Workshops and Lunchtime Events
Workshops
W1 Workshop on research data management for advancing sustainable land use practices
Shorttitle: Better manage your data!
Date: Friday 13 September 2024
Time: 09:00 – 12:00
Organizers: Daniel Tschink, German Federation for Biological Data (GFBio e.V.), dtschink@gfbio.org
Jimena Linares, German Federation for Biological Data (GFBio e.V.), jlinares@gfbio.org
Location: Forestry science building, HS23
Fee: Euro 20.00
Minimum number of participants: 15
Description:
In the context of the GfÖ24 conference, dedicated to exploring the future of sustainable land use across ecosystems, landscapes, and biomes, our workshop aims to address the critical role of research data management in advancing innovative land use and management strategies. As global land-use change and unsustainable practices continue to drive biodiversity and ecosystem function loss, the workshop focuses on empowering ecologists with the skills and knowledge needed to harness the full potential of research data. The escalating volume, complexity, and creation speed of research data pose challenges to their long-term value and accessibility. Recognizing the importance of transparent and collaborative data practices, this workshop emphasizes the need for 'good' research data management. Drawing inspiration from the FAIR principles (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable), the workshop aligns with the increasing demand for transparency from research institutions, funders, and publishers. The workshop begins with an exploration of the basics of research data management across the entire data life cycle. The second section delves into the initial stages of the data life cycle, focusing on the planning of research projects and the subsequent publication of heterogeneous data. Practical examples illustrate the significance of a robust data management plan and guide participants in preparing data for publication and archival. In the final section, the workshop offers a firsthand account of experiences within the consortium NFDI4Biodiversity, providing valuable insights into tools and services that support effective research data management. Through this workshop, we aim to equip participants with the skills and knowledge necessary to enhance the transparency, accessibility, and interoperability of research data. By fostering collaborative efforts and leveraging the vast resources of ecological data, the workshop contributes to the overarching goal of advancing ecological knowledge for the development of sustainable land use and management strategies.
Workshop combining theoretical and practical aspects of Research Data Management. A hands-on session spotlights one of the NFDI4Biodiversity Services.
W2 Effective digital note taking: How to organize your knowledge and streamline your workflow with Obsidian
Shorttitle: Effective digital note taking
Date: Friday 13.09.2024, ½ day
Time: 9.30 – 13:00
Organizers: Anne Lewerentz, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, anne.lewerentz@kit.edu, Selina Baldauf
Freie Universität Berlin, selina.baldauf@fu-berlin.de, Max Luttermann, UFZ Leipzig, max.luttermann@uni-goettingen.de
Location: Forestry science building, S7a
Fee: Euro 20.00
Maximum number of participants: 30
Minimum number of participants: 10
Description:
Effective note-taking is an important skill for any scientist, as it allows you to keep track of the tasks you need to complete, key learnings from papers you've read, the design of your research, and any new ideas that come up while you're working. There are many different ways to take notes, including using pen and paper, post-its, digital documents, and even printed out papers with notes written on them. This often results in scattered notes on different media that are difficult to extend, connect, search or archive. Having all of your different notes in one place allows you to keep your thoughts organized and interconnected and helps you to always find your notes again and to streamline your workflow. The goal of this interactive workshop is to explore the various methods of note-taking, discuss what we require good notes to look like and introduce a powerful tool called Obsidian. Obsidian is a markdown-based note-taking tool that can help modelers stay organized and on track with their work. It provides an easy-to-use interface for creating and organizing notes, as well as a system for linking notes with each other to create a web of interconnected thoughts and ideas. Obsidian is very flexible and can be customized and optimized for your specific workflow and thought process. This flexibility and adaptability make it a valuable tool for any modeler looking to improve their note-taking and stay organized. To get started, we will provide a Demo-Notebook for academic note-taking with a lot of useful functionality (e.g. daily notes, literature notes connected to Zotero, organizing to-dos and projects) on Github.
Interactive pre-conference workshop with hands-on sessions. We would like to offer the workshop as a pre-conference format to allow participants to train on note-taking during the conference and to answer any further questions that may arise. Equipment needed: Every participant should bring his / her laptop.
W3 Improving the contribution of ecology to the planning of green cities
Shorttitle: Bringing ecology into urban planning
Date: Friday 13.09.2024, ½ day
Time: 09:30-13:30
Organizers: Wolfgang Weisser, TU Munich, wolfgang.weisser@tum.de, Sarah Bekessy, Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology RMIT, Australia, sarah.bekessy@rmit.edu.au, Thomas Hauck, TU Vienna, thomas.hauck@tuwien.ac.at
Location: Forestry science building, S7b
Fee: Euro 20.00
Maximum number of participants: 40
Minimum number of participants: 10
Description:
Cities are the place where most humans work and live. Cities are therefore also the place where humans can experience nature in their day-to-day life. While greening cities and allowing for more human-nature interactions is now a major aim of governments worldwide, there is a lack of tangible solutions that can be integrated into established urban planning procedures. This is because ecology has only recently started to understand what species can live in a city under what circumstances, and because urban planning has traditionally focused on planning for humans only. The aim of the session is to discuss how ecology can contribute to a better planning of cities where positive human-nature interactions are made possible while conflicts are minimized. Discussion questions include: What type of research is needed to better understand the conditions under which species can live in the city? How can ecology contribute to setting objectives in the planning of urban green infrastructure, but also in planning of the built environment? What are hallmarks of applied urban ecology? Can ecology integrate better with the disciplines shaping the city – urban planning, architecture, landscape architecture, transport planning and how can this be achieved? How can ecology contribute to sociological research on human-nature interactions, e.g. human-animal studies? Participants of the workshop will decide if the results of the workshop should be summarized in a perspective paper, and agree on follow-on activities.
