The British Science Festival in Surrey

August 18, 2009 11:24 by matthewp

This year's British Science Festival is focused around Guildford.

There are events from the 5th to 10th September including a large number of interest to visitors to this blog. For the full list click here.

Here are some excerpts:

  TRANSITION TOWNS: COMMUNITIES PREPARING FOR CLIMATE CHANGE AND PEAK OIL
05/09/2009   10:00-12:00 		cost: free
 
Venue: LT L, University of Surrey
Summary: Climate change and peak oil mean that we are going to have to learn to live using much less oil than we do at present. Transition Towns are community-led responses to prepare for these changes. Find out how we can work together to not only protect our communities from the changes that are coming, but also making them more exciting, fun places to live.
  GAIA VS. GOLDILOCKS
05/09/2009   15:30-17:00 		cost: free
 
Venue: Windsor Building, Royal Holloway University of London, Egham TW20 0EX
Summary: Why does the Earth seem so well suited to life. The Gaia hypothesis is that this is because life has moulded the planet in ways which improve the environment whilst Goldilocks says it is all just good luck. Join Dave Waltham from Royal Holloway University and David Wilkinson of John Moores University as they battle it out for your vote on which seems the better theory.
  FILM SHOW: THE AGE OF STUPID
05/09/2009   19:00-21:30 		cost: £ 2.00
 
Venue:
Summary: The Age of Stupid stars oscar nominated Pete Postlethwaite as a man living alone in the devastated world of 2055 looking at old 2008 footage asking "why didn't we stop climate change when we had the chance?" We will power this outdoor event using a mobile solar generator, so the event will be near zero-carbon. Stay for the post-film debate on "climate change - how to be part of the solution."
 
  A CLIMATE CHANGE WALK THROUGH RHS GARDEN WISLEY
06/09/2009   10:00-16:00 		cost: £ 9.50
 
Venue: Wisley Gardens
Summary: Join gardening experts for a unique tour of the Royal Horticultural Society's flagship garden at Wisley to find out more about how climate change will affect our gardens. The tour covers areas threatened by climate change, like woodland gardens, herbaceous borders and lawns, and examines areas better suited to change, from Mediterranean plantings to orchards. Ticket includes coach transport.
  ENTERING THE ECOLOGICAL AGE: THE ENGINEER'S ROLE
06/09/2009   16:00-17:00 		cost: £ 3.00
 
Venue: Austin Pearce 1, University of Surrey
Summary: Civilisation is entering a new ecological age as we learn to live within environmental limits. Peter Head, a leading expert in urban development, shares his experience in planning and developing cities around the world revealing the profound changes needed if our towns and cities are to adapt to climate change and the vital role engineers have to play within this.
  GOING GREEN WITH THE STRAWBRIDGES
06/09/2009   18:00-19:00 		cost: £ 5.00
 
Venue: Management School, University of Surrey
Summary: What can you do to save energy, reduce your carbon footprint and put a few more pennies in your pocket? Get tips and hints from the expert Dick Strawbridge and his son James as they entertain us with novel ways of combating climate change.
  ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE IN WOKING
07/09/2009   09:00-17:00 		cost: free
Venue: Peacocks Shopping Centre, Woking
Summary: Visit the Thameswey Energy Advice Centre (Unit 26a Commercial Way, Woking, GU21 6EN) and pick up the self guided Thameswey Tour guide. Follow the guide to visit five points of interest in Woking Town Centre where a number of sustainable energy technologies have been deployed to provide alternative local energy sources. The guide explains a number of scientific solutions that have been used.
  GARDENING FOR WILDLIFE: CAN SUBURBIA BECOME BRITAIN'S LARGEST NATURE RESERVE?
07/09/2009   10:00-12:00 		cost: £ 5.00
 
Venue: Austin Pearce 3, University of Surrey
Summary: Most of us now live in towns and cities, but urban areas can provide a home for nature too. By taking a few simple steps, you can turn your own back garden into a haven for wildlife. Come and discover how you can attract vital bees and bugs to your garden or allotment, how these might be affected by climate change, and meet Toby, our bumblebee sniffer dog!
  TOUR OF RENEWABLE ENERGY SYSTEMS LOCAL TO GUILDFORD
07/09/2009   10:00-14:00 		cost: £ 5.00
 
Venue: Guildford High St
Summary: Within and local to Guildford we will visit a small scale hydroelectricity turbine on the river Wey, a school photovoltaic system, a Grade II listed camping barn with rainwater harvesting, solar energy and sustainable construction features, and the Bricks and Bread Sustainable Living Centre. One objective is to show how a community can initiate and implement cutting edge renewable energy systems.
  SURREY SPORTS PARK WALK
08/09/2009   13:00-14:00 		cost: free
Venue: Sports Centre, University of Surrey
Summary: Join us for a walk outside the perimeter fence of the Surrey Sports Park with a talk about the energy saving processes inside the building as part of the environmental sustainability aspects of the site. This tour is open to anyone regardless of age or sporting experience.
  CARBON CAPTURE AND STORAGE IN THE NORTH SEA: A NATIONAL ASSET IN A LOW CARBON FUTURE
08/09/2009   16:00-18:00 		cost: £ 5.00
 
