From life to stone

This presentation aims to describe an evolution and rationale behind physical activity promotion. It will provide the historical context and societal changes that have led to the need to promote physical activity. The presentation includes information on current recommendations for physical activity and its effects on health. The audience will receive some tips on how to start enjoying physical activity instead of suffering from it.

This presentation shows another side of physical activity promotion - what is good for individual health can be bad for the planet. It will explain how our activities, such as sports and recreation, affect the environment, and describe which ones are great for nature and which ones can cause problems. The goal of the presentation is to raise awareness of planetary health issues and help the audience make greener choices so that we can keep our planet healthy while staying active and having fun. Some examples and collaborations between fields such as environmental science, computer science, and sports management will be used to illustrate how sustainable practices can be integrated into sporting events and recreational activities.

Fossils are the remains of ancient animals, and are incredibly rare. Less than 1% of all organisms that have ever lived are preserved in the fossil record. When we go to museums, most fossils we see are the hard parts of animals - shells, teeth, or bones. But, if you know where to look, in very rare cases, we find fossils that have preserved soft parts - tissues like skin, muscles, internal organs, and even eyeballs that have turned to stone! My research investigates how fossilization occurs, a science called taphonomy, and to do this I design disgusting and very smelly experiments where I watch animals decay. This talk will give a brief introduction into how animals become fossils and what conditions you would need to find to turn your pet hamster into a fossil.