Nature Positive Field Tour

PLAN64162 Nature Positive Field Tour 15 Semester 2 Postgraduate Taught Level 6 1 FHEQ level (Framework for Higher Education Qualifications) ' Masters/Integrated Masters P4 ' European Credit Transfer & Accumulation System Rating : 7.5 A key barrier to the restoration of wild nature is the inability to imagine it; Shifting Baseline Syndrome means that humans all too readily accept an impoverished state of nature from previous generations because we cannot see what existed before our lifetimes. One of the most important tools in the armoury of transformative conservation is therefore exposing students to the inspiration and awe that wild nature and functioning ecosystems can engender, and to demonstrate the positive trajectory of ecosystems where practical projects are delivering nature recovery, restoration and rewilding. In addition to inspiration, exposing students to projects that are delivering these nature positive solutions, also provides the opportunity for developing critical knowledge and skills in research and monitoring. As transformative conservation methods become more mainstream, there is going to be an increasing demand for measuring their ‘success’, in ecological terms, but also calculating the socio-economic and wider environmental benefits.The purpose of the Nature Positive Field Tour  is therefore two-fold: 1) to expose students to inspirational examples of transformative conservation in action and to demonstrate the awe that wilder ecosystems can instil, and 2) to provide students with the knowledge and practical skills in research and monitoring of nature positive solutions that span the natural and social sciences. Pre-field tour sessions expose students to the breadth of techniques available for undertaking research on transformative conservation, enabling them to design and implement independent research in the field, while embedding an understanding of ethics into their research practices. The field tour itself, then allows students to consolidate their learning on a variety of research methods and explore opportunities for monitoring the impacts or trajectory of nature positive interventions. Finally, students will also have the opportunity to reflect on the challenges and opportunities of undertaking research in the field.  A key barrier to the restoration of wild nature is the inability to imagine it; Shifting Baseline Syndrome means that humans all too readily accept an impoverished state of nature from previous generations because we cannot see what existed before our lifetimes. One of the most important tools in the armoury of transformative conservation is therefore exposing students to the inspiration and awe that wild nature and functioning ecosystems can engender, and to demonstrate the positive trajectory of ecosystems where practical projects are delivering nature recovery, restoration and rewilding. In addition to inspiration, exposing students to projects that are delivering these nature positive solutions, also provides the opportunity for developing critical knowledge and skills in research and monitoring. As transformative conservation methods become more mainstream, there is going to be an increasing demand for measuring their ‘success’, in ecological terms, but also calculating the socio-economic and wider environmental benefits.The purpose of the Nature Positive Field Tour  is therefore two-fold: 1) to expose students to inspirational examples of transformative conservation in action and to demonstrate the awe that wilder ecosystems can instil, and 2) to provide students with the knowledge and practical skills in research and monitoring of nature positive solutions that span the natural and social sciences. Pre-field tour sessions expose students to the breadth of techniques available for undertaking research on transformative conservation, enabling them to design and implement independent research in the field, while embedding an understanding of ethics into their research practices. The field tour itself, then allows students to consolidate their learning on a variety of research methods and explore opportunities for monitoring the impacts or trajectory of nature positive interventions. Finally, students will also have the opportunity to reflect on the challenges and opportunities of undertaking research in the field.  The unit aims to:- Expose students to inspirational examples of nature recovery, restoration and rewilding in different contexts, and develop an appreciation of the ecological and social importance of functioning ecosystems - Provide opportunities for students to hear from practitioners implementing transformative conservation, and critically evaluate the barriers and opportunities for delivery.  - Explore opportunities for practically measuring progress and/or success in future-oriented nature recovery, restoration and rewilding. - Develop knowledge of a range of research skills needed to design, collect, analyse, present and interpret empirical quantitative and qualitative data relevant to the programme. - Apply knowledge of and critically reflect on research design and implementation processes through the development and execution of independent research in the field. <ul><li>Plan mini-independent research projects that include designing, implementing and evaluating research methodologies.</li><li>Measure, summarise and analyse the impacts of nature positive interventions in one or more ways (ecologically, environmentally, socially or economically)</li><li>Describe, compare and contrast the differences between degraded and restoring ecosystems</li></ul> <ul><li>Evaluate the rigour, reproducibility and replicability of data collection methods in the field</li><li>Critically analyse and evaluate the barriers and opportunities to implementing transformative conservation in practice</li><li>Appraise and interpret the influence of exposure to nature positive interventions on their personal perspectives and development  </li></ul> <ul><li>Select, describe, implement and evaluate different practical methods for measuring the success of nature recovery, restoration or rewilding whilst recognising the challenge of uncertainty and incomplete data</li><li>Reflect on the influence of exposure to transformative conservation on their own, personal understanding and development </li></ul> <ul><li>Communicate effectively in both verbal and written form.</li><li>Evaluate the ethical implications of different research methods.</li><li>Reflect on the benefits provided by team and partnership working </li></ul> This course unit will include three x 2 hour in-class sessions before the field tour, which will be accompanied by four asynchronous group tasks (taking approximately one hour each). The field course itself will be between 5-7 days (depending on the availability of flights, accommodation, etc.). Following the return from the field tour their will be a de-briefing session and drop-in support for Assignment 2. 3 Report 75% 7 Oral assessment/presentation 25% Online via Turnitin within 15 working days of submission N Cottrell, S., 2019. The study skills handbook. Bloomsbury Publishing.Langhammer, P.F., Bull, J.W., Bicknell, J.E., Oakley, J.L., Brown, M.H., Bruford, M.W., Butchart, S.H., Carr, J.A., Church, D., Cooney, R. and Cutajar, S., 2024. The positive impact of conservation action. Science, 384(6694): 453-458.Montello, D. and Sutton, P., 2012. An introduction to scientific research methods in geography and environmental studies (Vol. 1). Sage, London.Vero, S.E., 2021. Fieldwork Ready: An Introductory Guide to Field Research for Agriculture, Environment, and Soil Scientists (Vol. 188). John Wiley & Sons.Walliman, N (2006) Social Research Methods. Sage, London (available online to read/download via University Library)Wheater, C.P., Bell, J.R. and Cook, P.A., 2020. Practical Field Ecology: A project guide. John Wiley & Sons. Fieldwork 48 Lectures 8 94