Our web of life

All living things interact with one another, and we rely on nature as much as it depends on us.  The horse chestnut tree, the alien leaf-mining moth, and the pest-controlling insects all interact together as part of a much more complex web of life.  

Please register your interest in our missions, to receive reminders when the missions start, so that you can contribute to these exciting research projects.

Who can take part in the missions?

Anyone in the UK can take part in mission: alien moth survey.  Records of unaffected trees (without the alien moth) are also important.

Anyone who can find a tree under attack by the alien moth can take part in mission: pest controllers.  In Scotland, central and northern Wales, and southern Cornwall, you may not find an affected tree, but please do look, and complete mission: alien moth survey instead if you can’t find one.

Who is involved?

Michael Pocock is a Research Fellow at the University of Bristol.  He is an ecologist discovering how humans rely on nature, and nature relies on humans.

Darren Evans is a lecturer in Conservation Biology at the University of Hull.  He works on how changes in our environment affect the complex interactions between living things.

Nancy Jennings, a freelance editorial consultant, is the project manager.

Huw Jeffries, a freelance consultant, designed and programmed the site.

The Natural Environment Research Council funded these missions.

A pest-controlling Chalcid wasp, about 2.5mm long 
(photo: Brian Valentine)


A healthy, flowering horse chestnut tree

Michael Pocock and Darren Evans study a conker tree