Online event | Tuesday 3rd October 2023 | 9:20-14:00

In the face of the climate and biodiversity crises, there are huge new ambitions for nature restoration at all scales. Fantastic work to safeguard and rejuvenate nature is already underway. Involving communities in these initiatives and bringing them along with processes of change can help projects to:

• Get to wiser, better-informed decisions
• Reach wider agreement
• See increased support
• Find more resources for action
• Generate more momentum

In this virtual half-day event you will gain insights from those working on the human side of nature restoration, drawing on psychology, social science, conflict resolution, consensus building and participation practice.

This event will be particularly useful for those either considering, setting up or implementing rewilding, recovery and restoration projects, providing insights from practice and researchers about what works and why.

Whatever the scope of your ambition - from greening a grey pocket of an urban area to landscape-scale change - we want to help you deliver lasting benefits for people and nature.

Event Overview

This event will feature talks and Q+A sessions from a range of participation, environmental social science and conservation specialists. Our speakers will be drawing on insights from diverse fields including stakeholder dialogue and engagement, consensus building, conflict resolution , psychology, and social science. Interactive sessions will also be spread throughout, allowing the opportunity for knowledge sharing, debate, and networking.

Event Speakers

Fabien Quétier - "The challenges and opportunities of coexistence: living with wildlife in rewilding landscapes"

Fabien is an 'undisciplined ecologist' and a specialist in ecosystem conservation, restoration, and sustainable use. He is a senior consultant at Biotope, and Head of Landscapes at Rewilding Europe.

Juliette Young - "Conflict and coexistence: examples from France, Scotland and the Himalayas"

Juliette has a background in ecology and political science, and is a senior scientist at the Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRAE).

James Butler - "The governance dimensions of rewilding"

James is a multidisciplinary sustainability scientist, Social Science Group Manager at the Cawthron Institute, and co-chair of the IUCN Rewilding Working Group.

Diana Pound - "Psychological barriers to change, the psychology of place, and colonialism in conservation"

Diana is an expert in stakeholder dialogue, participation, and consensus building, and the founder and director of Dialogue Matters.

Special Bulletins

We'll also be covering recent developments in the field. Kerry Waylen of the James Hutton Institute will be discussing work done to define rewilding for the term's usage in Scotland's public sector. Sally Hawkins - a key member of the IUCN Rewilding Thematic Group - will also be presenting the recently published Routledge Handbook of Rewilding that she co-edited.

For more information and early bird tickets: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/658263392527?aff=oddtdtcreator 
If you are in the concession category (student, volunteer, jobseeker) and cost is still a barrier for you to attend this event, please send us an email at enquiries@dialoguematters.co.uk