Carnforth professor awarded CBE in New Year Honours

Prof Richard Bardgett, a professor of ecology at the University of Manchster, has been made a CBE for services to soil ecology and climate change science.

Over the last 30 years, Prof Bardgett’s research has led to advances in the area of plant-soil interactions, with a particular focus on understanding impacts of plants on soil microbial communities and feedback consequences for plant growth and ecosystem processes, especially carbon and nitrogen cycling.

Prof Bardgett has published more than 350 scientific papers, including many highly cited works in leading journals such as Nature and Science. He has also authored and co-authored several books,

Prof Bardgett has a long-standing commitment to promoting awareness of soil biodiversity research.

To this end, he was a founder member of the Global Soil Biodiversity Initiative, established in 2011 to create a global platform for the translation of expert knowledge on soil biodiversity into policy, and he contributed to the UN's Intergovernmental Technical Panel on Soils report The Status of the World's Soil Resources (2015).

In addition to Prof Bardgett, Sheila Ashburner was honoured with a Medallist of the Order of the British Empire (BEM) for services to the community in Milnthorpe.

Cumbria’s Lord-Lieutenant Claire Hensman has become a Commander of the Royal Victorian Order.She was High Sheriff in 2007/08 and became the late Queen’s representative in the county in 2013.Mrs Hensman is a former Deputy Pro-Chancellor of Lancaster University and board member of the University of Cumbria.