In the media

August 2024: New Age ritual sends ’bad energies’ and foreign wild plants up in smoke

From how far do plants come to end up in bouquets used in rituals to ward off evil spirits and has this changed the sustainability of these practices? Read all about it in this media piece on a new paper by PhD student Isabela Pombo Geertsma. https://www.uu.nl/en/news/new-age-ritual-sends-bad-energies-and-foreign-wild-plants-up-in-smoke

January 2024: : To scare or not to scare the Barnacle geese?

Postdoc Monique de Jager was recently in the regional and national news with her study on the cost effectiveness of scaring away Barnacle geese from pastures in the Netherlands. Take a look at this item from RTV Utrecht, listen to it on Friesian radio or read about it on for example Nature Today!

Augustus 2023: Symbolism and myths in flower bouquet

Ever wondered what stories are hiding in a bouquet? The PhD research by Isabela Pombo Geertsma is all about finding this out and was featured in a regional newspaper.

Juni 2023:  A cheap lightning rod and protection against witchcraft: the St. John's bouquet as a research object

Juni 2023:  A cheap lightning rod and protection against witchcraft: the St. John's bouquet as a research object, a regional news article on research by PhD student Isabela Pombo Geertsma. https://www.ed.nl/heeze-leende/een-goedkope-bliksemafleider-en-bescherming-tegen-hekserij-de-sint-janstros-als-onderzoeksobject~afe7c310/ 

September 2022: Gijs Steur on Botanical Gardens in "Traveling trough the digital heritage" (Dutch only)

In this podcast episode of Paulus & De Nijs "Op reis door het digitaal erfgoed" one of our curators, Gijs Steur, tells all about what it means to be have a scientific collection, how to maintain and curate it and how we make it available for the public. 

April 2022: A quantitative look on ecology (English)

A talk by Edwin Pos on the ins and outs of our research unit: who is involved and what is the unit all about? What challenges are we facing and how will we solve it? Part of the Kick-Off meeting of interdepartmental projects at the faculty of Science.

April 2022: On species diversity, extinction and the future (Dutch)

An interview by the Dutch National TV Show "Vroege Vogels" on the evolution of plant diversity, current levels of extinction and what the future might bring.

October 2021: Will the Netherlands be filled with nettles and blackberries? (Dutch only)

Almost half of all species in the Netherlands are threatened with extinction. In this podcast episode of the University of the Netherlands, Edwin Pos explains why the loss of biodiversity is bad for our planet, but also how science can hopefully still save biodiversity.