OPAL – explore nature, wherever you are, whoever you are

OPAL (OPen Air Laboratories) is a Lottery-funded citizen science project, led by Imperial College, London, which has been running since 2007. Plymouth University has been one of the OPAL partners from the very beginning. Activities were originally limited to England, but since 2014 we‘ve been working in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland too. OPAL exists to encourage people to get outside and start exploring their environment, while taking part in real scientific studies. Working locally, our participants help contribute toRead more

Rewilding: wild by nature?

Rewilding has been causing a storm in recent months: debates over the reintroduction of beavers, wolves and lynx; renewed challenges to food and farming systems; recent calls to shake up what has been termed a ‘feudal system’ of land-ownership in Britain. The concept and practice of rewilding seems to generate a stream of (often quite polarised) opinions and sentiments – some romantic, others quite militant. So why is this; why is the term ‘rewilding’ so provocative in a way that,Read more