Grüter Prize for Science Education goes to Martin Husemann
Martin Husemann in the entomological collection at the Museum of Nature Hamburg. © LIB, Merker
Martin Husemann is awarded the “Werner and Inge Grüter Prize 2022”. The entomologist at the LIB’s Museum of Nature Hamburg is being honoured for his work in communicating knowledge about biodiversity change and insect extinction, especially through his work as curator and scientific project manager on the touring exhibition “Multifaceted Insects – Diversity, Endangerment, Protection”, as well as through the establishment of the “Neobiota-Nord” site portal. The award ceremony will take place on 19 October 2022 at the Museum Mensch und Natur in Munich.
With the prize money, which is endowed at 10,000 euros, Dr habil. Martin Husemann, Head of the Hemimetabola & Hymenoptera Section at the Leibniz Institute for the Analysis of Biodiversity Change (LIB), is directly supporting a new project for insect-friendly greening of schoolyards: “I am very happy about this recognition of our work and so I would like to use my winnings directly to better understand and further protect the insect fauna in Hamburg by educating pupils about biodiversity and directly involving them in a project,” says Husemann. Without the entire exhibition team of the LIB, and especially Dr. Lioba Thaut (Head of Exhibitions), Frithjof Leopold (Coordination), Anne Merker (Texts, Research) and Dr. Viktor Hartung (Conception), the travelling exhibition and thus the honour would not have been possible.
Since 1994, the Werner and Inge Grüter Prize has been awarded to works that deal with evolution, palaeontology, marine biology, botany or cosmology and reach a broad audience outside the research cosmos. From an exhibition to an accompanying book to a website, the team behind “Multifaceted Insects” found several ways to draw the public’s attention to the diversity, endangerment and protection of insects. The jury consisting of Prof. Dr. Gerhard Haszprunar, Prof. Dr. Matthias Glaubrecht, Dr. Michael Apel, Dr. Eva-Maria Natzer, Dr. med. Herbert Pfaffinger explained their decision as follows:
“Since the beginning of his scientific career, Martin Husemann has always been concerned with communicating the importance of insects for the preservation of ecosystems to the general public. A whole series of relevant publications bears witness to this popular scientific approach. “Multifaceted Insects” (…) now brings this to the interested public of all ages in a particularly impressive way. One learns first-hand why the diversity, endangerment and protective measures of insects are also of paramount importance for the well-being of humanity throughout the entire planet. Special emphasis is placed on communicating and explaining the different research approaches, but also the value of the so often reviled and disregarded collecting by private researchers (Citizen Scientists) on this topic”.
The touring exhibition “Multifaceted Insects – Diversity, Endangerment, Protection” is touring in two versions throughout Germany. It can currently be seen at the Museum für Natur und Umwelt in Lübeck and the Übersee-Museum in Bremen. All exhibition venues can also be found on the exhibition website, proinsekt.de. Alien species of northern Germany can be reported on the portal neobiota-nord.de. The book accompanying the exhibition is available for purchase here.
More information: https://grueter-stiftung.de/
Excerpt from the book:
