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Interdisciplinary Research Hub on Sustainability & Conservation

The Wolfson College Interdisciplinary Research Hub on Sustainability & Conservation is experimenting with convening interested individuals and organisations to inform, educate, and explore disruptive solutions to combat the destruction of the natural world.

Page contents
Theory of Change  |  Events  |  Wolfson Living Lab  |  S&C Stories  |  Mentoring  |  S&C Library Collection  |  People & Getting Involved  |  News  |  Donations  |  Other Resources  |  Themes discussed  |  Cambridge Resilience Webs  |

 

The Sustainability & Conservation Hub logo

 

Destruction of the natural world is the international problem of our times and a truly interdisciplinary challenge. As the threat of ecological collapse effects us all, our work draws from Wolfson’s international and diverse network, membership and friends to help trigger the deep changes needed to wider global systems. We accomplish this through an interdisciplinary focus, multi-generational collaboration and systems thinking. 

Contact: sc-hub@wolfson.cam.ac.uk
Facebook: click here

With strengths of diversity and subject inclusion, we connect returning professionals, new students from 85+ nations, world-leading researchers and engaged external individuals and organisations. In doing so, we convene a wide variety of disciplines, generations and networks through events, projects, mentoring and more.

See a testimonial from one of our Proactive Members and Wolfson alumnus, Ms. Golnar Malek.

We seek to nurture a community of ambition, leadership and action. Utilising our maturity of experience and global reach, we hope to appropriately equip the future 'green' decision makers and thought leaders across disciplines and industries for the betterment of the natural world and global society.

Page updated: Fri 16 July 2021

 

 

Theory of Change (what we do and how)

In our Theory of Change (ToC), we use the metaphor of a tree and the language of ‘branches’ to describe sets of activities that share a characteristic. No one branch is ‘above’ the other, and by growing each branch we nurture the whole community (the trunk). Our ToC is therefore ever-developing and under constant revision. And so it grows. The graphics below are accompanied by a textual strategy document (updated April 2021), describing each branch in greater detail. An interactive ToC graphic is currently in development.

Theory of Change and timeline for 2021
Updated July 2021 - you can also access the timeline image here.

 

Theory of Change version history:

Version 1.3 - Lee Hall session - 8 Oct 2020 

Version 2.1 - Proactive Members and Convenors - 11 Nov 2020

Version 2.2 - Kickstarting a Green 2021 @ Wolfson - 26 Feb 2021

Version 3.1 - Feb-June 2021

Version 3.2 - (current)

 

 

Activities

Want further information on anything on this page, email: sc-hub@wolfson.cam.ac.uk

 

Events Programme 2021

Full Events Programme 2021

New events added as our plans develop.

Hub monthly meet ups - last Friday of each month
Event Date (Time)
Kickstarting a Green 2021 @ Wolfson
> find the live minutes document here.		 Fri 26 Feb 2021 (16:00-17:00)
Green Society + S&C Hub collab; Green talk - Climate Fail: How the green movement made climate change worse... And how we can fix it
> watch the recording here.		 Wed 7 April (18:00-19:00)

Milestone: Wolfson Research Event (WRE)

28 - 30 April
WRE: Wolfson S&C Stories (posters)
> see poster here		 Wed 28 - Fri 30 April
Monthly meet up Fri 30 April
WRE: How to be more interdisciplinary confident & friendly Tues 4 May (14:30-16:30)
COP26: Climate Exp0 - Green Recovery poster presentation (Wolfson S&C Stories)
> see poster: Resource Efficiency through Collaboration and Interdisciplinarity		 Mon 17 May
Monthly meet up Fri 28 May
Monthly meet up Fri 25 June

Milestone: S&C Hub Anniversary Week (S&C AW)

5 - 11 July
S&C AW: Pathway to a sustainable future: Wolfson Who's who (Fellows-only) Mon 5 July
S&C AW: Wolfson S&C Stories webpages launch Tues 6 July
S&C AW: Wants + Offers list: Year Past Year Ahead Thur 8 July
S&C AW: Beyond Net-Zero: what does a regenerative College look like? (Lee Hall) Fri 9 July
S&C AW: S&C Hub Formal Hall (Dining Hall) Fri 9 July
S&C AW: S&C Hub Informal Social (Wolfson bar) Sat 10 July
S&C AW: Annual Report released Sun 11 July
Monthly meet up Fri 30 July
Monthly meet up Fri 27 Aug
Monthly meet up Fri 24 Sept

