News

Moving from Tubney House to the new Life and Mind Building in October 2025

Nestled in the Oxfordshire countryside, Tubney House has been the headquarters of WildCRU for 20 years since 2004, representing more than half of our history. When our founder Professor David Macdonald established the WildCRU in 1986, he could scarcely have dreamt how the move to Tubney House would facilitate our growth, impact and worldwide recognition.

Literally thousands of conservationists have visited us there, and been inspired in our peaceful rural surroundings. Embracing our future, Professor Amy Dickman became WildCRU’s new Director in 2022, with David turning wholly to his scholarly interests as a research fellow within the team. Today, we are delighted to announce another new phase for WildCRU: we will be moving to the new Life and Mind Building (LaMB), together with our Department of Biology colleagues, in October 2025.

We are eternally grateful for the generosity of our most exceptional benefactors who have made the last 20 years possible at Tubney House. We thank the Tubney Trust for the splendour of the Tubney estate, and the Recanati Kaplan family for their marvellous, foundational support. Other important benefactors launching our phase at Tubney House include the late Sir Martin Woods and his wife Audrey. At this pivotal moment we also remember the support, beyond the call of duty, of senior University colleagues. In particular, the Registrar at the time of our move to Tubney House, David Holmes, and successive Vice Chancellors who shared our vision for Tubney House – John Hood, Andrew Hamilton, Dame Louise Richardson and Irene Tracey.

It has been a privilege for our team to work in such an idyllic location, and since 2008 students attending our world-renowned Recanati-Kaplan Centre Postgraduate Diploma have lived and studied on site at Tubney House. In addition to WildCRU’s research and teaching, Tubney House has been the backdrop to a multitude of meetings, workshops and mini-conferences, involving the wider conservation community and beyond. The whole WildCRU family, including all of our alumni and associates, has many special memories of inspirational professional meetings and equally wonderful social occasions. Working – and indeed living, for the Diploma students – on a country estate has been a source of inspiration and nourishment, truly integrating the natural world into our everyday. Not surprisingly nostalgia runs high, but we are also filled with excitement for a new future in the LaMB, with all the opportunities that offers for the next stage in our story. WildCRU has grown from strength to strength and we look forward to continuing and expanding that growth alongside our Biology colleagues in this fantastic new building.