Engagers' Digest 9/4/13

In this edition:
University of Bristol engagement

1. Applications for the Vice-Chancellor's Impact Award: deadline 5pm 7 June
2. Outreach in the Faculty of Medical and Veterinary Sciences

Events

1. Patient and Public Involvement (PPI) training – 2 events: 17 April
2. Bright Club Bristol: 6 June (training 7 May)

Other news

1. ESRC media training for social science researchers
2. The 2013 Wellcome Trust Science Writing Prize: deadline 28 April
3. Society of Biology’s Science Communication Awards 2013: deadline 31 May
4. Society for Applied Microbiology Communication Award: deadline 14 June
5. Volunteering for Bristol.99/BioBlitz and Bristol Festival of Nature

Volunteering with Bristol Natural History Consortium

Volunteering opportunities with the Bristol Natural History Consortium

The University is going to have a strong presence at the Festival of Nature 2011, and is involved with the Bioblitz and with Meet the Species. Any help you can give would be brilliant, and you might even end up at Glastonbury Festival!

Do you have a love of wildlife and natural history? Or do you just enjoy getting involved in the city, helping people and meeting lots of new faces? If so, why not volunteer with the Bristol Natural History Consortium (BNHC) for a great experience this summer?

Bristol BioBlitz 2011

We need volunteers for Bristol BioBlitz at Tyntesfield Estate National Trust, Wraxall on 20^th-21^st May. During this free entry public event, we will be trying to find as many species of wildlife as possible on the estate against the clock and need experienced naturalists to give guided walks and help with species identification, guides to show people around and offer help with using identification keys and stewards to help run the event.

www.bnhc.org.uk/home/bioblitz/bristolbioblitz/get-involved

Bristol Festival of Nature 2011

We also need volunteers to cover a variety of activities at the Festival of Nature at Bristol Harbourside from 16^th to 19^th June. This is the UK’s largest celebration of nature and will see over 100 organisations providing activities and entertainment, a local foods market and the opportunity to rub shoulders with some giants of the wildlife and conservation industry.

www.bnhc.org.uk/home/festival/volunteer

Meet the Species – coming soon!

Keep an eye out for volunteering opportunities around the country with our new Meet the Species events running as part of the London 2012 Cultural Olympiad.

Events are completely FREE to attend so please bring along your friends and families to unleash Bristol’s wild side this summer.

Engagers' Digest - 25/2/10

Dear all,

Welcome to another Digest. National Science and Engineering Week and the Festival of Social Science are nearly upon us - 12-21 March. University of Bristol researchers will be at the Mall Galleries, Broadmead for Discover, but many other events are planned around the city. Check the events listings via the links above.

Other news:

1. Engaging Citizens: Research, Media and the Public - 16 March 2010

This free workshop in Milton Keynes, organised by the National Co-ordinating Centre for Public Engagement, aims to stimulate discussion about the role of the media in engaging the public with research. More information and registration here.

2. Universities Assocoation of Lifelong Learning - Annual Conference - 14-16 March 2010
From widening participation to employer engagement: lifelong learning in higher education. Last chance to register - http://www.uall.ac.uk/

3. Cheltenham Science Festival - Volunteers needed - deadline 29th March 2010

The Times Cheltenham Science Festival is looking for volunteers for 7-14 June 2010. This is a great opportunity to meet leading scientists, gain event and engagement experience, and take part in a world-leading public science festival. Full details in a separate blog post; email luiza.patorski@cheltenhamfestivals.com

4. Institute of Physics' Public Engagement Grant Scheme - deadline 7 May 2010

Do you have a fantastic idea for making physics accessible? Apply for a Public Engagement Grant from IOP. They are worth up to £1000 and aim to support physics-based public outreach activities throughout 2010.
Application forms and guidelines for the scheme are available online at www.iop.org/activity/outreach/, or by e-mailing physics.society@iop.org.

5. National Co-ordinating Centre - Public Engagement Network

Are you interested in joining an online network of people passionate about public engagement and higher education institutions? The PEN is an open forum to raise news, issues and opportunities for discussion. The NCCPE will be posting up news digests every couple of weeks to this list and hopefully encouraging many others to contribute. More information here

And finally, a reminder of those important dates:

Discover 2010: Free, family-focused exhibition celebrating research in the heart of Bristol. 11-13 March, The Mall Galleries Broadmead, and Cabot Circus (13 March). Even if you don't have a stall at Discover, come and support your colleagues and see public engagement in action. To volunteer to help contact Dane Comerford

Bioblitz: Bristol Natural History Consortium's race against the clock to find as many animal and plant species as possible in the Blaise Castle Estate. 21-22 May 2010. We need biologists/naturalists and other volunteers. Contact Philippa to get involved.

Festival of Nature: Europe's largest celebration of the natural world on the Harbourside. June 12-13 2010, with a schools day on Friday June 11. Contact Philippa or Dane to get involved with a stall, activity or talk.

Wildlife detectives - Bristol BioBlitz

Who needs Glastonbury? The real action on the weekend of 26 June 2009 was happening just over the Clifton Suspension Bridge at the Ashton Court Estate in Bristol, where hundreds of volunteers, children and members of the public braved some damp conditions for Bristol's first ever BioBlitz.

Read the full story on the Public Engagement Stories website at the University of Bristol.

Photo by: BioBlitz Bristol