Southampton students launch New Forest wildlife living lab

Southampton students turn the New Forest into a living laboratory for rare wildlife

Twelve University of Southampton students are working with conservation organisations on New Forest research covering bats, fungi, ponds, recreation pressure and crayfish.

University of Southampton students carrying out ecological research in the New Forest Image: University of Southampton / Advertiser and TimesOriginal source

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The New Forest is becoming a living laboratory for a group of University of Southampton students how some of its most distinctive wildlife can be better understood and protected.

Five undergraduate and seven master’s students are taking part in a new programme linking academic with organisations already working in the forest.

The projects include studying how bats use conifer woodland, the role of deadwood and fungi, the effects of recreation on pond wildlife and the relationship between native and invasive crayfish.

Partners include Forestry England, Hampshire Bat Group and Hampshire & Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust, with support from the New Forest Forum. The work is expected to run over the next 12 months and could become a recurring programme if it proves useful.

It gives students real-world research experience while producing that local organisations can use in decisions about one of southern England’s most important landscapes.