What would you do with £270m?

25 November 2003

People in Aberdeen will have the chance this week to find out how decisions are made for funding environmental science and give their views on how they think a £270m budget should be spent.

The Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) spends that amount each year on environmental science. Funding comes from the public purse so people have a right to voice their opinions on how they think some of the money should be spent.

For the past two years NERC has opened up one of its Council meetings so that the public can see how decisions about funding priorities are made and have the chance to discuss issues that are important to them. This year the meeting will be held on Thursday, 27 November at The Queen's Hotel in Aberdeen.

Professor Dominic Houlihan, Vice Principal (Research & Commercialisation), at the University of Aberdeen is enthusiastic about the collaborative working partnership Aberdeen has with NERC. He said, "We are delighted that NERC is holding its open council meeting in Aberdeen where there is a strong commitment to the environment and sustainable development. The University of Aberdeen is one of the main research-led universities in Scotland and receives significant amounts of money from the Natural Environment Research Council to aid its environmental research."

Scottish-based researchers are currently working on a vast array of scientific programmes funded by NERC. At the University of Aberdeen there are a number of studies ranging from how carbon flowing around the roots of plants drives soil biodiversity, to the effects of toxins on the immune systems of fish.

At the British Geological Survey in Edinburgh, one of NERC's research centres, scientists have been looking at the problems of having a diet with too much or too little of the essential minerals people need to stay healthy. And at the Centre for Ecology & Hydrology in Banchory, near Aberdeen, researchers are involved in a number of studies aimed at resolving ecological conflict.

Further information

NERC Press Office
Natural Environment Research Council
Polaris House, North Star Avenue
Swindon, SN2 1EU
Tel: 01793 411561
Mob: 07917 557215

Notes

1. NERC's Open Council Meeting is being held at The Queen's Hotel, 49-53 Queen's Road, Aberdeen. The meeting will begin at 9.30am until 12.30pm. This will be followed by an open forum where guests can ask questions and raise issues or concerns about the environment. There will be a buffet afterwards.

2. NERC is one of the UK's research councils. It uses a budget of about £270m a year to fund and carry out impartial scientific research in the sciences of the environment. NERC trains the next generation of independent environmental scientists. It is addressing some of the key questions facing mankind such as global warming, renewable energy and sustainable economic development.

Press release: 24/03

What would you do with £270m?

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