Free evening talks on nature and conservation. Meet fellow nature enthusiasts and discover more about North East nature!

Essential Information

Time: Doors open 6pm, first talk starts 18:29, second talk starts 7pm.

Dates: Monday evenings, October 19 to December 7.

Location: Curtis Auditorium, Herschel Building, Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 7RU. W3W:///float.insist.seats. Please use this address (the map given by eventbrite is slightly off).

Join us for free public talks covering a wide range of natural history topics, from lichen to Swifts, heavy metal pollution to rewilding. Light refreshments and drinks are available for a small donation. Please see agenda or event photos for the programme.

Collect your NHSN Talks stamp sheet and earn rewards for attending: after 2 talks receive a badge, after 5 a VIP pass to Gosforth Nature Reserve, and after 8 a free NHSN tote bag. Meet fellow nature enthusiasts and discover more about nature in the North East.

Find the programme below or here (https://www.nhsn.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/Talks-Programme-Jan-March-2026-1.pdf)

Agenda

19 October

1829: Dragonflies in Gosforth's Wild Web, with Neha Mujumdar, Local Entomologist

NHSN: Mud, Meadows and Magic: Five Years of restoring the Tees Estuary, with Judy Power, Tees Rivers Trust

26 October

1829: Bringing Lessons from the Rainforest back to the North-East, with Joe Crutwell, NHSN Field Skills Programme Graduate

NHSN: First Steps with 8 Legs: An Introduction to the Harvestmen of the North East, with Ian Beddison, Local Naturalist

2 November

1829: Our Time as NHSN Field Naturalists, with Rowan Bagenal-Lowe & Matthew Harrison, NHSN

NHSN: A Waxcap Translocation Project, with Sally Pattison, NE Fungus Study Group

9 November

1829: Context of Social Calls in Bats, with Ember Parker, Cumbria University

NHSN: The Tyne - A metal mining legacy, with James Fielding, Tyne Rivers Trust

16 November

1829: Investigating plastic ingestion in North East Kittiwakes, with Matthew Harrison, NHSN Naturalist

NHSN: North East Beached Bird Survey, with Daniel Turner, NE Beached Bird Survey

23 November

1829: Success of Co-dependency: Rewilding Juniper at Hepple Wilds, with Lekshmi Vijay & Lyze Bell

NHSN: What’s New at Hepple Wilds, with Richard Thompson, Hepple Wilds

30 November

1829: Critical Minerals on my Coast, with Ellie Newton, Newcastle University

NHSN: The Ouseburn: A Butterfly Hot-spot, with Mike Jeffries, Local Naturalist

7 December

1829: How Do Trees Influence Soil Health?, with Josepth Adu, Newcastle University

NHSN: Progress on Freshwater Pearl Mussel Reintroductions, with Ben Strachan

About NHSN and 1829 Talks

The NHSN Talks are a series of free public lectures every autumn and winter covering all aspects of natural history and modern nature recovery strategies and projects. Free public lectures are a long-standing part of NHSN's history and are central to our purpose.

The 1829 Talks start at 18:29 in acknowledgement of NHSN’s founding year and feature early career naturalists. They provide a wonderful opportunity to hear about the latest research and projects in the environmental world. Both talks include time for questions for the speaker. They are also recorded and posted on the NHSN YouTube channel (https://www.youtube.com/@nee_naturalist/videos)

Accesibility

The lecture hall is wheelchair accessible. The sound system may be slightly quieter at the back, so we recommend sitting near the speaker if you have difficulty hearing.

Supported by Newcastle University

Description supplied by the event organiser.