Nature-based interventions for human and planetary health: what works, for who, under what conditions?

About the Project

This collaborative studentship is potentially funded by the University of Reading (UoR) as part of a partnership between the University and the Natural History Museum (NHM).

Subject to open competition to identify the strongest applicant across four eligible projects, the successful applicant will be jointly supervised by both organisations. Additional supervisors include Dr Adriana De Palma (NHM) and Dr Elisabeth Larsen, Ecosystem Services Fellow, RHS.

Project Overview

The importance of individual behaviours to avoiding ecological collapse has motivated research into interventions that promote pro-environmental behaviours (PEBs). Many interventions are nature-based (e.g., tree planting, visits to museums) and targeted at children, because a lack of childhood nature can undermine PEBs as adults. Important knowledge gaps include the need to identify specific elements of nature-based interventions (NBIs; e.g., timing, framing) that are most effective among particular groups of children. In other words, “What works, for who, under what conditions?”. 

An NBI of particular interest is tree planting, due to its potential to promote PEBs while simultaneously offering a range of environmental benefits including biodiversity and thermal comfort. However, on-the-ground implementation into parks and schools is challenging, and guidance on how to put the ‘right tree in the right place’, could help overcome implementation barriers. Specifically, what tree species mixtures, densities and configurations will maximise ecological and social benefits?

The aim of this exciting interdisciplinary PhD project is to identify effective strategies for improving PEBs and ecosystem services. The project will achieve this by comparing the effects of multiple NBIs on school-aged children, capitalising on the NHM’s and UoR’s natural history collections and greenspaces. The student will i) develop and test a generalisable framework for measuring NBI effectiveness, ii) identify how the effectiveness of three NBIs (involving museum collections; greenspace; tree-planting) varies with intervention- and individual-level factors, and iii) measure environmental and social benefits of different tree planting configurations in parks and schools. The project will leverage collaborations between UoR, NHM, and CASE partners the Royal Horticultural Society and The Tree Council. 

*The other potentially funded projects are:

Friend or Foe: microbe-plant interactions in agriculture

Deciphering the Cambrian explosion of echinoderms

Pre-industrial phenological baselines for UK birds

Eligibility

For enquiries, please contact Becks Spake at r.spake@reading.ac.uk

Applicants should hold or expect to gain a minimum of a 2:1 Bachelor’s Degree, Master’s Degree with Merit, or equivalent, in ecology, geography, environmental science, biology, or a closely-related science.

We will consider candidates with different academic paths but with experience acquired from a research position, or equivalent, relevant to the topic of the PhD project.

To apply, complete an online application for a PhD in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at https://bit.ly/ReadingPhDApply Please upload a CV and Cover Letter with your application. If the application system prompts you to submit a research proposal, paste in the project title and move on to the next step.

‘When the system asks about funding, please enter 'Studentship DRC24-003’ 

This studentship is only open to candidates from the UK/Republic of Ireland.

With a commitment to improving diversity in biological sciences, we encourage applications from underrepresented groups.

Funding Notes

Starts September 2024
Funding covers fees at the Home rate and pays a stipend of £18,622 per year.
Duration of funding: 3 years
Tuition fees at the UK/Republic of Ireland level, plus an annual stipend paid at the UKRI minimum level (£18,622 for 2023/24, the level for 2023/24 is awaiting confirmation)