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Badgers inspire youthful scientists thanks to WildCRU’s classroom ambassador

I am thrilled to celebrate recognition of Tanesha Allen’s success in the education arena, writes David Macdonald. Tanesha is in the final throes of completing a doctoral thesis on olfactory communication in European badgers – a topic she has used as a launchpad for getting several Oxfordshire schools to engage in behavioural research. Some pupils have even joined in her doctoral research, recording badger responses to scents in their school grounds. Today, Tanesha’s outreach work is recognised by the news of her appointment to the Royal Society Partnership Grant Allocation Panel.

Tanesha’s outreach work with local primary and secondary schools has been funded by the Royal Society Partnership Grant since 2018. During that time, her outreach work has been “Highly Commended” for the Vice-Chancellor’s Award for Public Engagement with Research, presented at various conferences including the Badger Trust Symposium 2019 and the Royal Society Student Conference, and garnered international collaborations with the Sumatran Orangutan Society and the University of Utah. WildCRU is deeply committed to getting conservation, and an enthusiasm for research, into schools, for example through our close links with the remarkable NGO Action for Conservation, and so it is a particular delight to celebrate Tanesha’s achievement in this arena.