Skip to main content

How is the lockdown impacting our environment?

How is the lockdown impacting our natural environment?

  • Date07 May 2020

During this pandemic several members of staff in the Department of Biological Sciences at Royal Holloway are tackling the challenge of understanding better the impact around COVID-19 and in particular the effect the lockdown is having on our natural environment.

Wild bee

Our academic staff in Biological Sciences work at the frontiers of knowledge in their subjects, and they frequently appear in the media sharing their research expertise and commenting on the latest thinking that is addressing global challenges.

Dr Becky Thomas, one of our senior teaching fellows, has recently been featured in the international press for an article on the positive and negative effects of the worldwide lockdown on our wildlife.

Read Becky’s article for The Conversation entitled 'What the lockdown could mean for urban wildlife' here

Meanwhile, Mark Brown, Professor in Evolutionary Ecology & Conservation has been considering the positive impact the lockdown might be having on pollinators – particularly bees that have been declining in number and could benefit from current changes in their environment.

Watch Mark from his back garden here


Explore Royal Holloway

Get help paying for your studies at Royal Holloway through a range of scholarships and bursaries.

There are lots of exciting ways to get involved at Royal Holloway. Discover new interests and enjoy existing ones.

Heading to university is exciting. Finding the right place to live will get you off to a good start.

Whether you need support with your health or practical advice on budgeting or finding part-time work, we can help.

Discover more about our 21 departments and schools.

Find out why Royal Holloway is in the top 25% of UK universities for research rated ‘world-leading’ or ‘internationally excellent’.

Royal Holloway is a research intensive university and our academics collaborate across disciplines to achieve excellence.

Discover world-class research at Royal Holloway.

Discover more about who we are today, and our vision for the future.

Royal Holloway began as two pioneering colleges for the education of women in the 19th century, and their spirit lives on today.

We’ve played a role in thousands of careers, some of them particularly remarkable.

Find about our decision-making processes and the people who lead and manage Royal Holloway today.