Cognitive Science Society Grove

The Cognitive Science Society is pleased to announce the establishment of the CogSci Grove

Sharing our work at conferences is an essential part of what we do, and the Annual Meeting of the Cognitive Science Society serves this important purpose for our community. Feedback from our members consistently emphasises the Cognitive Science Society conference as a highlight of the academic year. Yet more than ever members also are conscious of the environmental costs of their professional activities. The aim of the CogSci Grove is to mobilise academics to offset their carbon emissions.

The CogSci Grove is based in Scotland under the auspices of Trees for Life. The Cognitive Science Society chose this organisation and location for two main reasons. First, the ability to verify trees are actually being planted. Trees for Life is a charitable organisation in Scotland, and there is clear accounting of their activities. Moreover, sites can be visited for inspection. Second, we wish to minimise the social costs of afforestation in developing countries. Afforestation in developing countries often has little direct economic benefit to local people. Given the economically vulnerable circumstances, it can also lead to neglect or worse cutting of trees. There can also be a lack of clear land ownership structures. Therefore, the CogSci Grove in Scotland is sustainable and ethically sound. Special thanks to the charity “All Things Small and Green” and Professor Gabriel Waksman (UCL and Birkbeck) for their generous assistance in starting the CogSci Grove.

You can contribute to the CogSci Grove. For every £6 you donate, a tree will be planted in the Scottish Highlands on your behalf. Your tree(s) will help to rewild the Caledonian Forest, a rich habitat found only in the Scottish Highlands. It will be a sapling grown from locally collected seed and will be one of a number of species, such as Scots pine, willow, birch, rowan, hazel, alder, holly, aspen and bird cherry. Your tree will be planted at Dundreggan, an estate near Loch Ness in beautiful Glenmoriston. The rich diversity of wildlife habitats at Dundreggan includes ancient Caledonian pinewoods and superb birch and juniper woodlands. With mires, wetlands and wildflower meadows, Dundreggan is a haven for wildlife. Over 4,000 species have been discovered there, with some found nowhere else in the UK. Your sapling will be planted alongside other young, native trees, transforming open hillsides into healthy young woodland, rich in wildlife such as red squirrel, black grouse, capercaillie, wood ants and twinflower. Once the trees reach maturity, natural regeneration will go on to create the wild forests of the future for generations to enjoy.

The Cognitive Science Society has planted over 2240 trees in this grove, funded by the Society’s contributions since 2020 and over $6000 donated by our members and conference attendees, to help maintain protected sites in the Scottish Highlands where they create homes for wildlife and forests for the future. This is one of the things we can do together to offset carbon emissions incurred by hosting the Society’s annual conference and associated activities. We welcome donations by our members at any time of year to offload carbon emissions for professional or personal activities or for any other reason (e.g., as a gift or commemoration for a loved one).

These trees are planted on behalf of the generous donations of the attendees of CogSci 2024, the annual conference of the Cognitive Science Society. The donation also includes funding for 240 trees by the Cognitive Science Society to offset the carbon footprint of the conference, including travel for invited speakers.

If you want to offset carbon by donating to our Trees for Life grove, 6 trees will offset roughly 1 tonne of CO2.