26/05/2026
We’re delighted to welcome three Master’s students from University of Sussex who will be carrying out research projects at the Railway Land over the coming months.
Their work will build on the remarkable research of Peter Hodge, whose 40 years of data collection on water beetles in the Railway Land’s water meadows is believed to be the longest longitudinal dataset of water beetles anywhere in the world.
The students will be analysing this unique dataset to better understand long-term ecological change and biodiversity within the reserve. Their findings will help shape the development of new learning materials, as well as support the creation of a citizen science process and monitoring protocol that will allow more people to engage directly with ecological research at the Railway Land.
The projects will also continue conversations sparked through our Voices of the Wild conference, exploring connections between ecology, language, learning and public engagement with nature.
We’re excited to support the next generation of researchers and look forward to sharing updates from their work throughout the year!
