In this joyful, wide‑ranging conversation, forest ecologist and science communicator Dr Robin Hayward joins Kit Marie for a celebration of trees, identity, science, and storytelling.

Robin shares how growing up on Dartmoor shaped their love of horizons, how Malaysian rainforests revealed the long‑term impact of selective logging, and why hugging trees is both a scientific method and a source of soul‑level joy.

Other themes include:

• Measuring rainforests, from canopy lizards to multi‑decade seedling studies

• How restoration succeeds (or doesn’t) across generations

• Whether tropical or boreal forests should be prioritised — a playful debate

• Star Trek, Thunderbirds, and the magic of weaving sci‑fi into teaching

• The social camouflage queer scientists navigate in fieldwork

• Creative science communication: live shows, art, code, and cake

• Building inclusive fieldwork environments and resources for LGBTQ+ geographers

Find Robin everywhere online via https://canopyrobin.com/links, including Bluesky, Instagram, Threads, Mastodon and LinkedIn.

🔗 Leeds Ecosystem, Atmosphere & Forest (LEAF) Centre: https://leaf.leeds.ac.uk/gairwood

🔗 Inclusive Fieldwork at University of Leeds: https://inclusivefieldwork.leeds.ac.uk

🔗 ESC (Ecological Site Classification) for UK Tree Suitability GIS tool: http://www.forestdss.org.uk/geoforestdss/

🔗 South East Asia Rainforest Research Partnership (SEARRP): https://www.searrp.org/

🔗 SAFE Project, Malaysia: https://atlas.smartforests.net/en/logbooks/safe-project/