Pembroke JRF organises Interdisciplinary Summer School on Forest Ecosystems

This August, Smithsonian-Pembroke Junior Research Fellow Dr Sruthi M. Krishna Moorthy organised The Interdisciplinary Summer School on Forest Ecosystems, a vibrant event hosted at the University of Oxford which brings together a global community of 40 forest researchers from 25 countries across four continents.

The week-long programme started off with a field visit to Wytham Woods, a globally renowned research site owned by the University of Oxford and part of the Smithsonian Institution’s ForestGEO network. With over 80 years of ecological research, Wytham Woods provided the perfect setting to explore forest measurement techniques and learn from researchers who are experts on the site. 

Hands-on training and inspiring talks were other highlights of the programme, from point cloud data workshops led by 3DForEchoTech experts to earth observation training using Google Earth Engine, organised by PANGEOS lecturers. World-leading scientists, including Professor Yadvinder Malhi, Professor Mat Disney, and Professor Maria J. Santos, gave fascinating evening keynote lectures, whilst ARiF COST Action members presented augmented reality applications in forest research. Our very own Professor of Ecology Rob Salguero-Gómez also attended and gave a fascinating talk on the work his team is doing in Wytham Woods and elsewhere. 

"What inspired me most about the summer school,” shared Dr Moorthy, “was the truly interdisciplinary exchange — we had ecologists, remote sensing scientists, modelers, and entrepreneurs developing augmented reality tools for forest research all in the same room.” This mix of perspectives created an exciting space not only to learn new methods but also to think about how science can be communicated and applied in innovative ways.”

“Beginning the week at Wytham Woods, which is part of the Smithsonian’s global ForestGEO network and central to my Smithsonian–Pembroke research fellowship, made the experience especially meaningful. The themes of the week also connect closely with ongoing efforts in the Department of Biology, supported by SONY and led by Professor Salguero-Gómez, to develop low-cost tools for measuring and monitoring forests, highlighting how innovation and accessibility can go hand-in-hand in global forest science."

This inspiring week of collaboration, innovation, and interdisciplinary exchange was a wonderful opportunity to showcase Oxford – and Wytham Woods – as a hub for cutting-edge forest science. 

The programme was jointly organised by four COST Actions – 3DForEcoTech, PANGEOS, ARiF, and PROCLIAS – with generous funding from the European Cooperation in Science and Technology Association.