One of the UK’s leading environmentalists will be giving a public talk at the University of Plymouth to raise awareness of the pressures facing the nation’s nature.
Tony Juniper CBE, Executive Director for Advocacy and Campaigns at WWF-UK and President of the Wildlife Trusts, will be speaking at the event on Friday 5 October.
His talk will call for the creation of new laws to reduce current threats to our environment and examine what we can do to restore it to its former state.
This would include stopping the destruction of species and wildlife sites, and ensuring our seas remain clean, plastic and pollution free, and protected by sustainable practices such as marine conservation zones.
He will also talk about sustainable food and farming, including protection for pollinators, informed consumer purchasing, and environmental justice, especially giving young people a voice about the type of world they want to live in. The event is being organised jointly by the University’s Sustainable Earth Institute and the Devon Wildlife Trust and tickets are on sale now.
Professor Iain Stewart, Director of the Sustainable Earth Institute and President of the Devon Wildlife Trust, said:
“At the moment it all seems to be political doom and gloom. But with a Secretary of State for the Environment who has pushed biodiversity to the forefront of the countryside agenda, this is a real opportunity in the UK to secure genuine safeguards for nature and promote far more effective long-term sustainable thinking. An Environmental Act will be the cornerstone to delivering on all of that.”
Tony Juniper, awarded an Honorary Doctorate by the University in 2013, has been a campaigner, writer, sustainability adviser and environmentalist for more than 30 years.
During that time he has provided ecology and conservation experiences for primary school children, made the case for new recycling laws, and orchestrated international campaigns for action on rainforests and climate change.
He is a former Executive Director of Friends of the Earth, and has written numerous books including the multi-award winning 2013 best-seller What has Nature ever done for us? He was made a CBE in 2017 for services to conservation.
His talk on Friday 5 October will start at 7pm, and will be followed by refreshments and networking. Tickets cost £10 per person or £5 for students.
