Exciting News - Registration has opened for Scotland's Nature Student Conference 2026. Join us at the University of Stirling on 3rd and 4th March. #SNSC2026 For more information go to: scotnsconference.wixsite.com/2026

A great couple of days at #SNSC2025! My colleagues @bsbiscotland.bsky.social & @sarahelizwoods.bsky.social really enjoyed chatting with the students about #PlantAtlas2020 & hearing the brilliant talks. Huge thanks to the @scotnsconf.bsky.social team on a great event & many thanks for inviting us!

And that’s a wrap - A final thank you to all of the organising committee at the conference this year, our keynote speakers, the team at the botanic gardens, all presenters and everyone who attended the event - looking forward to doing it all again next year! Hope you enjoyed the puns! #SNSC2025

Finally, Eileen Stuart from NatureScot @naturescot.bsky.social and Naomi Housego @nchousego.bsky.social from the organising committee gave some closing remarks to summarise the conference #SNSC2025

Great to get along to @scotnsconf.bsky.social this week - two great days at RBGE talking to student naturalists about wild plants and their interests. We talked skill levels, training, data, recording, Sticky Catchfly and arctic alpines (obviously inspired by @sarahwatts.bsky.social!)

A beaver themed prize giving! 🦫 - Eileen Stuart then presented the prizes for best talk to James Macarthur at UHI Inverness and the best poster to Alice Turner from the University of Stirling. #SNSC2025 PS - I promise it wasn’t rigged towards the organisers!

After lunch Naomi Housego @nchousego.bsky.social led the delegates through a British Ecological Society policy workshop! #SNSC2025

I get by with a little help from my trends - Beatrix Ward with a poster titled: Effects of anthropogenic land-use and abiotic environmental factors on the community structure of carrion beetles (Silphinae spp.) #SNSC2025

Tree are the champions! - Ben Wilson with a poster titled: Tree-mendous change: exploring the effects of implementing alternative forest management in Scotland #SNSC2025

The farm before the storm - Izzy Turner with a poster titled: Impacts of agricultural practice on the abundance of soil microarthropod functional groups #SNSC2025

Open bike night - Jane Evans with a poster titled: A Question of Perception - How does the Scottish Mountain Biking Community view its ecological and environmental impact & what are the implications for Site Managers with regards to future engagement and education? #SNSC2025

Fish-ion impossible - Mateus Henrique Amaral and Leandro Luiz Giatti with a poster titled: Environmental conflicts between small-scale fishers and the energy sector in Brazilian coastal food systems #SNSC2025

It’s all about the process! - Adelaide Sander with a poster titled: Restoring nature by understanding decisions #SNSC2025

Then and now - plant atlas 2020 with a poster titled: understanding changes in Scotlands flora #SNSC2025

Understanding a nature based solution - Isla Kendall with a poster titled: what makes a nature-based solution? #SNSC2025

Talk on the wild side - Christina Mazilu with a poster titled: Evolving meanings of ‘wild’ and ‘rewilding’ in Scotland #SNSC2025

To tree or not to tree - Sarah Mullally with a poster titled: To plant or not to plant? Efficacy and impacts of woodland expansion in upland soils. #SNSC2025

Nothing grey about these partridges - Lara Auld and Georgia Gargett with a poster titled: A decade of partridges at Balgonie #SNSC2025

Beavers forced to have a ready meal when near humans - Alice turner with a poster titled: Human disturbance affects beaver foraging #SNSC2025

Ticking off the poster session - William McLellan with a poster titled: Humans shape their own exposure to ticks through a "landscape of fear" #SNSC2025

Now it’s time for the posters #SNSC2025

Our final keynote talk of the conference comes from the fantastic Dr Janet Fisher at the University of Edinburgh. Her research highlights the challenges in achieving outcomes for people nature and climate! #SNSC2025

Forget about Alan, it’s time for the Grey Partridge! - Our last student talk of the conference comes from Georgia Gargett and Lara Auld who are highlighting a conservation management approach for grey partridge recovery from the Balgonie Estate #SNSC2025

Stop the noise! 🔇- Jess Lister is highlighting the knowledge gaps and challenges surrounding anthropogenic noise research in freshwater systems #SNSC2025

Forget the pearls, it’s all about the microbiome! - our next talk comes from Alanna McCallum who is using nanopore sequencing to explore the microbiome of freshwater pearl mussels #SNSC2025

