People in nature: balancing public access and biodiversity renewal

24 June 2025, 14:00-15:30

Providing opportunities for people to experience and connect with the natural world is an important objective for conservationists. Time spent in nature and green/blue spaces are associated with health and wellbeing benefits for people and can inspire pro-environmental attitudes that translate into positive behavioural changes.

But recreation and conservation are not always happy bedfellows. There may be trade-offs involved to achieve multiple benefits in a place. Rights of access can conflict with nature protection. Pressures may arise where visits increase, or activities change, while creating new opportunities for access may reduce potential for nature restoration. Creating opportunities for access, and balancing this with biodiversity conservation and restoration objectives, can be challenging.

How do we navigate all of this with a people-in-nature approach?

In this webinar, we will hear perspectives from three RENEW projects that investigate this question and provide evidence to inform interventions and policies that support sustainable and equitable access, balancing the needs of people and nature in a shared landscape. Speakers from the University of Exeter, National Trust, Natural England, and Forest Research will provide an overview of their collaborative work, followed by a Q&A.

Projects include: 

• Recreational disturbance: efficacy of interventions, a systematic review 
• Evaluating the success of interventions to manage public access at the coast
• Paws for Thought: Towards environmentally friendly dog walking in the UK 

Register now