David Attenborough Building Visit

Last month, our CEO, Nicky, and Sustainability Team, Emma and Caitlin, had a visit to the David Attenborough Building on Tuesday 18th June for a tour and meet & greet lunch.

Organised by Alice Lawrence and Beth Elliott from the University of Cambridge, the meet & greet lunch brought together different students, academics and staff from the University and Cambridge Conservation Initiative who are interested in connecting with environmental work in Abbey.

First, we had a brilliant whistle stop tour of the David Attenborough Building from Elizabeth Allen, Collaborations and Engagement Manager at the DAB. This included seeing their huge living green wall inside the building, and the incredible views of the city from the green roof covered in native flowering plants, log piles to create habitats, and solar panels. The building was opened in 2015 by David Attenborough himself and is home to the Cambridge Conservation Initiative campus. As we saw, nature, sustainability and creating opportunities for collaboration are truly at the heart of the building’s design.

 

 

 

 

We then shared updates on our growing Sustainable Environment program in Abbey, and how we hope to connect with university staff and students in our sustainability and social change projects, including ecological surveys, chalk stream activities on Coldham’s Brook and much more.

Sam Shingles from Wellcome Connecting Science also shared his experiences of working with the local community and Abbey People. Sam and Jack have run lots of fascinating activities around DNA, engaging young people and adults in the wonders of science. From starting the Curiosity Club back in September 2023 and collaborating on lots of new events this year, including the All at Sea family event in April where we had our very own yellow submarine!

Over a delicious lunch provided by Cambridge Sustainable Food, we then had some brilliant conversations with individuals keen to get involved with Abbey People in a great variety of ways. Whether that’s helping us to expand our biodiversity surveys to monitor more wildlife or supporting our Climate Cafes and speaking with people in the local community. We look forward to seeing where these collaborations take us.

“It was a real privilege welcoming Abbey People to the David Attenborough Building! We had some really engaged individuals come along so hopefully this is the beginning of collaborations between the world-leading conservationists working in the David Attenborough Building and related University departments and the amazing Abbey People who obviously do such brilliant work with the local community.” – Alice Lawrence, ESRC-DTP PhD in Geography candidate.

If you would like to get involved with our sustainability and environmental activities, we would love to hear from you. Please contact Caitlin at greenspaces@abbeypeople.org.uk to find out more about our projects.

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