A family walking in nature
New forest in fall
A picture of British woodland
RENEW

Renewing biodiversity through a people-in-nature approach

Renewing biodiversity through a people-in-nature approach

RENEW is a five-year partnership programme to develop solutions to one of the major environmental challenges for humankind: the renewal of biodiversity.

We are in a biodiversity crisis. A million species of plants and animals are threatened with global extinction, and wildlife populations across much of the planet have been dramatically reduced. This is of profound concern because biodiversity underpins human existence. RENEW is working, with a sense of urgency, to reshape understanding and action on biodiversity renewal across scales, creating knowledge, and influencing national institutions, communities and individuals. Our focus is on a ‘people-in-nature’ approach, reflecting the two-way, dynamic relations between people and nature and the need to develop a relational approach to renew our life-support systems.

Funded by the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC), the programme is a collaboration between the University of Exeter and the National Trust, and has been co-designed and developed with over 30 partners from a diverse range of sectors. RENEW is led by Professors Krasimira Tsaneva-Atanasova, Kevin Gaston, and Catriona McKinnon from the University of Exeter, and Professor Rosie Hails from the National Trust.

News

15 November 2023

A review of the RENEW Parliament 2023 with Rebecca Edgerley

Academics, professionals, and participants gather to build ideas, interventions, and solutions to biodiversity challenges In what is perhaps becoming a RENEW Parliament tradition, PhD student and poet, Caleb Parkin, closed proceedings with a poem. Or, maybe, the poem was an opening. Playfully weaving the many voices that we heard over the course of the Parliament, […]

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A drone image by Jonny Gios on Unplash

7 November 2023

Juggling two hats: A RENEW PhD student’s journey in sustainable governance & IUCN chairing

Starting a PhD journey on the RENEW project at the University of Exeter I had initially developed the idea for my PhD research topic almost a year before hearing about the RENEW project. At that time, I was desperately seeking collaborations and opportunities to try to fund my research independently. I feel very grateful for […]

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A picture illustration by Jackie Wong

11 October 2023

The first Biodiversity Storytelling Summit at Kew Gardens, London

Above: Cambridge Cottage. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, London. Image credit: Kew Gardens Introducing the first Biodiversity Storytelling Summit 2023 Beyond the weathered wooden doors of Cambridge Cottage at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, hanging along the corridors, drawing room and gallery are pictures – botanical illustrations reflecting a “golden century” for plant discovery, collection, and […]

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