Conversations about our environment and having a hands-on approach with nature is what we need to conserve our biosphere, says visiting professor.

Professor Peter Bridgewater, a member of Unesco Man and Biosphere inter-governmental coordinating council, provided a talk at the Manx Museum in Douglas which encouraged island residents to reconnect with the environment.

Entitled ’Don’t ask what your Biosphere can do for you but rather what you can do for it’, the lecture covered other global initiatives such as the United Nations’ sustainable development goals and global assessment on biodiversity and ecosystem services - which relate to Biosphere reserves.

’We are a part of biodiversity, not apart from it,’ said Professor Bridgewater, from the Institute of Applied Ecology at the University of Canberra in Australia. ’We shouldn’t be hands off in nature, but should be hands on because we’ve done so much to it.

’Biospheres spread our culture, feed us and keep us healthy - having green landscapes means having happy mental health.’

The presentation looked at how the whole community can benefit from enhancing or protecting its biosphere, giving examples from other sites around the world or methods that indigenous people in Australia still use today.

’The way indigenous people use the land is sustainable. We need to learn techniques and adopt the ways of thinking of these people to contribute to our successful survival into the next decade,’ he said.

’It’s about adaptive management - you don’t need to be careful at making changes that way. If what you’re doing is working, keep going, but if it’s not then stop and try it in a different way. We need to have conversations, get children and people involved in a practical way and bring Manx plants into the towns on our window boxes to encourage more birds in.’