This will be a half-day workshop. There will be three short inputs by workshop organizers then discussions, first in the plenary, then in groups, and again in the plenary.
W4 Exploration, analysis and cloud processing of free Sentinel imagery for ecological monitoring with Copernicus Data Space Ecosystem
Shorttitle: Copernicus Data Space Ecosystem
Date: Friday 13 September 2024
Time: 09:30 – 13:30
Organizers: András Zlinszky, Sinergise (andras.zlinszky@dataspace.copernicus.eu)
Location: Forestry science building, S4
Fee: Euro 20.00
Maximum number of participants: 30
Minimum number of participants: 5
Description:
Satellite imagery offers many ways to monitor ecosystems and bridge gaps in space and time. However, processing large image datasets used to demand complex software, large data storage and processing capacities. However, Copernicus Data Space Ecosystem changes the paradigm for satellite data analysis: imagery can now be accessed in code through a set of API-s, data can be visualized directly in a web browser, and regional-scale data processing on virtual machines is available free of charge. In this workshop, we will start from the basics of satellite earth observation, explore various ways of visualization (Copernicus Browser, QGIS Plugin), look into new ways to make code development for earth observation easy (Request Builder, openEO), and learn to use the on-board Jupyter Lab that allows online processing without setting up an environment.
After this course, you will be able to make the most of the official data infrastructure for Sentinel Data by understanding the technical details of satellite data access and analysis.
This will be a half-day workshop, starting with an introductory presentation and continuing with hands-on exercises. Participants should use their own laptops, but no software installation is necessary.
Lunch time Events
01 A disco in city soundscapes (family friendly event)
Date: Tuesday 10.09.2024
Time: 12:45 to 13:45
Organizers: Monika Egerer, Technical University of Munich, monika.egerer@tum.de, Susanne Schmitt, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, schmitt@biotopia.net, Stefanie Burger, Technical University of Munich, stefanie.burger@tum.de
Location: Rooftop im iGZW
Description:
Join the ‘CitySoundscapes’ team as we immerse ourselves in an auditory exploration of urban soundscapes. Our aim is to heighten the awareness of the diverse auditory tapestry in cities, showcasing both the biological features (birds chirping) and anthropogenic elements (cars honking) that contribute to the sonic identity of urban environments. In this interactive session, participants will groove to the eclectic blend of biophonic, geophonic, and anthrophonic sounds derived from acoustic ecological research in Munich based on the Dawn Chorus Art&Science Project. The international sound making collective Alligator Gozaimasu have created an album based on those soundscapes recordings and will share a playlist they specifically created for the GfÖ conference. Participants will gain insight into the ecological diversity of city green spaces but also the profound impact of natural soundscapes on human health and well-being. As we synchronize our movements to the rhythms of urban life and the melodies of nature, we invite attendees to ponder the therapeutic benefits of immersing oneself in natural sounds amidst the hustle and bustle of the city. Moreover, the disco serves as a platform for the convergence of art and science, illustrating how soundscapes can become a dynamic multisensory interface of sound, environment, and human experience. Let's dance, listen, and connect in the world of urban soundscapes.
02 People - Nature - Future: A digital exhibition
Date: 09.09-12.09.2024
Time: 12:30 – 14:00
Organizers: Ingrid Rügemer, Symbio(s)cene e.V., i.ruegemer@symbioscene.com, Oliver Szasz, Macromedia University of Applied Sciences and Symbio(s)cene e.V., o.szasz@symbioscene.com, Tina Heger, TU Munich and Symbio(s)cene e.V., t.heger@tum.de
Location: ZHG S3, Forestry Science Building, S4 (“Recharge, Reflect, Revive”)
Description:
The digital exhibition »People – Nature – Future« presents the internationally awarded works by the Scandinavian artist duo Karoline Hjorth and Riitta Ikonen. In their remarkable art project »Eyes as Big as Plates«, which has been ongoing since 2011, the artists explore the relationship between people and nature. To this end, they have traveled the world and portrayed people in a wide variety of landscapes. The photo portrait series shows individuals wrapped in artistic sculptures made from elements of the environment. The artists play with symbiotic narratives and new aesthetic worlds - nature serves here both as content and context. The digital exhibition will be curated by the NGO Symbio(s)cene. The artworks will be prepared as slides to be shown repeatedly during the conference on the presentation screens in the lecture halls. The digital exhibition will be complemented with a documentation of the making-off.
