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1. The Ecologies of Hilbre Island - A Creative Expedition

   It has been 165 years since Charles Darwin published On the Origin of Species, a landmark text in evolutionary biology. To mark this occasion, we invite you to join us on an expedition to Hilbre Island, a landmark in the river Dee estuary and our Galapagos in the North West of England. We embark on a creative investigation of the islands ecologies through storytelling, observational drawing, poetry and performance, looking closely at how the land, sea and humans interconnect. We will depart West Kirby on foot and walk to Hilbre island, listening to an audio guide that comprises a history of the island and oral histories from local residents. On the island, attendees will choose to take part in one of two workshops that observe and document the island: creative writing and charcoal rubbings will record the islands geology and generate a mapping of the islands geological history; a field sketching workshop will identify species of migrating birds visiting the island, before drawing an evolutionary (phylogenetic) tree. Finally, a poetry performance based on collected oral histories and poetry, will be performed in a costume that turns a performer into the native sea lavender. We will then walk back to West Kirby before high tide.

2. Chimpanzee ‘nests’ shed light on the origins of humanity

   Chimpanzees are our closest living relatives, and observing them in the wild helps us reconstruct how our ancestors adapted to a changing environment millions of years ago, write Drs Alexander Piel and Fiona Stewart

3. 5 reasons to love maggots

   Whether they are working away in the farmer’s field or being used as evidence in court, maggots are helping us in our day-to-day lives in surprising ways. Isn’t it time you gave these misunderstood creatures the credit they deserve?

4. 6 days in the life of a geography student on Almeria field trip

   Geography students, Holly Hadden and Georgina Harriss, share their experiences of a recent field trip to Almeria, Spain.

5. My experience working with orangutans

   MRes English student, Lindsay Wilkinson shares her insights into the orangutan volunteer project in Indonesian Borneo.

6. Wanted: students to live with monkeys

   LJMU students are given a once in a lifetime opportunity to venture out into the wilds of Tanzania to study primates in their natural habitat. Find out about their experiences.

7. How to write a standout personal statement

   Struggling to write a personal statement to support your university application? Our in-house expert, Andrew Cooper, shows you how to approach this essential document.

8. How monkeys make friends and influence each other

   For us humans, getting involved in an aggressive conflict can be costly, not only because of the risk of injury and stress, but also because it can damage precious social relationships between friends – and the same goes for monkeys and apes.

9. Decorated snail shell in a cave in Iraq could be evidence of Paleolithic bling

   A tiny artefact with complex incisions tells us about prehistoric ornamentation, writes Professor Chris Hunt

10. How chimp DNA techniques turned us into jungle detectives

    Wild chimpanzees are hard to find, but their DNA – left-behind genetic traces – is opening up a new way of studying them, write experts Alexander Piel and Fiona Stewart