News

We are delighted to share news of a new strategic partnership between the University of East Anglia (UEA) and Natural England, the government’s agency for the natural environment in England, to improve the way that the agency engages with the public about protecting and restoring our natural world. 

The new research partnership will – for the first time – bring together cutting-edge social science approaches to public engagement developed at the UEA with the practical insights and experience of Natural England.  UEA’s partnership with Natural England builds on the work of Professor Chilvers and colleagues in the Science, Society and Sustainability (3S) Research Group in establishing and leading the Observatory for Public Engagement with Energy and Climate Change as part of the UK Energy Research Centre

Dr Ruth Waters, Director for Evidence at Natural England, said: 

“We’re delighted to be able to work with UEA’s world-leading experts in environmental and social sciences. This is helping us to understand the ways that people are already engaging with nature, so we can build on what works, try new approaches to public engagement and build new partnerships to improve society for the better and enhance nature’s recovery.” 

The centrepiece of the partnership is the newly established Public Engagement Laboratory for Nature and Society. The laboratory is a collaborative and virtual space where experts from UEA and Natural England work together to better understand and map the many ways that people are already engaging with nature and biodiversity. This includes rapidly multiplying forms of public engagement ranging from communication campaigns, public input through consultations and citizens’ assemblies, through to activism, digital participation, citizen science, volunteering, and engagement with nature in everyday life.

The laboratory and wider partnership use these new forms of evidence to improve approaches to public engagement and ensure that public views are better recognised and included in decisions made across Natural England and other organisations. 

Professor Jason Chilvers, the UEA lead for the strategic research partnership and the Public Engagement Laboratory for Nature and Society, said: 

“It is often assumed that there is a lack of public engagement with nature, but people connect with nature in so many different ways. These already existing engagements are often ignored by decision makers. We are delighted to form this partnership with Natural England to explore how our new approaches to public engagement can address this problem and make a difference for people and nature in practice.” 

The announcement of the new partnership between Natural England and UEA coincides with the launch of the laboratory’s first research findings. In a new report the team present the first study to map the diverse ways that citizens are engaging with nature and biodiversity in the UK. Based on this new evidence they provide recommendations for improving public engagement with nature in the work of Natural England, across the UK, and beyond.