A landscape image of a lake and hills in Edinburgh
A family walking in nature
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.

RENEW is part of the Changing the Environment programme funded by UKRI NERC which brings together leading universities, environmental experts and communities to develop a collaborative research approach for greater environmental impact.

For more information about the Changing the Environment programme visit: www.changingtheenvironment.org

 

News

7 April 2025

Oral histories of the environmental sector

Research team --- Eleanor Hadley-Kershaw - University of Exeter Angela Cassidy - University of Exeter Susan Molyneux-Hodgson - University of Exeter Paul Merchant - National Life Stories Mary Stewart - British Library Partners Aims RENEW is undertaking collaborative research across disciplines and sectors while also studying the practices of collaboration. Through our work exploring 20th [...]
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A forestry worker, assessing a woodland

24 March 2025

Corporate nature champions: identifying enabling factors for business action on biodiversity

Research team Ryan Nolan - University of Exeter Noel Morrin - University of Exeter Partners & Collaborators Aims The business and finance sectors are paying increasing attention to the impacts of their activities on biodiversity, and the risks posed by biodiversity loss. RENEW is working to understand the barriers and enablers for business action on biodiversity, [...]
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A photograph of two people walking in a wildflower bed, taken by Rebecca Lovell.

11 March 2025

The Renewing Biodiversity Longitudinal Survey (ReBLS): our approach for a new longitudinal survey

In this paper we set out our plan for the first large scale survey of how 18,000 people’s attitudes towards nature and efforts to renew biodiversity change over time. In response to the biodiversity crisis, there are growing efforts in England to restore, expand, and connect natural areas, including in towns and cities. These initiatives [...]
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