Education and Outreach - University of Birmingham

Our main BIFoR Education website for KS3, GCSE and A level resources is now hosted on a different platform where you can access free resouces.

Professor Jeremy Pritchard is Director for Education and has supervised a number of BIFoR PhD students. Jerry works closely with BIFoR Learning and Engagement Lead, Dr Sam Dobbie, to develop innovative teaching resources.

Jerry chairs the Royal Society of Biology curriculum committee and he is increasingly obsessed with blended learning and authentic/inclusive assessment. Jerry has led the way in the development of our virtual forest tours

A Level / GCSE including Teaching Resources

Please visit BIFoR Education, a free online learning platform for high schools that contains everything you need to bring BIFoR to a classroom near you! You will find an expanding set of engaging, curriculum linked activities have been developed. Our education resources are also available on STEM Learning. We now offer a free STEM kit for high schools which includes the equipment needed to install a tree growth band (dendrometer) band on trees in your school grounds which is helping to build a citizen science-led database of tree growth nationally. For more information visit our BIFoR in a box webpage.

Further information on careers in forestry can be found on the forestry careers website. There are number of great videos to watch including interviews with a people involved in a variety of roles. We do offer an opportunity to visit the BIFoR FACE facility to schools who are able to make the journey to the facility in Staffordshire. If you would be interested in learning more about a visit or to book a visit please contact s.l.dobbie@bham.ac.uk

Undergraduate

There are now two Undergraduate / Masters degree programmes that are taught by and incorporate the research of BIFoR colleagues: MSci Human Sciences and MSci Global Environmental Change and Sustainability.

Current undergraduate students at the University of Birmingham might like to consider the module Critical Issues for 21st Century Ecosystems if they are interested in the work of BIFoR as there are clear links to the research in this module. More and more undergraduate students are also choosing to complete their dissertation topic with data from / samples from the BIFoR FACE Facility. This could be both primary and secondary data.

Students can also volunteer with BIFoR. This has proven popular and we have logged over 4,000 hours of volunteering! Students also receive a reference and 'service awards' from BIFoR for their time.

Masters

Potential students interested in our research themes may like to consider some of the taught masters courses listed below. Students may also chose to complete their dissertation topic with data from / samples from the BIFoR FACE Facility. Some of the students enrolled in the following courses are volunteering with BIFoR and/or using the BIFoR FACE facility for their end of year project.

MSc in Applied Meteorology and Climatology
MSc in Environmental Health
PG Dip/ MSc in Air Pollution Management and Control
MSc in River Environments and their Management
MSc Toxicology
MRes Molecular Mechanistic Toxicology

Doctoral Research

There are over 60 PhD students completing research related to forested landscapes, 19 of which are working on research directly linked to the BIFoR FACE facility. Details of their projects are available on our Doctoral Research page.

BIFoR advertise doctoral research opportunities through the year. Opportunities are also listed on the University of Birmingham Doctoral ReSEARCHer Database and FindAPhD. Did you know there is now a "Forestry" filter?

CENTA

Opportunities are advertised annually through the Central England NERC Training Alliance (CENTA). CENTA is a consortium of Universities and research institutes that are working together to provide excellence in doctoral research training. CENTA is funded by The Natural Environment Research Council (NERC).

MIBTP

Opportunities are advertised annually through the Midlands Integrative Biosciences Training Partnership Doctoral Programme (MIBTP). MIBTP is a consortium between Universities of Aston, Birmingham, Harper Adams, Leicester and Warwick. Studentships are focussed in the research areas of Sustainable Agriculture and Food, Understanding the Rules of Life, Renewable Resources and Clean Growth and Integrated Understanding of Health. MIBTP is funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC).

Forest Edge Doctoral Programme

Those who are new to the University and who are completing research related to trees, woodlands and forests have an opportunity to join the training sessions on our Forest Edge Training Programme. You will benefit from engaging with an interdisciplinary group of students for knowledge sharing and training.

