Budding Researchers Showcase

The Conversation Resources for member universities and academic authors

Key-words: timber harvesting, erosion, Plynlimon, aggradation, drainage ditch

Summary: Accelerated rates of river channel and drainage ditch erosion in response to plot-scale timber harvesting in the Tanllwyth catchment have been widely reported. This study shows that natural recovery in rates of erosion after plot-scale timber harvesting is followed by differential rates of aggradation within drainage ditches. An apparent binary system of ‘open’ and ‘closed’ drainage ditch types has established itself in the Tanllwyth catchment, and sediment distributions from each suggest subtle differences in depositional circumstances likely influenced by forestry-related activities. Tanllwyth drainage ditches have also been shown to be important sediment stores and may represent >16% of total sediment flux with implications for catchment hydrogeomorphological development dominated by low sediment entrainment competence within ditches. The findings in this study demonstrate that a longer-term perspective is warranted.

Key-words: graffiti, street art, (b)ordering, legal frameworks, Cardiff, Criminal Damage Act 1971, ASBO, urban space, place-making, broken windows theory, youth culture, spatial governance

Across many Western cities, including Cardiff, walls narrate urban stories. Traces left by spray cans and paint raise increasingly familiar public debates on graffiti and street art. This dissertation explores the legal context of these debates. It dives into the complex legal framework regulating graffiti, exploring how the law responds to graffiti’s growing presence in urban space. Focusing on the Criminal Damage Act 1971 classification of graffiti management in Cardiff’s legal and geographical environment will be examined.
Through a look into case law, interviews with counsellors and an analysis of policy measures, this research project unpacks how Cardiff’s authorities approach graffiti. The findings reveal a growing tension between the criminalisation of graffiti and its cultural significance, raising questions like: Is there a way to legally embrace street culture through art without it losing control or prosecuting artists? This study explores how cities can rethink graffiti laws to balance legal perspectives with creative freedom.

Keywords: Rewilding, Knepp, biodiversity, environment, social, economic, adaptation, rewilding techniques, community

Key recommendations:

1. prioritise community engagement and education,
2. start with simple, low-cost techniques,
3. plan for accessibility and inclusivity,
4. explore different funding models and be as adaptive and flexible as possible.

With the accelerating loss of biodiversity on a global scale, rewilding is becoming an extremely important topic in helping to slow this loss down. This dissertation explores how lessons used from the Knepp Estate rewilding project can be translated and sustained by small-scale community rewilding projects. Callum identifies the rewilding techniques used at Knepp, the impacts rewilding at Knepp has on the environment, socially and economically, and how success can be measured in rewilding.