Merton College supports new Biodiversity Fellows initiative

Merton College has agreed to support a new Biodiversity Fellows Programme initiated by Professor EJ Milner-Gulland, Tasso Leventis Professor in Biodiversity, by offering associate membership of our Senior Common Room to the first year's-worth of Fellows.

The scheme, run by the Interdisciplinary Centre for Conservation Science based in Oxford's Department of Zoology, is aimed at bringing people from the conservation NGO world to the University for up to three months to interact academically with relevant people. The scheme is targeting two groups within NGOs:

• senior people who need time to think and to develop new strategic approaches or write up their ideas or build partnerships; and
• developing country nationals who would benefit from working with Professor Milner-Gulland's group, learning new skills, analysing and writing up their datasets, and building a network.

The first two Fellows will be arriving at Merton in Hilary and Trinity terms. Angelo Ramy, a PhD student at the Faculty of Sciences, University of Antananarivo, Madagascar, will be coming in Hilary to analyse a dataset he has collected on ploughshare tortoises (pictured) whilst carrying out research work for the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust. And in Trinity term Liz Bennett will be coming to Merton; she is the vice-president of the Wildlife Conservation Society, and will be spending time thinking about WCS's strategic direction on the wildlife trade.