Moo-vement Control

A cow fell into the River Cam last Tuesday morning (20/05), marking what the City Council says is one of two to four such incidents that occur each year. In response, cows grazing on Cambridge’s commons will now be fitted with GPS collars that use virtual fencing technology to stop them from wandering too close to the water. The new system is intended to reduce the need for emergency rescues, which may face budget cuts, and to prevent the cows from having to be relocated away from the city’s green spaces. The initiative addresses concerns that the cows would have to be relocated from the commons of Cambridge if the City Council slashed the budget for after-hours rescues from the river.

Poetry of the lawnmower

A new study by Francesca Gardner, a PhD candidate in English at St. Catharine’s College, documents the history of English lawnmower poetry for Critical Quarterly. Gardner traces the subgenre from a 1651 poem by Andrew Marvell, where a bird is accidentally killed by a scythe, to a similar poem — this time about an electric lawnmower and a hedgehog — penned by Philip Larkin in 1979. “It might seem random to write poetry about mowing but it’s a great vehicle for exploring our relationship with nature and with each other,” Gardner said.

Silver-gilt for flowers

An interactive plant-science exhibit by the University won a silver-gilt medal at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show. The exhibit, Blooming Flowers, was designed by The Sainsbury Laboratory Cambridge University to allow visitors to explore recent discoveries in quantitative plant biology. The exhibit competed in a new category at the flower show that seeks to recognise innovations in plant science.

Early exit for SU President

The Students’ Union (SU) President, Sarah Anderson, has a new job in educational policy, meaning that she will leave her position a few weeks early. Anderson is set to leave at the end of the year anyway, having served her annual officer time, meaning that the SU will be without an active president for a short period of time at the end of the year, with other sabbatical officers taking over her duties. The SU stated: “We’d like to take this opportunity to thank her for all her hard work this year at the SU and wish her all the best for her new role and future career!”