Venue: Austin Pearce 3, University of Surrey
Summary: The need for energy to fuel our daily lives comes at a cost to our environment. By capturing the carbon generated by the coal and oil industries and storing it underground can we offer a solution to climate change? The UK's geological history means there are many possible locations for safely storing carbon. Join us to explore if the UK may be able to sell this storage space to other countries.
  WARNING: GARDEN GRABBING COSTS LIVES
08/09/2009   18:30-20:00 		cost: free
 
Venue: Electric Theatre, Guildford
Summary: Join us to discuss how we are becoming an increasingly urbanised society, and how we use and value our urban green spaces such as parks and gardens. How important is access to green space and what are the implications for our well-being when we are cut off from the natural world? The natural landscape shaped our evolution, but does today’s urban human still have any requirement for it?
  ENERGY FROM THE SURREY HILLS: WIND AND WOOD?
08/09/2009   19:00-21:00 		cost: free
 
Venue: LT D (Griffiths), University of Surrey
Summary: Do we need wind turbines to tackle climate change or is their impact on our greatly valued landscapes a too high a price to pay? Join us to discuss whether we should invest in other sources of renewable energy like wood fuel?
 
  STAND PIPES AND HOSE PIPE BANS: WATER SCARCITY IN SOUTH EAST ENGLAND - MYTH OR SCIENCE?
09/09/2009   09:15-13:00 		cost: £ 5.00
 
Venue: Austin Pearce 3, University of Surrey
Summary: Climate change is expected to make the South East a water stressed area, but what does that mean to me and how can I make a difference? Experts will discuss climate predictions for the region and what it might mean for our drinking water. Come and discover what they are doing and what we can do to avoid hose pipe bans.
  TOUR OF RENEWABLE ENERGY SYSTEMS LOCAL TO GUILDFORD
09/09/2009   10:00-14:00 		cost: £ 5.00
 
Venue: Meet under Guildhall clock in Guildford High Street
Summary: Within and local to Guildford we will visit a small scale hydroelectric turbine on the River Wey, a school photovoltaics system, a Grade II listed camping barn with rainwater harvesting, solar energy and sustainable construction features, and the Bricks and Bread Sustainable Living Centre. An objective will be to show how a community can initiate and implement cutting edge renewable energy systems
  SAVE OUR GIANTS; BUILD A STAG BEETLE LOGGERY
09/09/2009   15:30-17:00 		cost: free
 
Venue:
Summary: Help save the UK's largest native beetle by building a loggery; a home for stag beetles and other insects! Get your hands dirty with all the family and find out all about these fascinating insects whilst helping to stop their populations from declining further.
  LIVING WITH ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE DEBATE
09/09/2009   18:30-20:20 		cost: free
 
Venue: The Stoke Pub, Guildford
Summary: Our planet faces unprecedented change. But what's actually happening, and how are people in the UK living with environmental change? Based on a new 10 year research programme across the UK's Research Councils, a panel of high-profile speakers will take a provocative look at environmental change, how it's affecting our lives, and if the results will actually make us happier in the end.
  IMPACT OF GEOLOGY AND CLIMATE CHANGE ON BRITISH VINEYARD
09/09/2009   19:00-21:00 		cost: £ 5.00
Venue: LT E, University of Surrey
Summary: Learn more about how the record of climate change, past, present and future affected the geology of British Wine growing areas.
  FILM SCREENING: THE AGE OF STUPID
09/09/2009   20:00-22:00 		cost: £ 5.00
Venue: Electric Theatre, Guildford
Summary: As part of the Electric Theatre's Film Festival, join us for a screening of the 'Age of stupid' which stars Oscar-nominated Pete Postlethwaite as a man living alone in the devastated world of 2055. By looking at old clips from 2008, he begings to ask why didn’t we do more to stop climate change when we had the chance?
Venue: LT H, University of Surrey
Summary: Look down our microscopes to get up close and personal with our bloodsucking minibeasts. Wonder at the life cycle stages of Midges that spread bluetongue disease. Be disgusted by the soft ticks that carry African swine fever and quiz our experts about why these tiny creatures can cause so much mayhem to farmers. You could also enter our drawing competition for a prize.
  BEYOND LIVE AID - THE SCIENCE OF PROVIDING CLEAN DRINKING WATER AND SAFE SANITATION
10/09/2009   13:30-17:00 		cost: £ 5.00
 
Venue: Austin Pearce 3, University of Surrey
Summary: In the UK, we turn on the tap and get clean drinking water. We flush the toilet, and our waste is taken away for treatment. But for 2 billion people worldwide that isn’t the case. Speakers from government, university and charities will discuss the science of water and sanitation development, how climate change will affect it and use water footprints to show our impact on water overseas.
  TOO HOT TO HANDLE
10/09/2009   16:30-18:00 		cost: £ 5.00
 
Venue: LT G, University of Surrey
Summary: How is scientific uncertainty represented in the media? How might scientific uncertainty and environmental risks be better communicated? How do different publics deal with risk, controversy and uncertainty in relation to different issues? And how have public perceptions of risk changed over time? Join us to explore some of the hotter issues in science.


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