Milestone: COP26 at Wolfson

18 - 29 Oct
COP26 at Wolfson: Green Week 18 - 24 Oct
COP26 at Wolfson: Model COP26 25 - 29 Oct
Monthly meet up Fri 29 Oct

United Nations COP26 Climate Change Conference 2021

1 - 12 Nov
S&C Hub Social (last monthly meet up of 2021) Fri 26 Nov
All past events (recorded)

All available Wolfson event recordings can be found on Wolfsons Media Collection.
Event Date (Time)

Green Society + S&C Hub collab; Green talk - Climate Fail: How the green movement made climate change worse... And how we can fix it
> watch the recording here.

 Wed 7 April (18:00-19:00)

Kickstarting a Green 2021 @ Wolfson
> find the live minutes document here.

 Fri 26 Feb 2021 (16:00-17:00)

Hub Progress + Looking Forward - S&C Hub Open meeting
> watch the recording here.

 Mon 14 Dec 2020 (13:00-14:00)

ASEAN Emerging Researchers Hub - Challenges in Global Development: Sustainability and Conservation
> watch the recording here.

 Mon 30 Nov 2020 (09:30-11:30)

Devising our Theory of Change
> minutes/version history found above.

 Thur 8 Oct 2020 (12:30-13:30)

Why do we care and the beginnings of action - S&C Hub
> watch the recording here.
> compiled minutes here.

 Fri 11 Sept 2020 (13:00-14:30)

Issues we care about - S&C Hub
> watch the recording here.
> compiled minutes here.

 Fri 10 July 2020 (13:00-14:00)

Upcoming...

COP26 at Wolfson

18 - 29 Oct
Green Week 18 - 24 Oct
Model COP26 25 - 29 Oct






In the build up to the United Nations COP26 Climate summit hosted in Glasgow in November 2021, the S&C Hub will be hosting a fortnight of activities. Organised by a working group of ~20 individuals, including expert Wolfson alumni and ex-diplomats, current students, Fellows and staff, as well as University staff. More information TBA.

To join the COP26 at Wolfson working group, contact sc-hub@wolfson.cam.ac.uk. We are led by S&C Hub Proactive Member, Ms. Rae White.

 

The Wolfson College Living Lab

The Wolfson College Living Lab platforms and supports projects that have an actionable or demonstrable ‘green’ impact to the College estate, its community or its wider network.

Visit the Wolfson College Living Lab.

Special thanks to the Domestic Bursar, the Alumni & Development Office, the Hoath Family for their generous donation, and Charlie Barty-King. Testimonials:

 

Wolfson's Sustainability & Conservation Stories

Grown from the Curation & Librarianship branch of our Theory of Change tree, we want to capture and celebrate both the individual, and Wolfson's collective, successes in sustainability, climate action and the natural world from the past and present, and into the future 🌿📖 submit a story, anecdote, or other media:

Visit the Wolfson Sustainability & Conservation Stories

Special thanks for the S&C Stories working group:

  • Konstantinos Korakakis (student)
  • Golnar Malek (alumni)
  • Steve Evans (Fellow)
  • Matthias Wong (staff)
  • Charlie Barty-King (student)
  • Caroline Elvidge (staff)

 

Mentoring

Providing avenues for Wolfson alumni, Fellows and friends to mentor the Wolfson student body and staff, creating cross-talk, training and knowledge transfer across an international community. Being a mentor is as involved or low maintenance as desired, from a casual chat, to advising on projects, to actively supervising students academically or otherwise.

Read Wolfson alumnus Alain Kilajian's experience mentoring Santiago Sottil as Santiago completed his Waste to Art project and became the first recipient of the Wolfson Living Lab Award (2021).

