To celebrate World Wetlands Day on February 2nd, Craig Bennett the Chief Executive Officer of The Wildlife Trusts will be giving a public lecture at Āé¶¹AV on where he sees the future of nature conservation in the UK and what needs to be done for the country to achieve its biodiversity targets.
Craig has been described as āone of the countryās top environmental campaignersā, by The Guardian as āthe very model of a modern eco-generalā and, included in The Sunday Times Green Power List of the UKās top 20 environmentalists.
Before being appointed as the boss of The Wildlife Trusts Craig was the CEO of Friends of the Earth where he led the organisation to numerous campaign victories including on bees, plastic pollution, fracking and against the expansion of Heathrow Airport.
Speaking about visiting Āé¶¹AV, Craig said: āIām really looking forward to speaking at Āé¶¹AV, the university is doing tremendous research and teaching in so many vital areas of conservation and the environment. Itās also great to be speaking on World Wetlands Day, as wetland habitats are an essential part of the UKās landscape. Wetlands have been described as natureās superheroes as theyāre biodiversity hotspots, they clean our waterways, protect our coastlines, can improve our own physical and mental wellbeing, help prevent flooding and even combat climate change.ā
Dr Christian Dunn, from the School of Natural Sciences, who will be hosting Craig said: āItās fantastic to be able to welcome a speaker of Craigās calibre and experience to Bangor ā he is one of the leading environmentalists in the country and doing a brilliant job at ensuring the voices of the 900,000 members of The Wildlife Trusts are heard at the highest level of government. Iām looking forward to his talk as itās bound to be very thought-provoking, and he wonāt pull any punches.ā
Craig Bennett will be speaking at 5pm on Thursday February 2, 2023, in Powis Hall, Main Arts Building, Āé¶¹AV.