Madrid: The Capital City of Spain (28 June 2013)

Madrid is the capital and the largest city of Spain by population with almost 3.2 million (with about 6.5 million in the metropolitan area). It is the third-largest city by population, after London (UK) and Berlin (Germany) and the third-largest city by metropolitan area, after London (UK) and Paris (France) in the European Union.

As the capital city of the country, it serves as the seat of government, the palace of the Spanish monarch, the political, economic, cultural, financial, education, science, entertainment and media centers. With its importance, Madrid is one of the world’s major global cities. Two famous football clubs, Real Madrid and Atlético de Madrid, are based here as well.

Madrid is also home to important Spanish companies, such as Telefónica (broadband and telecommunication company), Iberia (National Airliner) and Repsol (energy company). According to Monocle magazine (UK magazine) in 2014, Madrid was ranked 17^th for the most livable cities in the world.

The major tourist attractions in Madrid include the Royal Palace of Madrid, the Royal Theater, the Buen Retiro Park, the National Library, and the Golden Triangle of Art.

Source: Madrid

The Royal Palace of Madrid

The Buen Retiro Park

Crystal Palace inside the Buen Retiro Park

Paseo del Prado

Darwin Scholarship Programme 2012 (20-30 August 2012)

FSC Preston Montford, Shropshire (A venue of biodiversity field training)

On a global scale there are three key needs related to science education.

1. A need of taxonomists and experts with observation and identification skills.

2. A need of biodiversity records in a more coherent and robust way.

3. A need of effective communication for scientists towards a wide range of people from school students to decision makers.

This workshop brought young scientists from all around the world.

The Statue of Charles Darwin at the front of Shrewsbury Grammar School (currently as the town library), where Charles Darwin was educated (photo taken 24 Aug 2012) 

 The house of Charles Darwin in Shrewsbury

 

Atmosphere in the class

Excursion to Snowdonia National Park

Moth Trap 

Catching butterflies 

Catching beetles 

Trapping night insects

Setting live traps for small mammals. So much fun!

A photo in the front of The Down House of Charles Darwin in London

A curator is showing plant herbarium at the Natural History Museum in London 

Meeting Randal Keynes in person. Randal Keynes is a British conservationist, an author, and great-great-grandson of Charles Darwin :)