Into the wild

On the 21-22 May 2026 the “Into the wild discussion meeting” took place at the University of Glasgow (UK). Three masters level researchers, who have been working with the palaeoecology group at the University of Amsterdam, attended to showcase their research and develop their scientific networks. The meeting aimed to bring together researchers, practitioners and policymakers from archaeology, geography, nature conservation and land management to explore how the historic environment intersects with rewilding and wider nature based approaches. The meeting was organised by Nicki Whitehouse, Hannah Fluck and Kim Ward in the context of the wider “Into the Wild Network”.

Sarah Main (MSc Earth Sciences, University of Amsterdam) presented the findings from her literature review entitled “Paleoecology as a Tool for Ecological Restoration: A Synthesis of Recent Applications”, and Roos Dik (recent graduate from the MSc Archaeology program at Leiden University) presented work that had been built from her earlier bachelors thesis on the use of coprophilas fungal spores for tracking past herbivore populations. All three MSc researchers enjoyed the positive atmosphere of the meeting and gained many new insights into past environmental change and its intersection with conservation policy and practice. Many thanks to the organisers, and all who attended, for making them all feel so welcome.