Students from Ignite were invited to London by ACCE (Adapting to the Challenges of a Changing Environment) in an initiative that hopes to encourage students to consider a career in environmental science research.

The opportunity is organised and funded by the Universities of Liverpool, Sheffield and York.

Students were welcomed into the brand-new Darwin Centre teaching hub where they participated in a workshop solving the real-world problem of which insects were damaging a strawberry crop. They then contributed to the work of the CLORE labs by sorting some insect samples collected by the museum using microscopes.

They then went into the wonderful Natural History Museum and did a whistle stop tour of the insect room, earthquake simulator, bird room, the mammals’ room to visit the famous blue whale, and then the iconic dinosaur gallery which included a festive T Rex animatronic wearing a Natural History Museum Christmas jumper and hat! 

Lewis, a current Ignite student, expressed “My favourite part of the trip was the workshop we took part in towards the beginning, I specifically enjoyed the independence of sorting through real samples of insects using professional equipment and I hope we are able to do more of that type of work in the future as it fits my learning style very well.” Emilia, another Ignite student, highlighted that “The activity with insects was a lot of fun and engaging, especially looking at the insects under the microscope, which I found fascinating.” Huge thanks to Pete Doyle and Ellie from Liverpool University for making all this possible!