Meetings Report

Engaging with the environment: finding quality e-information resources

This lively and informative seminar took place on 5 November 2008 at CILIP.

Gina Cybulska has worked for many years in the environmental sector. She guided the participants through a whole range of free, environmental websites and demonstrated how extremely useful information and statistics can be hidden within the depths of sites and easily missed. These websites can come from government offices, select committees, the European Union, trade associations, charities and influential groups, and cover subjects like climate change, ecosystems, bio-diversity, energy, water and global environmental issues. The sheer volume of information available is quite daunting

During the afternoon Ken Hollywood from the British Geological Society (BGS) talked about the work of the BGS, describing its 400 UK databases, its work on flooding, the Thames Gateway and 3D geological modelling. He explained the importance of its international work and how it has been asked to redevelop complete national surveys destroyed in war.

BGS has a policy of making its research freely available on its website, and is currently building NORA, the Open Research Archive of the Natural Environment Research Council which includes material from the BGS, the British Antarctic Survey, the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology and the Proudman Oceanographic Laboratory

The day ended with a wide variety of questions ranging from the future of ISO 14001 to eco-toxicology and the impact of nanotechnology on the environment.

Many thanks to Gina and Ken for a very enjoyable and interesting session

Julie Fowler, Housing Corporation