Interested in hearing more or becoming a mentor? Email: sc-hub@wolfson.cam.ac.uk

 

S&C Hub library collection

Grown from the Curation & Librarianship branch of our Theory of Change tree, we are developing an approach to curation and librarianship of sustainability and conservation knowledge. Therefore, as a first step and in collaboration with the Wolfson Library, we have created a Wolfson Sustainability & Conservation Library Collection. This will feature relevant books, outputs and materials on the theme of sustainability or conservation in their broadest sense. For now, we take a particular focus on published works of Wolfson alumni, Wolfson student academic reports, and outputs from the Wolfson Living Lab and S&C Stories.

A page is under construction, however, so far in the S&C Hub Library Collection are:

If you would like works featured, please contact us directly: sc-hub@wolfson.cam.ac.uk

 

Cambridge Resilience Webs ⛳️ 

Interactive webs of environmental (and some social justice) related organisations in Cambridge, covering both the City and the University ⛳️ 

Visit the Cambridge Resilience Web

Developed in collaboration by volunteers from Transition Cambridge, Cambridge Doughnut, Lena Morrill and Charlie Barty-King. All code and data is open source on github; university and city.

 

 

News

 

People, Connections, and Getting Involved

We are open to all people: public, professional and academic 🌿

Join as a:

  • Member
  • Proactive Member
  • Convenor
  • Wolfson Fellow
Members 🍀


Members 🍀

The growing list of S&C Hub members.

Are you a Wolfson College member past or present? Join Wolfson Connect, the College's official Alumni portal.

Proactive Members  🌿


Proactive Members  🌿

Members who are proactively involved in our projects and organisational meetings.

Santiago Sottil
Anne Waburi
Caleb Deck
Keshav Srinivasan
Konstantinos Korakakis
Nyandire Reinhard Bonke
Rae White
Golnar Malek
Charlie Barty-King

Convenors 🍃


Convenors 🍃 (comprised of Fellows, Students, Staff and Alumni)

The organising group

Charlie Barty-King
Sian Cook
Steve Evans
John French
Rae White
Matthias Wong
Nyandire Reinhard Bonke
Konstantinos Korakakis
Caroline Elvidge

Previous Convenors

Guillaume Nataf
Richard Manlove
Matthias Wong

Wolfson Fellows 🐺💚


Wolfson Fellows 🐺💚

A growing list of the Wolfson's fellowship (in order of addition) working within the broad themes of sustainability or conservation.

Professor Steve Evans
Professor John French
Dr Anna Dempster
Professor Alexei Lapkin
Professor Dick Fenner
Dr Steve Hoath
Dr Thomas McCoy
Professor Christi Deaton
Dr Sue Swaffield
Dr Florence Nabwire
Dr George Kakavelakis
Professor Ann Copestake
Professor Jane Clarke

 

  • To contribute:
    • Come to our events and join in the discussion
    • Reach out to us for a one-on-one meeting
    • Aid our events organisations
    • Create your own project or event with our support
    • Provide mentorship to Wolfson students
    • Donate financial or other resources
    • Join our mailing list

Global issues today are simultaneously individual, collective and societal; everyone should have a say in how to resolve them.

A testimonial from Wolfson alumnus Golnar Malek on 'An amazing journey together', reflections as a member of the S&C Hub.

Email: sc-hub@wolfson.cam.ac.uk

 

 

Donations

Donations in support of the Sustainability and Conservation Hub can be made through Wolfson's Annual Giving page - choose "Other" in Designation and type "S&C Hub Fund".

Alternatively, you can discuss your gift with Sian, our Development Director: development-director@wolfson.cam.ac.uk.

Donations of every size, together, make a huge difference. All S&C Hub activities, costs and awards are funded through generous philanthropy.

