Miranda Bane

Photo of participants sitting in a circle in the garden with golden dappled light text below says: Funded by a British Ecological Society outreach grant

In the new year we will be working with the Hort-Ecologists to produce artwork and a zine to communicate the results and share the amazing outputs. Huge thank you to The British Ecological Society for funding this project and to the inspiring Hort-Ecology volunteers for their time & ideas 🌱

Presentation slide showing hand written text and drawings of people’s responses to the nature observation.

People responded positively to the more biodiverse or nature friendly squares. The paving slab and plastic grass were associated with boredom, sadness and anger. It was heart warming to see the prose, poetry and drawings that people produced - “I smel bees” had to be my favourite

Presentation slide showing photos of people participating in the nature observation activity and the information board in the gardens.

The Hort-Ecologists designed an observational and mindful activity called “Moments in Nature”. Visitors to the garden were invited to use their senses to explore squares representing different garden types: a flowery meadow, long grass, a neat lawn, a paving slab & plastic grass

Presentation slide showing the flow diagram: knowledge sharing, scientific methods, and activity development with photos of participants sitting in the garden

We took a participatory approach, working with garden volunteers - ‘Hort-Ecologists’ to share knowledge and collaboratively develop an activity around a research question of their choice. Everyone brought something to the table and our 4 workshops brimmed with ideas.

The Hidden gardens logo above a photo of the garden with many green plans and flowers in bloom and an illustrated map of the garden

The Hidden Gardens is a sanctuary green space in the heart of Glasgow Southside. An oasis of nature grown from a derelict tram shed it serves one of the most diverse neighbourhoods in Scotland by tackling social isolation and the challenges faced by more deprived communities.

Miranda standing by the lectern on stage at the BES conference with the title slide of her Hort-Ecology talk behind

Reflecting on the wonderful #BES2023 conference in Belfast last week. It was a joy to hang out with so many inspirational ecology people, and an honour to talk about the Hort-Ecology project I ran this summer with Emily May Armstrong at the Hidden Gardens in #Glasgow

An excellent start to #BES2023 in Belfast with a welcome from the chair Yadvinder Malhi and plenary lecture from @isabella_tree Inspirational images of the @KneppWilding estate. Sparked lots of discussion over tea about land use, #agriculture, #rewilding and future pathways.

A good point, and well-illustrated #NotJustBees #ento

Image of presentation title slide. Title of talk: The UK Pollinator Monitoring Scheme in Scotland, by Miranda Bane, Martin Harvey, Claire Carvell and Robin Hutchinson, with a close up photo of a solitary bee.

TODAY: Flies...pollination...the field site with the best view! Intrigued? Join me at the Dipterists Day with @DipteristsForum & @NtlMuseumsScot (link to join online). Can't wait to speak on behalf of UK PoMS about the Pollinator Monitoring Scheme in Scotland. dipterists.org.uk/news/update-...