Page number 2
WELCOME TO SPRING CONTENTS Biodiversity in the City 3 Lab Life at TBSI 4 Behind the Lens 6 Five TV Series Filmed on Campus 7 Caring During the COVID-19 Pandemic 8 Irish Sign Language on our Screens 9 Meet Trinity Sport Scholar Ryan Baird 10 An Post Book Awards - the Trinity Winners 11 The Trinity Library unveils Beckett archive 12 Inspiring International Generations of Alumni 13 One-to-one with Trinity’s Director of Careers 14 Future Cities Webinar Series 15 Campus News 16 Spring Renewal at Trinity Long Room Hub 18 Tech2Students - no student left offline 19 Trinity Development & Alumni website 20 Trinity Development & Alumni, East Chapel, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin 2, Ireland T: +353 (0)1 896 2088 | E: alumni@tcd.ie | W: tcd.ie/alumni
Page number 3
BINIOTDHIEVCERITSYITY Dr Jane Stout is Professor in Botany in the School of Natural Sciences at Trinity. She is an expert on bees and pollination ecology, and a prominent voice for biodiversity and its value. She is a co-founder of the All-Ireland Pollinator Plan and Chair of the Board of Natural Capital Ireland. We’ve always known that the Trinity campus is a special place. It’s an urban campus, but a sensory sanctuary in central Dublin: when you step in through the gates, the noise and fumes from the traffic outside diminish, and you are treated to lots of beautiful buildings, interspersed with open spaces. At first glance, the green spaces in college appear very highly manicured, with neatly tended lawns and pitches, carefully planted and maintained boarders, and skilfully pruned trees. Surely, there can’t be much biodiversity (variety of life) here? But most students and staff would be surprised to learn that they share the campus with a huge array of plants, animals, fungi and microorganisms. From the bigger creatures like gulls and foxes, to the bees, butterflies and other flying insects, to the soil organisms beneath our feet. A survey of the college’s biodiversity in 2014 recorded 620 species on campus during just one 24-hour period, and was probably an underestimate of all the species living here. College was closed to many staff, students and visitors for most of 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic, but those who did venture into the grounds enjoyed its natural wonders. From the bird calls and blossoms during spring, to the buzz of the new flowering areas near the Pav and Chemistry building during summer, to the vibrant colours of autumn, Trinity’s biodiversity provided welcome relief to those that were fortunate enough to see it. And for those who couldn’t come into campus, Trinity’s pro-biodiversity approach was evident outside the Front Gates, when during the summer, the old green lawns were replaced with wildflower turf. We’re all waiting to see what they look like in their flowering glory when spring finally arrives. Read more. CLICK HERE TO CHECK OUT TRINITY GREEN WEEK ACTIVITIES (FEBRUARY 22 - 26)