 

 

Other Resources

Key Reading

 

Education

 

  • Primary School Energy Mapping educational resource. Free full project resource to teach budding young scientists at Primary Schools the benefits of renewable energy and its potential to permanently replace fossil fuels.
  • OpenGuitar. A project delivering STEM education to children and teenagers from disadvantaged backgrounds through building their own experimental guitars, run by Wolfson CRA (College Research Associate) Dr Fernando Bravo.
Financial

 

  • The Economics of Biodiversity: The Dasgupta Review. Report of the Independent Review on the Economics of Biodiversity led by Professor Sir Partha Dasgupta.
  • Switch It. Find out if your money is funding fossil fuels. Helps to inform you if you should switch bank or energy provider.
  • Make money matter. Making sure your pension is invested with intention. Easy way to make significant difference with minimal effort.
  • Portfolio Earth. An initiative that reports on the banking sector’s role in the global biodiversity crisis. See their report "Bankrolling Extinction".
  • Ethnical Banking. The Queen's College guide to Ethical Banking (part of their Easter Green Week 2021), excellent resource, with accompanying recorded event.
Food

 

  • Cambridge Co-farm. A community run and owned farm. Purchase locally grown and surplus foods to your door with their local delivery service, or see their website for volunteering opportunities and other resources.
  • Food Systems Handbook. 400+ resources on the current global food crisis.
Emissions and Energy

 

General

 

  • A Just Transition  An illuminating report that explains the likely impacts of a transition to low and no-carbon energy sources on human rights, highlighting the need for a Just Transition. Credit: IHRB
  • Cambridge Zero. Cambridge University initiative to combat climate change. Lots of useful resources, information and potential ideas for collaboration.
  • Annual reports. All the annual sustainability report from the University of Cambridge
  • You Plan Your Planet "...a joint project between Google, the California Academy of Sciences and The Ellen MacArthur Foundation designed to help you find simple, everyday, and science-based ways to improve your impact on the planet.".
  • See the S&C Hub's own Professor Steve Evans discussing Manufacturing Sustainability. Recording here, follow up Q&A here.
  • Climate Emergency: Feedback Loops. Free educational video series on the feedback loops of the climate.
  • Christ's College Climate Seminar Series. Free lecture series co-organised with Christ's College and Cambridge's Centre for Science and Policy.
Film/TV, Podcasts and Content Creation

 

  • We Are Albert - Environmental Sustainability in Film & TV. An emerging broadcast authority funded by the industry to regulate environmental sustainability in film and TV, providing FREE resources and training for industry execs and budding film makers alike.
  • The Do One Better Podcast in philanthropy, sustainability and social entrepreneurship. Founded in 2019 by Alberto Lidji, Wolfson alumnus and former CEO of the Novak Djokovic Foundation, with more than 100 episodes featuring Paul Polman, Sir David King, Julia Gillard, David Miliband, David Lynch and many others.
Built Environment

 

Wolfson Specific

Green Talks - a Wolfson termly lecture series by the Wolfson Green Society, all recordings here

  • Book  - Sustainable Masonry in Construction by Mark Key (Wolfson alumnus, used Wolfson site for his book).  Borrow a copy from the Wolfson Library anytime!
  • Video - An introduction to the Wolfson gardens (Phil Stigwood, 2015)
  • Video - A tour of the Wolfson's secret gardens (Oscar Holgate, 2020)
Cambridge Specific

 

  • Online training course pinboard - compiled by Cambridge Researcher Development (CRD) team: all researcher development opportunities available to postgraduate research students across the University, including courses designed and delivered by the CRD team, Public Engagement, the Office of Scholarly Communications, LinkedIn and more.
Relevant Art for inspiration

 

 

 

 

What we have discussed so far

Key questions posed in devising our Theory of Change:

  • What makes you most angry?
  • What makes you most happy?
  • Why are you here and where can we can act as a Hub?
  • What do you think the problem actually is?
  • What can we do about it?
  • What should we do next?

Themes discussed:

  • Personal vs Corporate vs Government Responsibility
  • Climate Change
  • Biodiversity
  • Humanity and Nature
  • How to properly integrate the Arts & Creative industries with S&C?
  • Why isn't all S&C knowledge open source?
  • Sustainable Food Systems
  • Achieving an equitable and just transition for all human beings regardless of circumstance

What words we associated with "sustainability" or "conservation":

S&C Hub keywords association
Keywords asked of attendees while waiting for "Kickstarting a Green 2021 @ Wolfson" to begin (26 Feb 2021)

 

Quick links

Donate here
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