Please read the following. The information relates to all OxMG events listed below.
To date we have not had to cancel or reschedule an talk or activity. However, this may be necessary, for example, due to inclement weather or illness of the speaker / organiser. For activities where you are required to register your attendance via email, the organiser will email you directly to inform you of any changes. For events where booking is not required (such as our Winter Talks), we will update the website and use Social Media (Facebook and Twitter) as soon as possible. Please therefore check before setting off.
We are going to have a whole host of talks, events and activities you can attend this year. At this stage the finer details of many aren't finalised so please come back to check for updates soon or become a member to get updates emailed to you.
Events are in chronological order so please scroll down the page to find our upcoming events.
Winter Talks 2019
Our winter talks programme will restart in October 2019 and finish in March 2020, with one talk a month. Each talk will be held in the magnificent Museum of Natural History in central Oxford. Each talk will start at 7pm and has a maximum capacity of 300 people. It is not possible to pre-book for the talks however we have not reached capacity to date.
Mon. 14 January 2019: Harvest mice - surviving modern farming?
Derek Crawley (Mammal Society's UK Atlas project) will investigate the particular threats that modern farming practices pose for our smallest rodent
Mon. 11 February 2019 : Short talks - New research in Oxford
The next generation of oxford mammal researchers present us with a first look at some of their latest research
Mon. 11 March 2019: The Saiga antelope mystery
Prof E.J. Milner-Gulland (University of Oxford) will discuss these intriguing antelopes & the reasons for their sudden mass deaths in 2015
Mon. 14 October 2019: The State of British Mammals
by Frazer Coomber, Research Officer for the Mammal Society
Mon. 11 November 2019: Cave Elephants of Kenya
by Chris Powles, Oxfordshire Mammal Group
Mon. 9 December 2019: The return of the Pine Marten
by Johnny Birks, Swift Ecology
We would like to take the opportunity to thank the Museum of Natural History for supporting our winter talks programme and providing such an excellent venue.
Activities in 2019
Monday 18 March 2019
The White Hart, Wolvercote - Oxfordshire Mammal Group AGM
Where & When: The White Hart (The Garden Room) in Wolvercote, north Oxford
Overview: The AGM will briefly summarise last years’ activities, our plans moving forward, and elect committee members for next year. Some committee members are standing down this year, and all posts are up for re-election, so please do consider if you would like to help support us in any of these roles.
If anybody would like to find out more about what's involved in any of the posts, please feel free to contact the Chair Bob Cowley in advance of the meeting, or come up for a chat at one of our upcoming winter talks at the Natural History Museum.
We'd really like to see and hear from you so please come along if you can.
Saturday 27 April 2019
Harcourt Arboretum Spring Fair
Overview: The Oxfordshire Mammal Group will be manning a stall at the fair from 11:00 - 16:00 which will be a fun family day with wildlife and craft stands and local food and drink stalls. It's in a beautiful setting of park and woodlands, with nature trails and fabulous spring flowers!
Entry is £ 5.45 per adult. Children go free with an adult. Further details here.
Saturday 01 June 2019
Festival of Nature Wild Fair
The Festival of Nature is a two week event held from 25 May to 09 June. There are a whole suite of activities for all to enjoy (see full schedule here).
We will be attending the Wild Fair event at the Oxford University Museum of Natural History from 10am to 4pm. Visit our stand for some mammal identification games and craft activities!
Thursday 06 June 2019
Eager; the surprising, secret life of beavers and why they matter
We will be co-hosting a talk at the Oxford University Museum of Natural History from 18:30-19:30.
Environmental journalist Ben Goldfarb discusses the subject of his latest, award-winning book, the Beaver and how its reintroduction is benefiting the world’s ecosystems.
During this fascinating lecture Environmental journalist, Ben Goldfarb, reveals that everything we think we know about what a healthy landscape looks like and how it functions is inaccurate a historical artefact produced by the removal of beavers from their former haunts.
Across the Western Hemisphere, a coalition of `beaver believers - including scientists, government officials, and farmers have begun to recognize that ecosystems with beavers are far healthier, for humans and non-humans alike, than those without them, and to restore these industrious rodents to streams throughout North American and Europe.
It’s a powerful story about one of the world’s most influential species, how North America was settled, the secret ways in which our landscapes have changed over the centuries and the measures we can take to mitigate drought, flooding, wildfire, biodiversity loss, and the ravages of climate change. And ultimately, it’s about how we can learn to co-exist, harmoniously and even beneficially, with our fellow travellers on this planet.
This event includes a chance to buy a signed copy of Ben’s E.O. Wilson prize winning book.
Saturday 10 June 2017
Wytham Woods - Mammal Tracks and Signs Workshop
Where & When: Meet at the car park on hill (just up from Wytham village) at 2pm. Event will finish at approximately 5pm.
What to bring/wear: Suitable clothes for the weather, sturdy shoes
Overview: Bob Cowley will be running a workshop on mammal tracks and signs at Wytham Woods.
Booking is essential as numbers are limited. Please book to reserve your place.
Please Note: For insurance purposes oudoor events are open only to Oxfordshire Mammal Group members. For more information about membership please see our Membership page.