Tag: Research

UWE Bristol Returns to the UK’s Biggest Celebration of Nature.

Author ripleywk | Posted on

UWE Bristol is delighted to once again take part in the Festival of Nature, the UK’s largest celebration of the natural world. UWE staff, families, and friends are warmly invited to join us at Millennium Square, Bristol City Centre, on Saturday 13 and Sunday 14 June, where our researchers will be showcasing an inspiring range of activities in the UWE tent.

What UWE Researchers Are Bringing to the Festival

This year’s programme features a rich mix of hands‑on workshops and interactive demonstrations.

Clair Schwarz (CATE) will introduce visitors to the ecological and cultural significance of the wren, offering the chance to create clay wrens and paper masks while exploring themes of storytelling, identity, and tradition.

A bio screen print of a wren

Dr Laura Morgan (CATE) and Laura Clarke (CATE) will run a bio screen‑printing workshop using colour derived from native UK trees, helping visitors understand where textile colour comes from, why it matters, and how material choices can support more sustainable futures.

Nature‑inspired innovation will also be on display as Lidia Badarnah (CATE) and Dr Sigita Zigure (CATE) demonstrate how biomimicry, bio‑design, and nature‑based solutions can help create greener, cooler, and more resilient places. Their activity invites visitors to take part in creative challenges that show how nature can guide imaginative problem‑solving.

Verity Jones (CHSS) will share Taking a Close Look at Microfibres, an activity linking UWE research on air quality with the Schools Under the Microscope project, offering a creative way to explore microfibres, clothing, and indoor air quality.

Kishwar Ali (CHSS) will showcase research on how plants respond to climate change, how biodiversity supports resilient ecosystems, and how we can design greener, climate‑smart cities and landscapes.

Families can also meet the Oak Tree Doctors, presented by Carrie Brady (CHSS) and her research group. This hands‑on activity introduces the importance of healthy trees and the challenges posed by Acute Oak Decline (AOD), a disease affecting native UK oak species involving bacteria, the Agrilus biguttatus beetle, and environmental stressors.

A woman on one knee extracting a sample from an oak tree with a long drill like apparatus

Freya Radford (CHSS) will help visitors understand what makes a healthy river system, the organisms that live there, the stressors they face, and how biodiversity and ecosystem structure influence a river’s ability to withstand pollution.

Exploring greener streets, Yarden Woolf (CHSS) will present GP4Streets, an interdisciplinary project showing how everyday streets can become healthier and more climate‑resilient through simple, community‑led action. The project brings together expertise from urban planning, landscape architecture, public health, environmental science, and air quality research.

Oluwadamilola Okeyoyin (CHSS) will offer Plants and You, an interactive activity inviting visitors to touch, smell, and investigate herbs and plant materials while discovering how plants, microbes, and everyday health are interconnected.

Emma Thomas (CHSS) will present The Rights of Rivers an activity grounded in interdisciplinary research that treats rivers as teachers, collaborators, and agents within environmental futures. This work challenges narratives that position rivers as passive victims of pollution, instead highlighting river agency and diverse forms of knowledge—scientific, sensory, cultural, ancestral, and experiential.

A parent and child looking intently at a mock up of a biome resembling a river. The parent is crouched in the reeds, his eyes following the child's finger that points off to the distance
Credit: Ania Shrimpton

Beyond the UWE tent, Kat Corbett (CATE) will contribute to the ‘How‑To’ Talks Tent with an activity focused on the circular economy. Using materials from the Scrapstore, participants will experiment with creating multiple objects from the same set of resources—such as playdough, buttons, and milk bottle lids—highlighting the value of reuse, imagination, and resourcefulness.

About the Festival

The Festival of Nature is directed by the Natural History Consortium, a partnership of 14 regional and national organisations, including UWE Bristol, the BBC, and the National Trust, working together to engage people with the natural world through collaborative action.

The Wild Weekend at Bristol’s Millennium Square is the largest event in the Festival of Nature programme, attracting 10,000–15,000 visitors over the weekend.

Find the full programme of events at Festival of Nature Website and follow updates on social media at @festofnature. 

Event Details

Saturday 13 June 2026: 10:00–18:00

Sunday 14 June 2026: 10:00–17:00

Location: Millennium Square, Bristol City Centre, BS1 5SZ

Strengthening global partnerships

Author Lynn Goh | Posted on

Written by Dr Tariq Umar

Dr Tariq Umar, Senior Lecturer in Construction Project Management, has recently taken up two Visiting Professor appointments at:

  • the Faculty of Built Environment, University of Malaya (Malaysia)
  • the Institute of Architecture and Civil Engineering, Satbayev University (Kazakhstan).

