RENEW Co-Director Kevin Gaston discusses his research into personalised ecologies and RENEW’s nature recovery agenda. It’s great to hear Kevin and Nick share their own personal experiences with the natural world, experiences that have shaped Kevin’s career as a writer, teacher and practitioner of conservation biology.

“How do people and nature interact? How does nature benefit people? Which interactions have the greatest impacts, and how can research into these questions help tackle some of the biggest issues facing wildlife today?  These are some of the questions which today’s guest has dedicated his career to tackling.  Kevin Gaston is a Professor of Biodiversity and Conservation at the University of Exeter.  His work ranges from characterising people’s personalised ecologies to identifying priority areas for nature recovery.

In this podcast, we talk about his fascinating research focus and also discuss an exciting five-year programme he’s co-leading called RENEW. This collaborative programme between the University of Exeter the National Trust and many other partners is seeking to reshape understanding and action on biodiversity renewal across scales, creating knowledge, and influencing national institutions, communities and individuals.   In this episode, we discuss his research focus, the RENEW programme, and his career journey so far. Kevin also shares his advice for aspiring conservation scientists, and also we discuss how the skills needed within the sector might be changing in the future.  It’s a wide-ranging, interesting and impactful discussion.”

Nick Askew – Conservation Careers