Sue Hartley attends OBE investiture

Professor Sue Hartley, Director of the York Environmental Sustainability Institute (YESI), was awarded an OBE (Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire) for her services to Ecological Research and Public Engagement.

As well as being the Director for the York Environmental Sustainability Institute (YESI), she is also the University’s Research Champion for Environmental Sustainability and Resilience, a trustee of Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and a board member of Natural England (the UK Government’s statutory adviser for the Natural environment in England).

Her research has predominantly focused on understanding the interactions between the organisms that attack our crops, the defences these plants can use to protect themselves, and how a better understanding of those processes can improve both the sustainability of agriculture and agri-environmental policy.

She was awarded her OBE by HRH The Prince of Wales at an investiture at Buckingham Palace. With a keen interest in environment and sustainability, the Prince was interested in discussing Sue’s work, particularly around soil health.

She reflects on the day ‘It was a wonderful occasion and I am thrilled to be awarded with an OBE for my contribution to ecological research. I was delighted to talk to Prince Charles about the environmental challenges we are currently facing such as soil health and its importance to food production.‘