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The DTPs biosphere day took place on 23^rd September at Devonshire Hall, to complete the line-up of spheres workshops for 2015-16.  The aim of the day was to give students a taste of some of the research going on in the biosphere at Leeds University.

The theme for the day was urban ecology and we were lucky to have a great line up of speakers.  First up we had Chris Hassall (school of Biology) to introduce the subject, followed by Tom Doherty-Bone (school of Geography/Biology) discussing his PhD work on freshwater invasive species.

Tom Doherty-Bone explains invasive alien species

Mark Goddard talks about how cities can help bees

After a quick tea and coffee break we heard from Mark Goddard (school of Biology), who presented the question of whether cities can save bees, and finally David Askew (Natural England) wrapped up the morning with a policy and management spin on urban ecology.  After lunch, we got to stretch our legs with a guided tour of Woodhouse Ridge from Nigel Lees (Woodhouse Ridge Action Group) and Joe Coles (Leeds city council), who gave us some natural history of the area and discussed current management issues relating to the area.  Making the most of being outside, we split into teams for a species ID bingo – where each team had to spot as many of the listed species and identify whether they were native or non-native.

Nigel explains the natural history of Woodhouse Ridge to the group

The winning species ID team with their prizes

Back at Devonshire Hall we wrapped up the day with some informal discussions, before finishing up.  Hopefully the day provided a chance for everyone to learn something new, and explore one of the greenspaces right on our doorstep!

Thanks to all our speakers and Nigel and Joe for our informative tour around Woodhouse Ridge.