EDI Symposium 2025
GCG EDI Symposium 2025:
The GCG are proud to announce a three day ‘EDI Symposium’ for April 9th, 10th, and 11th. The sessions have been designed to be as flexible as possible to the workday, lasting around an hour and being fully online. The structure of each session comprises of a few short talks (~10 minutes) by guest speakers, followed by questions and discussion.
We will cover three main themes, seen below, with the aim of creating accessible and varied information on topics not always discussed and considered in Geoscience and museum settings. We therefore offer this event to share new perspectives, initiatives, and research which can help build a more supportive space for all within the field(s).
The event is free, and you do not need to be a GCG member to attend- everyone is welcome! If you have any questions or comments, please contact Gemma Laker,
Please register for the events below:
Wednesday 9th, (11-12:30) Addressing our colonial legacy in Geosciences and Museums – https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/eo0pTW6wSU6D6BdZMpro5A
Thursday 10th, (11-12:30) Gender and Queer Representation in Geosciences and Museums - https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/gQQbA9wYTn6l0ckiFZeJyg
Friday 11th, (11-12:30) Inclusion and Neurodiversity in the Workplace and Museums - https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/Ig6fgluiTRuVcFK4cKuHqg
Please find summaries of the talks and biographies of the speakers below:
WEDNESDAY: Addressing our colonial legacy in Geosciences and Museums
‘Specimens of Empire: Extraction, Control, and the Global Inequities of Science’
Tilak Tewari (he/him)
Tilak’s talk will explore how scientific specimens from around the world, like fossils and minerals, ended up in European museums and botanical gardens of the nineteenth century. Take the Siwalik fossils from Tilak’s home region in the Western Himalaya—their discoverers, Hugh Falconer and Proby Cautley, were awarded the prestigious Wollaston Medal for acquiring and studying these specimens. European scientists in the colonies began as mere collectors but later built major careers, relying heavily on indigenous experts who rarely received credit. This raises big questions: Who controlled scientific knowledge? How did local specialists shape or resist specimen extraction? Even today, the location of these collections in UK and Europe creates barriers for Global South scholars, and reflect ongoing inequities in knowledge access.
Tilak Tewari is a historian of science and medicine, with a particular focus on mountain landscapes such as Himalaya and Transhimalaya. His research explores the historical development of natural history in the context of empire, spanning disciplines of geology, botany, zoology, and related fields. Tilak is also a Junior Professional Fellow at the Centre for Ecology Development and Research working on making academic research more accessible to broader audiences.
‘Empathetic engagement in the Earth Sciences’
Dr Anjana Khatwa (she/her)
Across the world, stories from the Earth have been told for thousands of years that have connected the human spirit to rock and landscape. But over the centuries, the violence of colonisation and the supremacy of contemporary scientific thought has threatened not only the existence of Traditional Knowledge, it has created a distance between the geological world and ourselves. Through empathy and humility, we can reframe ourselves to align our scientific knowledge with that of ancient wisdom so that our curatorial practices become more reflective and ethically minded.
Dr Anjana Khatwa is an Earth Scientist specialising in bringing stories about the origins and formation of natural landscapes to life for a wide range of audiences. She is an established and award-winning expert in learning, engagement and inclusion within natural heritage, museums and the geosciences with multiple publications and articles in leading journals and popular magazines. Her debut non-fiction book (published on 4th September 2025), The Whispers of Rock, will be a global story of how rocks have not only shaped our world but also our lives. Anjana lives in Dorset with her husband and their three children in a house filled with rocks and fossils.
‘How can minerals help us think about colonialism, empire, and science?’
Dr Eleanor S Armstrong (she/her)
Eleanor will introduce the recent special issue ’Mobilising Museum Minerals’ (Museum & Society, 2024), as well as her practice-based workshop ‘Unearthing the Collection’ to bring to the GCG conversation work currently being done to address the colonial histories and presents of geological collections both by museum professionals and scholars.
Dr Eleanor Armstrong is a Space Research Fellow at the University of Leicester, UK, where she leads the Constellations Lab. Eleanor is a Trustree of Pride in STEM; co-lead of the international biannual conference Space Science in Context; and co-developer of the design studio EXO-MOAN. Her research focuses on queer feminist approaches to social studies of outer space, particularly the presentation of femininities, feminisms, and femmes in public discourses about outer space; and on anti-colonial work in science and natural history museums.
