Several members of the Centre for Landscape Regeneration attended the British Ecological Society Annual Meeting 2025, held in Edinburgh from 15–18 December. The conference attracts around 1,500 ecologists each year and provides opportunities to share research, develop skills, and build collaborations through plenary talks, thematic sessions, workshops and networking events.
The 2025 programme featured internationally renowned plenary speakers, including Sandra Díaz, Joe Roman, Tom Heap and Bridget Emmett, alongside a wide range of thematic sessions exploring conservation, agriculture, climate change and emerging ecological methods.
CLR researchers engaged across the programme, contributing to discussions on biodiversity, land management and regenerative approaches, while also connecting with policy makers, practitioners and researchers from the UK and internationally.
CLR members attending BES 2025 included Barbara Neto-Bradley, Jack Shutt, Neil Mahon, Lynn Dicks, Ellie Kent, David Coomes, and Jess Williams. From the Agroecology group, Jack Shutt presented work on the biodiversity potential of wood pasture, while Neil Mahon shared research on the benefits of regenerative agriculture in the Fens for ground beetles.
From left to right: Neil Mahon, Lynn Dicks, Alisa Harris, Katherine Berthon (kneeling), Jack Schutt, Jacqui James, Nynke Blömer, Sarah Scott
Reflections from Ellie Kent
I really enjoyed attending the BES conference. It was a great opportunity to meet new people and build connections with potential collaborators not only from the UK, but also across Europe and the Americas.
I was particularly impressed by how well organised the talks and workshops were, and by the effort made to bring together speakers with different perspectives. Some of the most engaging discussions explored the role of big business and finance in conservation, the ethical challenges this raises for ecologists, and how these relationships might be navigated. I also valued the chance to engage more directly with conservation policy, especially through discussions involving colleagues from Natural England and NatureScot — something I don’t often do in my day-to-day work.
From a research perspective, my interests in LiDAR, bioacoustics and biodiversity in Scotland aligned closely with several talks, particularly from the WrEN and TreE PlaNat projects. One finding that stood out was that planted woodlands showed higher vertical complexity and faster biomass accumulation, while naturally colonised woodlands had greater horizontal complexity — a result that strongly resonates with my own work and data.
There was also a lot of excitement around emerging methods, including eDNA (especially airborne eDNA) and bioacoustics. I was in my element during the bioacoustics sessions, which explored applications across taxa and the use of machine learning for automated species identification. While I was surprised there wasn’t a dedicated remote sensing or LiDAR session, I still found relevant posters and had great conversations — often over a glass of wine.
Overall, it was a really enjoyable and inspiring experience. And, of course, the full ceilidh, live band and karaoke on the final night were a fantastic bonus.
Read more about the full programme HERE