These appointments reinforce UWE Bristol’s commitment to global collaboration in built environment, architecture, civil engineering and sustainable development – reflecting our strategic ambition to foster internationally impactful research and transnational education.

Why these institutions matter – and what Dr Umar brings

University of Malaya – Faculty of Built Environment

The Faculty of Built Environment (FBE) at University of Malaya is a well-established centre for architecture, construction, real estate and built environment education. Its undergraduate and postgraduate programmes — in Architecture, Building, Estate Management, Quantity Surveying and related fields — are accredited both locally and internationally (e.g. by RIBA and other professional bodies).

Moreover, its research centre, for building, construction and tropical architecture (BuCTA), aims to produce knowledge and capacity to address local/regional challenges in construction, sustainability, and built-environment development.

Dr Umar’s Visiting Professor role at FBE-UM builds upon an existing externally funded collaboration: the gender-equality project under the Southeast Asia–UK partnership. Through that project, UWE Bristol and University of Malaya (with other partners) have been working on building psychological resilience and institutional support systems for women leaders in higher education.

With this new appointment, Dr Umar is well-placed to:

  • nurture long-term institutional collaboration, embedding gender equity and inclusive leadership in built environment academia;
  • engage across architecture, built environment and engineering disciplines to explore how sustainable design and equitable professional practices intersect;
  • support research, teaching and capacity building – particularly in areas of sustainable/tropical architecture, construction, and social equity;
  • mentor postgraduate students and early-career researchers, and help view built environment challenges through a global, equity­ focused lens.

University of Malaya leadership – Professor Dr Yvonne Lim Ai Lian, Associate Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic and International) at University of Malaya:

“Dr Tariq Umar’s appointment as Visiting Professor reflects our shared commitment to excellence in built-environment education and research. We look forward to working with him to advance sustainable, inclusive practices – and to benefit from his experience in international collaboration and interdisciplinary research and scholarship.”

Satbayev University — Institute of Architecture and Civil Engineering

The Institute of Architecture and Civil Engineering at Satbayev University is a leading institution in Kazakhstan for training architects, civil engineers, building-material scientists, and specialists in urban planning, BIM/construction management, transport infrastructure, and innovative building materials.

Over decades, the Institute has contributed significantly to architecture and engineering in the region, combining design, engineering, and practical construction expertise.

The UWE Bristol -Satbayev partnership initiated under a transnational education (TNE) project funded by the UK’s British Council – has explored joint teaching, research collaboration, curriculum development, and capacity building. The project aims to open pathways for shared programmes, joint research, and international exchange.

Through his Visiting Professor role, Dr Umar can contribute significantly by:

  • helping to shape curriculum development around sustainable design, civil engineering and construction management;
  • initiating joint research on urban sustainability, green construction, infrastructure resilience and climate-responsive architecture — helping Satbayev’s students and staff benefit from UWE’s global expertise;
  • supervising postgraduate research and fostering academic mobility between UWE Bristol and Satbayev University;
  • strengthening institutional capacity for international collaboration and transnational education in built environment disciplines.

Satbayev University leadership – Professor Bolat U Kuspangaliyev, Director, Institute of Architecture & Civil Engineering:
“We are pleased to welcome Dr Tariq Umar to our Institute as a visiting academic this semester. Through his teaching within the Architecture programme, he is bringing a valuable international perspective and contemporary insights into sustainable built-environment research. His contribution supports our ongoing work in curriculum development, research-led teaching, and international collaboration across civil engineering and architecture. We also appreciate his engagement with our doctoral students as an international mentor within the Department of Architecture”.

Message from UWE Bristol Leadership

Professor Elena Marco, Pro Vice-Chancellor & Head of College Arts, Technology and Environment at UWE Bristol, welcomed the appointments:

“We are proud that Dr Tariq Umar will represent UWE Bristol in these two globally significant institutions. His dual appointments not only expand our international footprint – they deepen our commitment to sustainability, equity and excellence in built-environment education and research worldwide.”

What this means for UWE Bristol – and the future of our partnerships

With Dr Umar’s Visiting Professor roles now active, UWE Bristol can look forward to:

  • strengthened institutional relationships with two dynamic partner universities in different global regions – Southeast Asia and Central Asia;
  • enhanced capacity for cross-cultural, interdisciplinary research and teaching in architecture, built environment, civil engineering, sustainability – bringing together design, technology, equity and environmental resilience;
  • greater opportunities for staff and student exchange, joint supervision, collaborative grant proposals and transnational education programmes;
  • broader dissemination of research and practice-based knowledge – contributing to global challenges of urban development, sustainable construction, infrastructure resilience and equitable leadership in academia and built environment sectors.

These appointments mark an important step in the development of ongoing and future collaborations.

If you have any questions or need further information, please contact Dr Tariq Umar (tariq.umar@uwe.ac.uk).

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