university for your PhD) but in general there is some useful advice. In a follow-up article Dr Jessica Sage relates how she did many of the things that the authors suggest not to do and came out with a doctorate anyway. Just goes to show.

Finally, regular readers of this blog know that I often mix some personal stories with my professional reflections, so the Big News of Summer 2015 is that, on the 15th of August, Karin and I were married at The Guildhall, Northampton, accompanied by our family and friends. We had an incredibly happy day, and I wore a very biodiverse shirt, as you can see:

Feel free to recommend links that have caught your eye.

*Disclaimer: may sometimes contain non-biodiversity-related items.

11 thoughts on “Something for the weekend #8 – the microclimatic value of planting our cities, one Buddhist view of environmentalism, and orchids. Oh, and we got married.”

Murtagh's Meadow September 4, 2015 at 1:59 pm

Congratulations! May the longtime sun shine on you, all love surround you, and the pure light within you, guide you on your way (an Irish wedding blessing)

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