‘Misplaced Provenance: Recovering the Colonial Histories of the University of St Andrews' Natural Science Collection’
Conall Treen (he/him)
During the 1960s, the Bell Pettigrew Museum (founded in 1911) at the University of St Andrews was reorganised into a Zoological Teaching Museum. During this process, many specimens were disconnected from their provenance as labels were removed or updated. While specimens were made visible and legible to visitors through a scientific lens, their social and cultural histories were obscured. This talk will outline the strategies and methods of the University’s recent Bell Pettigrew Museum Provenance Project to uncover the diverse social histories behind these objects and discuss the challenges of conducting provenance research on natural science collections. Moreover, this talk reflects on developing decolonial practices in cataloguing and research within natural history museums, as well as the necessity of making visible colonial legacies in a myriad of ways.
Conall Treen is a PhD researcher in the School of History at the University of St Andrews. His research focuses on the legacies of empire associated with the University’s natural science collection and the history of colonial collecting in the Pacific World. Conall is also a Collections Trainee with the Museums of the University of St Andrews and worked as a project lead on the University’s Bell Pettigrew Museum Provenance Project (2023-2024).
‘Contextualising the Curriculum’
Sophia Quazi (she/her) and Kavesh Ramnarace Singh
Contextualising the Curriculum (CtC) is a project funded by Imperial College London’s Teaching and Learning Strategy Fund. It is a collaborative project involving staff and students from Earth Science and Engineering and Materials departments. The project aims to diversify content, train and empower students to continue the decolonising work, and most importantly improve the sense of belonging of students from marginalised backgrounds. The talk will outline the 3-year project, focusing on the first out of three workplans which aims to audit the current curriculum through surveys and focus groups.
Sophia Quazi is an Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Coordinator for Earth Science Engineering (ESE) and Mechanical Engineering at Imperial College London. She has been working in EDI in Higher Education since 2018. She currently leads EDI Committees and strategy in both departments she works in. Notable projects she has worked on include the Royal Academy of Engineering’s Diversity Impact Programme and ESE’s International Day of Women and Girls in Science Outreach Fund.
Kavesh was born and raised in Trinidad and Tobago. He is now a Geophysics student at Imperial College London, passionate about making science more inclusive and representative. Kavesh has a broad background in environmental science and geography, and is committed to contextualizing the curriculum to reflect diverse perspectives and global challenges. Through his research and advocacy, he aims to bridge gaps in education, ensuring that science is accessible and relevant to students from all backgrounds.
THURSDAY: Gender and Queer Representation in Geosciences and Museums
‘Girls into Geoscience: inspiring the next generation of female Earth Scientists’
Prof Sarah Boulton (she/her)
Girls into Geoscience (GiG) is a two-day annual event at the University of Plymouth that aims to empower and encourage female (including non-binary and female-identifying) A-level students to consider degrees and careers in the Geosciences. The event consists of a fieldtrip, as well as talks and workshops from across the Geosciences. The main aim of GiG is to showcase the range of Geoscience career pathways that are possible across industry and academia, and provide role models for girls. The talk will present some of the key findings from survey respondents on the influence of the event on the subsequent pathways of attendees, as well as analyse the wider impact on student demographics in Earth Science degrees.
Prof Sarah Boulton is a Professor of Geohazards at the University of Plymouth. She first started working at the university in 2006 following the completion of her PhD from the University of Edinburgh. She is an expert in geophysical hazards and landscape evolution.
LGBTQ+ in the Geosciences: the GeolSoc’s approach to queer inclusion and representation
Dr Natasha Stephen (she/her)
This talk will highlight recent and renewed efforts by the Geological Society to include and represent LGBTQ+ individuals within their programmes and initiatives, as well as highlighting new projects and opportunities for the queer community to become more involved, included a new GSL book volume by LGBTQ+ authors, a new Discord community, and Pride/History events throughout the year.
Natasha (Nat) Stephen is Director of Science & Engagement at the Geological Society, as well as an honorary academic at Imperial College London, and member of the LGBTQ+ community herself. With personal experience of discrimination alongside queer community, Nat is seeking to bring a more equitable and inclusive community for everyone at the Geological Society along with her colleagues, and is looking forward to sharing these ideas and opportunities with the wider community
‘An introduction to queer possibility in museums’
Margaret Middleton (they/them)
This talk will cover an introduction to Queer Possibility, a set of strategies for interpreting queer stories in history. The current practice will be outlined, before discussing common arguments against including queer content in museums. Finally, the three interpretive strategies in Margaret’s 2020 article "Queer Possibility," will be explained.