Dual Award with University of Western Sydney

BIFoR has opportunities for Dual Award PhDs with the University of Western Sydney. Academic staff from BIFoR and University of Western Sydney work together to develop projects and identify potential supervisors from each institution. Students can split their research between BIFoR FACE and EucFA CE.

Outreach

The BIFoR FACE Facility is a giant experiment in Staffordshire woodland where scientists are pumping extra carbon dioxide gas (CO₂) around trees to simulate the atmosphere we’re predicted to have in 2050. This helps us see how the woodland responds – do the trees grow faster, locking away more carbon, or will changes in the soil and insect life cause problems? Learning about the effects of increased CO₂helps us plant woodland most likely to survive and thrive in the future.

The Outreach Programme (activities below) links directly to research being done by academic staff, both at BIFoR FACE and elsewhere, and aims to offer visiting groups interactive and fun learning experiences. These include online sessions.

To book your activity please contact s.l.dobbie@bham.ac.uk.

Follow the journey of a carbon dioxide molecule (interactive talk online or in person)

Interactive talk, in person or online, 1 hour, suitable for adults 16+

During this interactive talk, we invite participants to find out more about our research at BIFoR FACE. Audience members will learn how we are able to raise carbon dioxide (CO₂) levels in parts of the woodland. We will follow the journey of a CO₂molecule through the FACE facility from right up in the tree canopy to one meter below ground. Along the way, we will stop and discover the instruments that are needed to make the measurements required for our giant climate change experiment. We will introduce you to members of the wider BIFoR team, including the technicians and academic staff working within our forest laboratory. Participants will learn what our results show so far and what that could mean when we feed these results into global climate change models used to predict future climates.

This interactive talk is ideal for specialist audiences who would like a detailed overview of our research, methods and recent results, with plenty of time for questions along the way.

Life inside one of the worlds largest climate change experiments (interactive talk online)

Interactive talk, online only, duration 1 hour, suitable for adults 16+

During this immersive online talk, we invite participants to explore what life is like inside our climate change experiment. An engineering feat, the BIFoR FACE facility features six rings of steel masts that have been inserted into a mature oak woodland. We will guide you through a virtual tour of the facility, developed by our colleagues at the Higher Education Futures Institute (HEFI). Audience members will get a sense of the scale of the site by taking a virtual walk around our forest lab. Along the way we will hear from members of the wider BIFoR team, including site technicians and academic staff. The virtual tour will enable participants to take a detailed look at the equipment being used to take measurements and learn more about the research taking place.

This interactive talk is ideal for specialist audiences who would like a detailed overview of how the BIFoR facility works, with plenty of time for questions along the way.

Building BIFoR FACE (hands-on activity in person only)

Hands-on activity, in person only, duration 1.5 hours, suitable for adults 16+

During this hands-on activity, we invite participants to explore the structures at our research woodland. An engineering marvel, the BIFoR FACE facility features six rings of steel masts, four Met Towers and one Flux Tower that have been inserted into a mature oak woodland. We will give you a brief overview of these important engineering features, as well as introduce you to key members of the BIFoR site team. You will then be tasked to work in small groups to build your own flux tower, this time using spaghetti and marshmallows!*

This hands-on activity is ideal for specialist and non-specialist audiences who would like a brief overview of the structures at BIFoR FACE and a team building exercise, with plenty of time for questions along the way.

*All our marshmallows are gelatine free!

Take a walk among time travelling trees (hands-on activity, in person only)

Hands-on activity, in person only, duration 1.5 hours, suitable for adults 16+

During this immersive activity, we invite audience members to join us on a virtual tour of the woodland. Working in pairs or small groups you will find out more about the research that is happening in our forest laboratory. Participants will work together to uncover clues and solve puzzles, using virtual reality headsets and/ or touch screen devices. By completing our ‘escape-room style activities’ you will gain a sense of the scale of the BIFoR FACE site, a better understanding of the measurements we are taking and a deeper awareness of the impact of climate change on our woodlands and forests.

This hands-on activity is ideal for specialist and non-specialist audiences who would like a brief overview of the research happening at BIFoR FACE, with plenty of time for questions along the way.