New Publications

Ecology - a science that matters: a new BES poster for schools.

Everyone to whom I have shown this poster says that it looks very good, both very interesting and very attractive, and most people want to know how they can get their own copy. All you have to do is send £5 to the address below! Instead of text book definitions this poster shows what ecology is by what ecologists do. There are 15 topics each illustrated by an interesting and attractive coloured photograph, each provided by different ecologists, most of them members of the BES. Each provided some text which was edited by ETCC member Margaret Palmer and then chewed over several times by ETCC. This was to ensure that the ecology, presented in 'bite-sized chunks', was in a consistent style and in suitable language for the average secondary school pupil, yet had lost none of the scientific integrity of the original source. As such it was a excellent example of ecological scientists and ecologists involved in education collaborating to communicate science.

An enterprise like this needs to start with good content but once we had assembled our material we enlisted the services of Bill and Chris Stotesbury and their 'Book-on-the-wall' company. They specialise in producing high quality posters which communicate a lot of information in a form to which everyone will respond. Previous such posters which they have produced have covered such diverse topics as English country churches and the River Medway to breweries and football teams. We hope Ecology - a science which matters will be pinned up wherever secondary pupils line up waiting for their science lesson and that every time they look at it they will notice yet another bite-size chunk providing yet another fascinating insight into the science of ecology. Some, we hope, may start to want to become ecologists themselves but the majority will simply end up by understanding a little more of why ecology is a science which matters and want to know more.

To produce such a poster as this and to mail it to every school in Britain and Ireland is a major undertaking. We considered finding a sponsor as a partner but in the end we did not pursue this very far. This poster is a statement about ecology from none other than the BES itself, acting, quite properly, as the voice of British Ecology. When we fulfil this role we are beholden to nobody but ourselves. We targeted secondary schools because the nearest most members of the public ever get to an ecologist may well be their science/biology teacher at school and because, for most young people, their school experience is likely to shape their attitude to ecology more than anything else. As so often happens, a poster designed for secondary school pupils is likely to be appreciated by the public at large.

To obtain your own Ecology - a science that matters poster write to:

BES ecology poster,
The Book on the Wall Company,
Wyke Lodge,
London Road,
Ryarsh,
West Malling,
Kent, ME19 5AS

enclosing a cheque for £5 made payable to The British Ecological Society

Rooting for a career in Ecology or Environmental Management

Second edition of the BES highly successful careers booklet The BES Careers booklet, produced in collaboration with the Institute of Ecological and Environmental Management (IEEM) and, like the schools poster, edited by Margaret Palmer, ETCC's publications editor, has just been published in its second edition. The full text can be downloaded from the BES web-site but many will want to have high quality hard copy, particularly to pass on to students. Copies of the booklet can be obtained free of charge on receipt of a self-addressed A4 envelope with stamps to the value of 75p from the BES office:

BES,
26, Blades Court,
Deodar Rd.,
Putney,
LONDON, SW15 2NU