A killer talk! - Grace Brady talking us through how prey mapping of Atlantic herring can be used to inform killer whale foraging ecology! #SNSC2025

Our second student keynote of the week comes from Alex Currie. His PhD research looked at using a multidisciplinary approach to understand the perception of peatland restoration and how this influences the likelihood of uptake from communities in Lewis #SNSC2025

Can you hear the difference? - Our final beaver talk of the day comes from Alex Adams who is using bioacoustics to understand the impacts of beavers on birds and bats! 🦫🐦‍⬛🦇 #SNSC2025

Could beavers be a solution to pollinator declines? - continuing the theme of beavers this morning, Patrick Cook talks about the role of beaver wetlands in creating heterogenous habitats for pollinators! 🦫🐝 #SNSC2025

A dam good talk from Emily Simpson @emofthewoods.bsky.social on the role of beaver ponds in sediment trapping and recognising beaver ponds for carbon accreditation 🦫 #SNSC2025

First up on day 2 of the conference we have David Bryan talking us through monitoring greenhouse gas emissions from ponds #SNSC2025

An inspiring opening welcome from Eileen Stuart for day 2 of our Scotland Nature Student Conference! #SNSC2025

Thankyou to the ~100 attendees at the Scotland Nature Student conference in Edinburgh. Brilliant talks from all presenters, great keynotes from Mathew Williams and Sarah Watts and an insightful panel discussion on “Nature Restoration and the role of people” chaired by Professor Colin Galbraith.

@passerbliss.bsky.social Eliza Ralph ending a fantastic first day of the Scotland Nature Student conference with a talk highlighting how games can be used to engage and inspire conservation action #SNSC2025

Seal or no deal! - Claire Stainfield looks at the impacts of human disturbance on seal distribution at the seal protection zone at Newburgh Beach #SNSC2025

Peat and Tidy - next up we have Ginebra Lavao highlighting the importance of integrating community engagement into peatland restoration! #SNSC2025

Back to our 2nd session of student talks: James Macarthur looks at using eDNA to understand the impacts of beavers on the distribution of migratory fish species at a catchment scale! #SNSC2025

Time for our exciting panel discussion on “Nature Restoration and the role of people” in both Scotland and globally! #SNSC2025 @naturescot.bsky.social

No fake plastic trees on these mountains! - Our first student keynote of the conference is @sarahwatts.bsky.social who is blending both research and practice to highlight how and why we can successfully restore mountain woodlands in Scotland #SNSC2025

A pearl of a study - Naomi Kennon and Anna Inman highlighting how citizen science is helping to facilitate European flat oyster recolonisation in Scotland! #SNSC2025

How does this photo make you feel? or shape your mood? - Next up we have Anna Stacey, highlighting how visual media can be used to evoke an emotive response from nature #SNSC2025

Amphibians need pedestrian crossings - keeping the theme of SUDS, Kirsty MacArthur is looking at how environmental conditions impact the presence of amphibians at SUDS. Fascinating to see both the interspecific variations between species alongside trends across the 4 amphibian species #SNSC2025

Do Sustainable Urban Drainage Ditches (SUDS) benefit hoverflies? - our first student talk from Andrada Opris looks at how pollinator assemblages vary in sites with and without SUDS, alongside comparing traditional trapping techniques and environmental DNA (eDNA) #SNSC2025

A quick thank you to all of the partners who have contributed to the event this year - it would not have been possible without them! #SNSC2025

@nchousego.bsky.social has managed to arrange an evening event at The Orchard Pub this evening - a welcomed break from her PhD writing to craft this sign! #SNSC2025

Our first keynote is Professor Mat Williams, Chief Scientific Adviser on Environment, Natural Resources and Agriculture for the Scottish Government - highlighting how the Scottish Government can integrate Nature and Scientific research into national strategies 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 #SNSC2025

And we’re off! - looking forward to two days of discussing all things Scotland and Nature at the Royal Botanic Gardens in Edinburgh #SNSC2025

Thank you to everyone who has signed up to SNSC2025. Due to a fantastic response we have closed registration. To be added to our waiting list email: [email protected]

Registration is open for Scotland's Nature Student Conference! snsconference.wixsite.com/2025. Click the link to register: forms.gle/sEhSQWsF5SXK...

SAVE THE DATE: Scotland’s Nature Student Conference 2025 - 'People, Nature and Climate' on 18th & 19th March at RBGE! Coming soon: Visit snsconference.wixsite.com/2025 for information on registering.