TWO students have been honoured for their work to inspire communities to get involved in science.

Pen-Yuan Hsing and Beth Kazmierski received the Science Postgraduate Excellence in Outreach Award from Durham University.

Pen, a bioscience PhD student, has helped run a project with Durham Wildlife Trust, which involves members of the public monitoring wildlife with motion-sensing camera boxes.

Since 2015, over 80 citizen scientists have submitted over 230,000 wildlife photos to the project’s website, mammalweb.org, where the animals photographed are classified.

Pen has also worked with year nine pupils at Belmont Community School, in Durham City, encouraging them to become Ecological Ambassadors.

PhD graduate Beth Kazmierski helped develop the Chemistry for Scouting and Guiding project, which has provided two hands-on science sessions, Cool Materials and Amazing, Light, for over 3,500 youngsters.

Dr Pete Edwards, the university’s director of Science Outreach, said: “Pen and Bethany are great examples of how we take science beyond the classroom and the laboratory and out into the community.”

“Both Pen and Beth have done great work in engaging members of the public with science and they thoroughly deserve their awards.”