Bangor University professor awarded MBE – surprise message from Strictly winner
Julia Jones, Professor of conservation science at Bangor University, has been awarded an MBE for services to the Environment in King Charles III’s New Year’s Honours list.
Professor Jones was invited onto BBC Radio Wales to discuss the honour and was surprised by a recorded message from former student and Strictly Come Dancing winner Hamza Yassin, who offered his congratulations.
Hamza, the wildlife film maker and presenter who lifted the glitter ball trophy in 2022, said, “I just want to say a massive congratulations for your MBE. I can’t think of anyone more deserving. It’s a privilege and an honour to have been taught by you. From me, and all the other students you have taught throughout your time, I just want to say thank you, diolch yn fawr. Your hard work, your dedication and everything you do is just outstanding.”
Professor Jones is widely recognised for her work on improving the effectiveness of nature conservation by developing and applying methods to evaluate the impact of conservation policies and practices. She is committed to ensuring such research makes a real difference to practical conservation. Her past contributions include advising the RSPB and serving on the Darwin Expert Committee, which advises DEFRA on the Darwin Initiative - an important fund for biodiversity conservation and poverty alleviation. She is currently a trustee of WWF-UK.
Professor Jones is also a strong advocate for environmental research in Wales. As director of the Low Carbon Energy and Environment Research Network Wales, she led the #SmallNationBigIdeas initiative to showcase Welsh science contributing to tackling climate change.
She currently serves on the Joint Nature Conservation Committee, the statutory advisor to the UK and devolved governments on UK-wide and international nature conservation issues. In this role, she co-chairs the Chief Scientists Group, which brings together the scientific leads from all the UK’s statutory nature conservation bodies.
Reflecting on the honour, Professor Jones said, “I am not often lost for words but when people ask what it feels like to have been named in the New Year Honours I am stumped. I know it is a cliché, but the truth is that it is truly humbling. These are difficult times: the interconnected climate and nature crisis are complex problems with no easy fix. But working with such brilliant colleagues and students at Bangor University and beyond gives me hope.”
Alongside her research and advisory roles, Professor Jones has played a significant part in shaping conservation education at Bangor University. She previously served as course director for the University’s conservation degrees and continues to teach on undergraduate and masters courses in Conservation and Land Management, GLOBE and Wildlife Conservation.
Conservation is a major strength of Bangor University - find out more about the impactful research in this area here.
An MBE is a prestigious award in the UK honours system recognising outstanding service or achievement in a particular field. They are awarded by the King on the advice of the UK Prime Minister.
Zoology with conservation and animal behaviour graduate Hamza was given an Honorary Master of Science degree by Bangor University for services to popular entertainment and contribution to learning through all media in 2022. You can watch his graduation speech here.