Margaret Middleton is an American independent exhibit designer and museum consultant currently based in Manchester, England. With a degree in industrial design from the Rhode Island School of Design and nearly 20 years of experience in the museum field, they work at the intersection of design and social justice. Middleton developed the popular Family Inclusive Language Chart and consults with museums on implementing inclusive practice with special focus on children, gender minorities, and queer people.
‘Uncovering Queer history to challenge Earth science stereotypes’
Liz Hide (she/her) and Klara Widrig (she/they)
Since 2019, the Sedgwick Museum of Earth Sciences in Cambridge has been researching LGBTQ+ histories relating to the Museum and its collections. This research has informed LGBTQ+ themed tours of the museum for groups and members of the public, as well as online talks and social media posts. This talk will highlight a couple of the stories that have been discovered, and discuss how they challenge existing stereotypes of geologists and provide points of connection and inspiration for LGBTQ+ young people. Some of the challenges and considerations in delivering tours such as these will also be discussed. As part of an intersectional programme highlighting marginalised histories, which includes those of women and of the legacies of empire within our collections, the Sedgwick Museum’s LGBTQ+ history tours play an important role in making the Museum a more inclusive and welcoming space and contribute to ensuring that the next generation of Earth Scientists are diverse and inclusive.
Liz Hide is a Director of the Sedgwick Museum of Earth Sciences at the University of Cambridge. Previously she was the Museums Officer for the University of Cambridge Museums consortium, Curator of Invertebrate Palaeontology at the National Museums of Scotland, and a freelance consultant specialising in organisational strategy in the University museum sector. Liz is passionate about the role that our museums can play in addressing social inequality and global challenges.
Klara Widrig is Peter Buck Post Doctoral Fellow at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, interested in major transitions in vertebrate evolution, particularly the non-avian dinosaur to bird transition and the origin of flight. While a PhD student at the University of Cambridge, she led LGBTQ+ history tours in the Sedgwick Museum.
FRIDAY: Inclusion and Neurodiversity in the Workplace and Museums
‘Supporting neurodiverse young people through volunteering and work experience opportunities at the Sedgwick Museum of Earth Sciences’
Sarah Hammond, (she/her)
The Sedgwick Museum has been supporting neurodiverse young people in the museum since 2019. Through volunteering and work experience opportunities, the museum has provided simple, tailored entry points for young people aged 15+ to learn about Geology and the breadth of museum careers. The museum has hosted Year 10 work experience placements and had an active volunteer programme for many years. Using a considered approach with an open mind to adaptations, neurodiverse students at the Sedgwick Museum have been able to join these established programmes, proving that creating opportunities for a diverse range of needs is possible and extremely rewarding. After seeing the benefits these placements bring, the museum now actively incorporates opportunities for neurodiverse students in its strategic planning and focuses on harnessing the enthusiasm for Earth Sciences that these young people have, and often don’t have an outlet for. This talk explores the challenges and successes of accommodating neurodiverse opportunities in the workplace and the positive impact on future pathways into geology and the Earth Sciences that they have.
Sarah Hammond is the Operations and Visitor Services Manager at the Sedgwick Museum of Earth Sciences, University of Cambridge. Sarah has worked in University Museums since 2008, beginning at the Museum of the University of St Andrews initially as part of the Visitor Services team before moving into the role of Operations Officer. She made the move to the University of Cambridge to become Administrator at the Sedgwick Museum which has evolved into her current role. Sarah is interested in in creating opportunities and pathways for young people, in the role of Museums in individual wellbeing and in exploring Museums as welcoming community spaces for all.
‘Workplace Accommodation at the Intersection of Queerness and Disability’
Estrella Beroff (she/her)
True accommodation means a commitment to retaining the person you’ve hired and valuing their contributions more than the effort it takes to accommodate, making it possible for them to work. In order to fully commit to this you must: i) listen thoroughly and absorb what they communicate without questioning lived experience, ii) create a culture where people are valued as their whole selves, iii) act consistently with how you’ve committed to act to ensure trust. This talk will focus on how employers have or have not fulfilled this thesis.
Estrella is thespian turned geologist turned chemical engineer. She worked in field geoscience for five years where she earned her nickname of "truckstop homeopath" and got boots on the ground experience executing large-scale environmental remediation projects. Now semi-domesticated, she works mostly indoors with a startup based in Los Angeles combating climate change with Direct Air Capture technology.