The Ancestors Trail

The BHA Richard Dawkins Foundation for Reason and Science and the Central London Humanist Group presents The Ancestors Trail Evening Lectures To mark the start of our weekend’s entertainment we are hosting a series of evening lectures that you are welcome to attend irrespective of whether you can join us for rest of the weekend’s events. Speakers: 7pm – Andrew Copson – Chief Executive British Humanist Association Andrew became Chief Executive in January 2010 having coordinated BHA’s education and public affairs work for five years. Andrew writes about secularist issues for journals and newspapers and has appeared widely on television and radio representing the BHA. 8pm – Professor Armand Leroi – Professor of Evolutionary Development Biology at Imperial college author and broadcaster. Armand Leroi is not your average Professor of Evolutionary Developmental Biology. As a scientist his expertise lies in tiny worms and why they grow to precisely the same size. But outside the lab he has written about human mutants presented several TV shows and done (serious) research into the evolution of pop music. In 2004 Leroi adapted his book into a television series called Human Mutants for Channel 4. This became the first of a number of successful documentaries he has presented covering fascinating subjects such as “What Darwin didn’t know” and “Aristotle’s Lagoon” about the groundbreaking studies of the ancient Greek philosopher/naturalist. 9pm – Dr Yan Wong – Evolutionary Biologist co-author of ‘the Ancestor’s Tale’ and broadcaster for TV’s ‘Bang Goes the Theory’. Dr Yan Wong’s work on modelling the evolutionary effects of self-recognition systems in plants led to him being a research contributor to the Ancestor’s Tale book. Yan is well-informed over an extensive set of scientific disciplines including maths chemistry and ecology. In 2009 Yan joined the presenting team of BBC1’s prime-time series “Bang Goes the Theory” and demonstrated a wide and eclectic range of scientific ideas to members of the public. He delights in the challenges of live science demonstrations and often incorporates live science demonstrations into his talks. Our knowledge of our evolutionary history is advancing all the time and Yan will be updating us on the Ancestor’s Tale and also demonstrating how to use OneZoom a piece of software that he has developed to highlight the diversity of life on Earth. BHA Members children and students: £12:00 Non BHA Members: £17:00 The annual Ancestor’s Trail evolutionary pilgrimage takes place in Epping Forest and the Lea valley over this weekend. Based on Richard Dawkin’s book The Ancestor’s Tale details of the free walks youth hostel accommodation talks and celebrations can be found on the Ancestors Trail website. The centrepiece to the week-end is the walk and combined with entertainment in the evening and lectures the following morning a stay at Cheshunt YHA over Saturday evening is the best way to fully relax and enjoy everything. Friday night accommodation is bookable separately at Cheshunt YHA should you want to join in early or need somewhere convenient to stay in the area. The YHA is next to Cheshunt railway station on the Liverpool Street line.