Mapping Diverse Public Engagements with Nature and Biodiversity

Public engagement is crucial to addressing problems associated with nature and biodiversity but existing engagement approaches are focused on communication to the public and discrete one-off engagement events. The collaborative research presented in this report is one of the first attempts to explore a new third perspective on public engagement - that views publics and participation as being highly diverse, already existing and interrelating in wider systems – in the context of nature and biodiversity. The collaborative research project between researchers in the 3S Research Group at the University of East Anglia and Natural England aimed to pilot a novel approach for mapping diverse forms of public engagement with nature in the UK and explore the implications for approaches to public engagement with nature in Natural England and beyond. The study used the comparative case analysis method involving searches of academic and grey literatures which identified 76 diverse cases of public engagement with nature and biodiversity occurring between 2010-2022. We present an analysis of these cases that maps how people are engaging, who is engaging, what they are engaging in, and where. An analysis of a workshop with staff from across Natural England is then presented, exploring their reflections, learning and responses to the mapping findings and considering implications for public engagement with nature and biodiversity. The research and analysis presented shows the value of remaking participation and approaches to mapping participation within Natural England and in public engagement with nature more broadly. It opens up new ways of mapping, practicing, learning about and responding to diverse public engagements with nature and biodiversity.