Seeds of the Past: Seed Banks and Climate Change

Eben Kirksey, Professor of Anthropology at the University of Oxford, is known for multispecies ethnography and research on human and nonhuman relations.

He examines how death circulates nutrients across microbial, plant, fungal and animal communities, and how modern mortuary and biomedical practices intervene in regenerative cycles. Using artworks as prompts, the talk investigates responsibility in life and death, exploring ethical, ecological and scientific tensions that reshape multispecies connections.

In English.

This workshop explores the traditional process of assembling a herbarium specimen, inspired by Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s collections. Participants learn scientific techniques for pressing and mounting dried plants on old paper, practice botanical labelling and nomenclature, and select specimens to create a personal herbarium sheet. The session examines preservation methods, identification principles and the historical context of Rousseau’s approach, combining practical skills with scientific insight to produce a lasting botanical object.

In French.

This interactive memory challenge invites participants to test their memory while exploring practical ways to preserve biodiversity based on Geneva’s municipal strategy. Players match “before-and-after” images that illustrate individual and institutional actions, and each correct pair reveals concise information explaining the measure. The activity examines themes such as habitat restoration, species-friendly practices, urban greening and policy responses, helping participants understand the impact and rationale behind everyday and organisational conservation choices.