Conference visitors are invited to experience the inspiring photographic works of art during breaks. The impressive series of portraits will create a unique atmosphere and will enrich the conference experience by offering sources of inspiration, demonstrating the significance of emotional human-nature connections, and stimulating informal conversations.
03 What is the role of ecologists in the climate and environmental crisis? – A case for public action
Date: Thursday 12.09.2024
Time: 12:45-13:45
Organizers: Matthias Grotkopp, Freie Universität Berlin, m.grotkopp@fu-berlin.de, Elodie Duyck, Universität Hamburg, elodie.duyck@uni-hamburg.de
Location: Forestry Science Building, S7a
Description:
Despite repeated warnings from the scientific community, global greenhouse gas emissions are still on the rise. Records after records are being broken, the extinction rate is rising and many eco-systems are on the verge of breakdown, but instead of taking the necessary urgent action to slow down the climate and ecological emergencies, governments continue subsidizing and approving new fossil infrastructure, and pursuing policies that undermine biodiversity. When confronted with “a rapidly closing window of opportunity to secure a liveable and sustainable future for all”1, as stated in the last IPCC report, what is our role as scientists? In this lunchtime event, we want to discuss the role of scientists, particularly ecologists, and the scientific community, in the face of the climate and environmental crisis. What is the relationship between scientists, the scientific community, the general public and politics? Should we limit ourselves to the production of knowledge or do we have a responsibility to engage with that knowledge and with society? Can research be completely neutral and value free, in particular when it has direct implications for the lives and livelihoods of human and more-that-human beings? What other forms of public engagement are suitable for scientists apart from informing about the crisis? As an open discussion forum, we want to invite participants to reflect on their position and exchange ideas about the many different modes of activism available to scientists, the kind of roles can we envision for ourselves, and the support and network do we need to translate research into public action?
04 Publishing tips and tricks from the other side
Date: Tuesday 10.09.2024
Time: 12:45 – 13:45
Organizers: Dr Andrea Stephens, Editor in Chief, Trends in Ecology and Evolution, Cell Press, Elsevier, Oxford, a.stephens@elsevier.com, Dr Valeria Rinaudo, Ecology Publisher, Elsevier, Amsterdam, v.rinaudo@elsevier.com, Dr Oscar Brusa, Scientific Editor, iScience, Cell Press, Elsevier, Munich, o.brusa@cell.com
Location: ZHG, HS 15
Description:
Publishing ecological results is important for myriad reasons. However, the prospect can be daunting as the process seems opaque and littered with unwritten rules. This is a session aimed primarily at early career researchers, although all are invited to attend. The three presenters are all professional staff at ecological journals with slightly different roles. We will outline the general process of publishing from our perspective and discuss common pitfalls. We plan to focus on the initial part of the process – selecting a journal, parts of the submission and how to minimise the probability of desk rejection. We will explain how editor’s make the decision to send a paper out for peer review and what article transfer means for the authors. The workshop will be kept light, and participants will be encouraged to ask questions and engage in discussion. If possible, we would like to offer participants the opportunity to submit questions in advance to tree@cell.com. All speakers will be around for the duration of the conference and will be available for further questions.
05 Open data publishing in biodiversity science and ecology: The viewpoint of a scholarly publisher
Date: Wednesday 11.09.2024
Time: 13:00 – 13:30
Organizers: Iva Boyadzhieva, Head of Journal development, PR and Marketing (Pensoft)
Location: ZHG, HS15
Description:
The main goal of the session is to address existing challenges and issues experienced by ecology and biodiversity researchers in data publishing and discuss innovative tools, platforms and solutions that facilitate the sharing of open research data and results while fostering the best scientific practices aligning with the FAIR data principles.
We plan to run a preliminary survey and compile a short video presentation, in order to identify some of the most common struggles the community currently faces.
During the session, we will present and discuss common struggles and obstacles related to open and efficient communication of research results and data, including increasing AI use in scholarly publishing. We will suggest solutions to address those issues, ranging from publishing technology to workflows and best practices. We will also invite feedback and further ideas.
As an academic publisher and research project partner, Pensoft will share experience and evaluate together with the participants some of the existing innovative solutions that can be used to overcome the identified constraints.
As an outcome of the session, we will not only identify additional challenges the ecologists are currently facing but will also raise awareness about some of the existing innovative tools and encourage further cooperation on the subject.
06 Young Modellers in Ecology" (YoMos)
Date: Wednesday 10.09.2024
Time: 12:45 – 13:45
Organizers: YoMos
Location: Forestry Science Building, HS23
Description:
We, the "Young Modellers in Ecology" (YoMos), are a group of young scientists dedicated to all fields of ecological modelling. Our goal is to enhance scientific exchange among Bachelor, Master, and PhD students engaged in ecological modelling. We organise annual workshops and provide a platform for sharing experiences, fostering collaboration, and networking. During this lunchtime meeting, we aim to connect young modellers and introduce our work. We hope many participants, whether they are familiar with YoMos or not, will join. We will specifically welcome new faces.
