The University’s Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health is delighted to welcome back The Linnean Society for the 2023 Irene Manton lecture on 6 December.  

This year’s lecture will be delivered by  Julia Patricia Gordon Jones, Professor in Conservation Science, Bangor University. Her lecture entitled  ‘Is conservation working? And how do we know’. During the lecture she will explore questions such as ‘do protected areas stop species declining?’, ‘is carbon offsetting slowing the loss of tropical forests?’ and ‘how can a small conservation organization best save the critically endangered Livingstone Fruit Bat?’. 

Now in its ninth year, this annual lecture aims to inspire and inform everyone in contemporary biology and botany, and the role that women scientists play. The event is free and open to everyone, with sixth form students particularly welcome. 

The Linnean is the world’s oldest active biological society, founded in 1788, and the lecture is named after Irene Manton who was the first female president of the society, a British botanist who gained her PhD at The University of Manchester. 

Event details 

When: 5.30-7pm on Wednesday 6 December 2023 

Venue: In person and online 

Please register via Eventbrite 

The event is free to attend. Pre-event information will be emailed to registered guests a few days before the event. 

We look forward to seeing you there for what will be a truly inspiring evening. 

If you have any specific requirements, accessibility needs, or other specific requests please notify srbmh@manchester.ac.uk by Friday 17 November.

Previous speakers have included: 

• Rebecca Willis with her talk entitled ‘Can democracy save us from climate change?’’ (blog article 2022; watch the recording).
• Dr Kat Coyte, with her talk entitled: ‘Worlds within our guts’ (blog article 2021; watch the recording).
• Eleanor Drinkwater, PhD student from the University of York with her talk entitled ‘Metamorphosis: a 300 year story of intrepid women, rainforests and butterflies’ (blog article 2020; watch the recording).
• Jan Bradley with her talk ‘From Man to Mouse’ (blog article 2019).
• Dr Sandra Knapp, President of the Linnean Society of London with her talk entitled ‘Fieldwork in fancy dress? A natural history of women in the field’ (blog article Linnean 2018).
• Dr Anna Gilchrist with her talk entitled ‘I’m a butterfly… get me out of here’ (blog article Linnean 2017).
• Professor Sheena Cruickshank with her talk entitled ‘On you, inside you: the amazing and horrible world of parasites’ (blog article Linnean 2016).