As 2021 begins, we are at a precarious time in both human and natural history. Human-made objects now outweigh all living things on planet earth, and over 8,000 species are threatened with extinction due to human actions(1).

Most business models of the 21st century have a net negative impact on nature. They fundamentally rely on using natural resources – oil for fuel, land for infrastructure, cotton for textiles – with few incentives to replace or regenerate what is lost.

What would the world be, once bereft
Of wet and of wildness? Let them be left,
O let them be left, wildness and wet;
Long live the weeds and the wilderness yet.

Last year we had fantastic contributions from across the full range of STEM departments.

We are again looking for inspiring women to speak to our attendees about their applied science/research/programmes, and the impact they have on our daily lives. 

My title echoes one of my favourite poems (by Thomas Hardy), which seems particularly apt just now. As I write, we in the UK are in our second period of lockdown and the mood of uncertainty and gloom is pervasive (not helped by the darkening days). COVID-19 is our clearest signal yet that, in our interconnected world, what happens far away impinges directly on our lives, wherever we live. The…