Hello one hello all, and welcome back to Polar Times!

Today we are delighted to feature a former Polar Times team member, our original head-editor, Elise Gallois, Arctic tundra biogeographer extraordinaire from the University of Edinburgh! Elise comes on to talk to Jack all about her research including dendrochronology, shrubification, and microclimates. We hear all about the International Tundra Experiment (ITEX), Team Shrub and the Teabag Index. What is Elise’s favourite shrub? What happened with fieldwork during Covid? What will the Arctic tundra look like in the future? All these questions answered and more!

Moreover, Elise chats science communication, about her passion for science stand-up comedy and why this is a great tool for communicating difficult topics like climate change.

For info on the Bright Club, check out this link: https://scienceshowoff.wordpress.com/bright-club/

For the Coding Club Elise mentioned in her plug, go here: https://ourcodingclub.github.io

And finally, to see Elise’s comedy set at the British Ecological Society’s Science Slam go here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GVKQm07kCcY

As ever, if you would like to get in contact with Polar Times to recommend a guest, volunteer to be a guest, give us some feedback or just ask a question then you can email us (thesearepolartimes@gmail.com) or tweet APECS @Polar_Research any time- we would love to hear from you.

Episode edited by Elise Gallois

Cover art by Matthew Nelson

Music: "Scuba" by Metre, Nul Tiel Records, UK (unaltered) CC BY-NC-SA