Helen’s (additional) post at Gresham College as the Frank Jackson Foundation Professor of the Environment involves delivering a programme of lectures, all of which are free to view online.
The 2025-26 lecture series is titled “Notes from a Large Planet: a citizen’s guide to the Earth”. It explores the interconnected systems that make our planet habitable. From the flow of energy and recycling of matter to the vital roles of oceans, air, land, ice, and life itself, the series offers a big-picture view of Earth as a living, dynamic system. Each lecture reveals how natural processes underpin our survival—and how our actions are altering them.
Earth is a living planet. But how much life is there, and what is it doing? We will discuss the distribution of biomass on Earth, and compare the effects of microbes, wild animals, domesticated animals. The aim of this lecture is to provide concrete examples of how life is woven in with the rest of the planetary engine, expanding the importance of biodiversity from sentiment alone to a matter of survival for both whole ecosystems and our own civilisation.