Encyclopedia of Life coming to life

Suzanne Sharrock, BGCI's director of global programmes, went to an interesting meeting last week in Washington, US. BGCI is a member of the institutional council of a new, very ambitious, project called the Encyclopedia of Life. They are aiming, in association with a huge number of museums, experts, databases etc (including Wikipedia) to create a comprehensive database of every species on the face of the planet.

They say "the Encyclopedia will serve as an online reference source and database for every one of the 1.8 million species that are named and known on this planet, as well as all those later discovered and described. Encyclopedia of Life will be used as both a teaching and a learning tool, helping scientists, educators, students, and the community at large gain a better understanding of this planet and all who inhabit it."

They estimate that the initial sections (I think they are starting with fish) will be available in 2008, and the whole thing will be ready in ten years. It looks like an awesome project - they have a good Q and A section if, like me, you are wondering how on earth they are going to get so many groups to share their carefully gathered and hoarded data for no money. There are also some demonstration pages - I like the way you can select what level of user you are, i.e. novice to expert. They are planning to include a huge amount of data - it sounds really exciting and was inspired by the king of biodiversity, EO Wilson.

Do have a look at the video they have produced -it is really good.

Before waxing too lyrical about it, I do wonder about a couple of points...

- why is so much money being invested in a database when the species being listed are disappearing at such a fast rate?

- would the money have been put to better use carrying out conservation on the ground in some of the most biodiverse regions of the world?

- is yet another database of diversity(e.g. Wikispecies, Species2000) needed?

It would be very interesting to hear your views on this - have a look at it and let us know what you think.....

Active in Italy

Annastella Gambini from the University of Milan visited BGCI last week. She is an amazingly enthusiastic professor of botany at the university and runs the botanic garden there. It as great to hear everything they have been up to. Recently Annastella has been developing a garden for the school within the university, that children of university staff attend. Focusing on senses, the plantings in the garden illustrate the ways plants change throughout the year and are designs to demonstrate adaptation and intra-species diversity.

Anastella also told us about a fantastic project, working with a chain of supermarkets to set up laboratories for plant investigation work within the supermarket. The idea being to learn and understand about plants, particularly the plants that feed us. Currently these labs are used by primary schools, whose teachers receive a guide on how to use the lab, and run by an educator, trained by Annastella and paid for by the supermarket. The hope is that the programme will expand so that the lab becomes a space where all children coming to the supermarket can go to whilst their parents are shopping, to learn about seeds and plants.

In May 2007, Milan held its first biodiversity festival, in a park near the university. Annastella set up a seminar on teaching about biodiversity attended by trainee teachers, with speakers including Sarah Lloyd from University of Oxford Botanic Garden and Sue Johnson from the Institute of Education in the UK. They are hoping to run the festival again next year and encourage the city's supermarkets to get involved by hosting stalls to demonstrate the biodiversity of food crops.

In her role as a lecturer for trainee teachers, Annastella also works on a series of on-line resources for students who are studying using distance learning to gain their teaching qualification. The support for these students includes videos, photos and materials to help in their lesson planning and preparation. This 3 month course is run four times a year by the university to encourage best practice, even if students are unable to go to university.

Other resources in the pipeline include materials for introducing biodiversity concepts to kindergarten pupils using potatoes and the construction of four new greenhouses to develop their education programme. For more information, contact Annastella annastella.gambini@unimib.it

As ever, any news you may have on your developments is more than welcome! Drop us a line!