The summer holidays got off to a ‘flying’ start for local youngsters when EDDC’s Countryside Team joined other local organisations with a rural theme at the annual Natural Seaton Festival.
The event was organised by the Seaton Visitor Centre Trust to celebrate the geological and ecological wealth of the town.
The first EDDC Countryside event of the weekend was Meet the Bats led by Fiona Mathews, Senior Lecturer in Mammalian Biology at Exeter University. Eleven of our 15 native species of bat have been recorded on the Axe Estuary Wetlands in Seaton, and electronic bat...
Everyone wants to get in on the graduation festivities at Exeter– even the animals! The University of Exeter’s resident gorilla, currently based in the Forum, is the result of a competition in which students were set the task of designing their very own Great Gorilla.
More than 70 fun and innovative entries were put forward and the winning design was Meriel Royal’s globetrotting Gorilla. Meriel, a third year English undergraduate, was inspired by the idea of the Gorilla making stops around the world and collecting stamps of other endangered animals, before finally arriving in Devon...
An evening of Tango and Salsa dance organised by a local nurse has raised £2,000 for Hospiscare.
More than 60 dance enthusiasts attended the Latin dance event, held at Reed Hall, Exeter University, which featured dance demonstrations, lessons and a live tango orchestra.
The evening was organised by nurse Mo Ross in memory of her sister, Geraldine Privett, who received Hospiscare after being diagnosed with a terminal illness in 2012. Geraldine was a ward clerk at Whipton Hospital up until her illness started.
Mo said: “My sister was diagnosed in May 2012, her first...
More than 4,200 students at the University of Exeter will be celebrating their graduation between 15 and 22 July. Ceremonies at the Great Hall on the University’s main Streatham campus and at Truro Cathedral will be presided over by the University’s Chancellor, Baroness Floella Benjamin OBE DL. She will personally greet each graduand and inspire them to use their education to make a difference in the world.
Inspiration will also come from 11 Honorary Graduates; senior figures from the NHS, Church of England, higher education, sport and media. From the local area these include Dr...
Teams from as far afield as France, Ireland, the Netherlands, Australia and Mexico came to Exeter last month to compete in the first ever One Planet Sustainability Challenge. 15 teams in total participated in the competition.
In the United Nations designated Year of Water Cooperation, the event was partnered by three companies all of whom face real challenges in their water management strategies, Coca Cola Enterprises (CCE), SABMiller and South West Water. They were joined by two supporting partners, WWF and Water Aid. In 2012, CCE used a total of 8.8 billion litres of water,...
Professor Sir Steve Smith left the UK on Sunday 30 June, accompanying Prime Minister David Cameron and a delegation of business leaders on an intensive two-day trip to Kazakhstan designed to promote the UK’s expertise in the energy and mining sectors.
Kazakhstan is a huge country the size of Western Europe, with vast mineral resources and enormous economic potential. It is amongst the 20 largest oil producers in the world. It is rich in natural resources, including minerals, gas, and heavy rare earth metals (HRE).
The Vice-Chancellor is representing the world renowned...
Wild bird populations are generally thought to benefit from being given additional food in winter, but our understanding of the effects of such food provision is incomplete. The results of a new study, carried out by researchers at the University of Exeter and the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO), has found that feeding wild blue tits in winter resulted in less successful breeding during the following spring.
The research, just published in Scientific Reports, revealed that woodland blue tits that were provided with fat balls as a supplementary food during the winter months went...
Mindfulness – a mental training that develops sustained attention that can change the ways people think, act and feel – could reduce symptoms of stress and depression and promote wellbeing among school children, according to a new study published online by the British Journal of Psychiatry.
With the summer exam season in full swing, school children are currently experiencing higher levels of stress than at any other time of year. The research showed that interventions to reduce stress in children have the biggest impact at this time of year. There is growing evidence that...
Researchers at the University of Exeter found that older male burying beetles make better fathers than their younger counterparts. The study found that mature males, who had little chance of reproducing again, invested more effort in both mating and in parental care than younger males.
The study, published in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society of London – B, considered how the likelihood of paternity influenced the way that males cared for young. Older males were good fathers and looked after the young even when they were unsure whether the offspring were theirs. Younger...
Exeter Northcott Theatre has launched its new look autumn 2013 season brochure. As well as being packed with great drama, dance, opera, family theatre and comedy, the brochure features stunning images throughout by local photographer Matt Austin.
Inspired by the family Christmas show, The Extraordinary Adventures of Mr Benn , dressing up is very much the theme this autumn. The Exeter Northcott Theatre invited members of their audience to delve into their magical dressing up box whilst Matt Austin took a fantastic set of photographs.
