Wild Researchers Night
To celebrate the 60th anniversary of our Vivarium, 25 years of conservation work and our Wild exhibition, come join us for an evening showcasing wonderfully wild research happening in Manchester and beyond.
Take part in a range of fun activities at our researcher stations, have a seat and listen to our short talk series or get a closer look at the animals our Vivarium has been working hard to conserve.
A wide variety of researchers across science, humanities and the arts will be at the evening presenting exciting wild research in areas including conservation, land rights, sustainability and animal behaviour. Additionally, meet the incredible people from local groups, such as Ardwick Climate Action and Treescapes, who are working hard to protect and engage people with nature locally in Manchester.
You’ll have the chance to meet and hear from researchers from the University of Manchester, University of Salford, Manchester Metropolitan University, Chester Zoo, RSPB and more.
Event programme
Curator Spotlight Tours (6.15-8.15pm)
Wild, Ground Floor
Meet the Wild exhibition curators and hear the fascinating research stories underpinning the exhibition.
6:15pm Join David Gelsthorpe, Curator of Earth Sciences, in taking a closer look at what happens when we introduce animals back into wild landscapes, from Dorset to Yellowstone National Park.
6:45pm Learn about cultural revegetation with Alexandra Alberda, Curator of Indigenous Perspectives, and how the Noongar people have been restoring their cultural lands.
7:15pm Have a closer look at the fantastic bugs and beasties that have returned to the Knepp Estate with Diana Arzuza Buelvas, Curator of Entomolgy.
7:45pm Is it only special if it’s rare? Find wild in the everyday and urban with Rachel Webster, Curator of Botany.
Research Talks (6-8pm)
Kanaris Lecture Theatre, Floor 2
6pm Look into the past 25 years of conservation at Manchester Museum’s Vivarium on its 60th anniversary Matthew O’Donnell (Curator of Herpetology, Manchester Museum)
6:30pm Re-imagining Treescapes in collaboration with children and young people – Kate Pahl, Samyia Ambreen, and Caitlin Nunn (Manchester Metropolitan University)
7pm Explore the impacts of microplastics on sea turtles – Leah Costello (The University of Manchester)
7:30pm Uptown Gulls: The secret lives of seagulls – Alice Risely (The University of Salford)
Research Stations (6-8.30pm)
Wild, Ground Floor
- Meet the Treescapes team
Main Hall, Ground Floor
- MossWorlds: Manchester’s Wild Mosses
- The RoundView toolkit for sustainability
- Nature Recovery, Restoration and Rewilding MSc
- Greater Manchester Combined Authority
Kanaris Foyer, Floor 2
- Treemarkable installation
Living Worlds, Floor 1
- Use of Endangered animals in traditional medicine
- RSPB Greater Manchester Swift Champions
- Seaweed Saves the World? Seaweed cultivation on the West Coast of Scotland
- Cultural keystone species and inclusive conservation in Kenya
- Hedgehog watch: Learning from Citizen Science with Chester Zoo
- Infrastructuring Everest: Development and Change on the Roof of the World
- Wild and healthy guts: wildlife conservation from the inside out
Nature’s Library, Floor 2
- Vivarium
- Poetries of Extinction: inspired by the Museum’s extinct and endangered bird specimens
- Animal Whiskers are Wild! The use of whiskers for touch sensing
- Walk on the Wild Side-all about dogs!
- Can you see the original colour? Understanding colour change through fossilisation
- Fantastic Beasts and how to mimic them? The practical application of beetle biology
Top Floor
- What’s in the mud and stone beneath our feet? Exploring changing landscapes of the past
- Indigenous Archaeology from the air, on land or underwater
- Community Research Partnerships and Co-Creation on Air Pollution: How Civic collaboration can positively inform science and data
- Community of Stewardship for the River Dee (Film)
- Rewilding: Balancing Land Carbon and Culture