Nature's Conscience: The Life and Legacy of Derek Ratcliffe

Professor Des Thompson is Principal Adviser on Science and Biodiversity with Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH), Des works closely with government, and leads on key policy and science matters relating to nature. Chairman of the Technical Advisory Group advising the UN Convention on Migratory Species on the conservation of migratory birds of prey in Eurasia and Africa, Des has specialist interests in birds and the uplands, and has published 15 books and more than 200 papers. An Associate Editor of the Journal of Applied Ecology, Chairman of the Field Studies Council (the UK’s leading provider of outdoor environmental education), he is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Ecology and Environmental Management, and the Royal Society of Edinburgh. 

Professor Hilary Birks is Professor Emerita in the Department of Biology, University of Bergen, Hilary’s research focuses on reconstructing vegetation, environment and climate over the past 15,000 years, using macroscopic plant remains and pollen preserved in lake sediments. She worked extensively in Scotland before moving to Bergen in 1985, where she was appointed to a personal Chair in 2001. Hilary has made major contributions to knowledge on the development of Norwegian ecosystems and climate since the end of the last glacial period. A Foreign Member of the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters,  Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and Corresponding Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Hilary received a lifetime achievement award from the International Paleolimnological Society. 

Professor John Birks is an internationally acclaimed scientist, who has published more than 20 books and 400 papers, John is Professor Emeritus in the Department of Biology, University of Bergen. His research achievements are in the field of Quaternary science and environmental history. This includes quaternary palaeoecology, linking pollen analysis and vegetation history with modern ecology; and in quantitative palaeoecology, using numerical methods to analyse numerical palaeoecological data. In receipt of prestigious medals for his research from four countries, as well as the Lifetime Achievement Award and Medal from the International Paleolimnology Association, John has editorial roles for nine scientific journals, and had a special issue of The Holocene dedicated to his lifetime work - entitled ‘At the frontiers of palaeoecology’. A Foreign Member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, and the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters, John is a Corresponding Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh