Department Tutor Honoured with Prestigious Industry Award

Dr Keith Kirby has been awarded the prestigious Chartered Institute of Ecology and Environmental Management (CIEEM) Medal 2014 for his 'outstanding, lifelong contribution to the advancement of ecology, forestry and woodland management.'

Keith said, 'I am honoured to have received this award from CIEEM - though my 'lifetime' needs to be put into a woodland perspective: it is barely a third the length of a commercial oak crop rotation and less than a tenth of what an oak might grow to if not felled. Long-term studies are therefore crucial in woodland ecology.'

Keith is pictured, left to right, with guest speaker and leading independent environmentalist Chris Baines; CIEEM President, John Box; CIEEM Medal winner, Keith Kirby; Chair of Natural England, Andrew Sells; and Ceremony host, comedienne and entertainer Helen Lederer,

Keith, a woodland ecologist and Visiting Researcher with the Oxford Department of Plant Sciences, teaches on the Department for Continuing Education Environment and Sustainability Short Course Programme. His work with the Department helps to train environmental managers and ecological consultants using Oxford's 'Living Laboratory' Wytham Woods as a hands-on example.

'I was fortunate to 'inherit' a set of plant records from my supervisor Colyear Dawkins of the Forestry Department who set out a series of plots in Wytham Woods just outside Oxford. With help from many colleagues we have re-recorded these plots and used them to show changes in the flora over time - the increased growth of ash, loss of elm and birch; the impact of deer on woodland plants; and effects of woodland management.'

Working with Wytham Woods Conservator, Nigel Fisher, Keith provides practitioners with the vital skills and techniques in woodland ecology and management needed to support conservation.

For more information about Environment and Sustainability at Oxford visit www.conted.ox.ac.uk/environment or contact us on envman@conted.ox.ac.uk and +44 (0)1865 286953

Published 21 July 2014