Café Scientifique is a place where, for the price of a cup of coffee or a glass of wine, anyone can come to explore the latest ideas in science and technology.
Meetings take place in cafes, bars, restaurants or even theatres, but always outside a traditional academic context.
The first Cafés Scientifique in the UK were held in Leeds in 1998. From there, cafes gradually spread across the country. Currently, some 70 cafés meet regularly to hear scientists or writers talk about their work and discuss it with diverse audiences.
Café Scientifique is a forum for debating science issues, not a shop window for science. We are committed to promoting public engagement with science and to making science accountable.
Our monthly meetings take place on the first Monday of the month at 7pm.
If you wish to be informed about future events, then please email one of the organisers and we will happily add you to our email list.
Meet the Organisers
How should we go about restoring nature?
How should we go about restoring nature?
Neil Metcalfe
7pm Monday 2nd June 2025
Waterstones Glasgow, Sauchiehall St, Glasgow G2 3EW
Nature restoration is currently a hotly debated topic that spans conservation, agriculture, rural economies, tourism and land use. It features heavily in our responses to the climate and biodiversity emergencies – but how should we do it? Is the current enthusiasm for planting trees justified, or can it do more harm than good? Should most of our hills and mountains be covered in trees (as was once the case) or would this destroy the iconic appearance of the Scottish highlands? How do we arrive at the ‘right’ density of deer, when shooting estates require a higher density (for their business to be viable) than is desired by conservationists? Why does ‘rewilding’ cause so many arguments? Has the reintroduction of beavers and sea eagles been problematic - should we reintroduce any more lost species (anyone for lynx, wolf and wild boar?). And how do we balance the needs of people and of nature, for instance in the Cairngorms National Park where there are sensitive and endangered species (such as the Capercaillie) that live in the same Caledonian pinewoods that visitors find so attractive? There’s clearly lots to discuss!
Neil Metcalfe is Professor of Behavioural Ecology at the University of Glasgow. His own research has primarily been on the behaviour and ecology of fishes (including salmon and trout), but in his role as a member of the Scientific Advisory Committee of NatureScot, the nature agency of the Scottish Government, he was involved in many discussions about the management and conservation of species and habitats in Scotland. This included chairing a committee looking at the conservation of Capercaillie and another examining deer management. He has also just been made chair of the Scottish Policy Group for the British Ecological Society.
Note that to give our hosts some idea of how many people with be attending, they would appreciate it if you would fill in this online form.
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