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Name: Gareth Parry
Organisation: Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust (local conservation charity that is part of a national network of similar charitable organisations based in the UK: http://www.gloucestershirewildlifetrust.co.uk)
Role: Head of Community Programmes
Nationality and main countries worked: British; primarily UK.
Why is involving the local community in conservation so important in applied ecology?
Wildlife conservation depends upon people: conservation professionals, volunteers, scientists, landowners, biological recorders, funders, businesses, government or voters. In short, conservation is only possible because enough people value wildlife; however, nearly 50% of people in the UK are unaware or unconcerned by declines in biodiversity and just 10% are willing to make significant lifestyle changes to combat biodiversity declines. If we don’t convince more people to value wildlife, conservation will ultimately fail due to insufficient financial, public and political support.
Applied ecology is about developing evidence-based management strategies that work in the real world. In the UK, we have few large areas of open wilderness. As this is highly unlikely to change in future, we have to find ways for people and wildlife to coexist. Integrating people into conservation strategies is critical even if this goes against our natural instincts as ecologists because of concerns of human disturbance and so on. Producing the ideal ecological conservation plan can be straightforward, but delivering those plans successfully relies on people and on securing buy-in from local communities. There are numerous examples of scientifically-sound conservation plans that failed because they didn’t consider the attitudes of local communities. Community engagement should be a pillar of applied ecology as it can mean the difference between failure and success.
What is your day-to-day job?
I work for one of the UK’s county Wildlife Trusts; a network of independent charities that works to conserve nature all over the UK. Between them, the Trusts manage more than 95,000ha of land, across about 2,300 individual locations, each shaped by its location and its relationship with the local people who value it. The Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust was founded in 1961 by a group of volunteers and now has over 60 nature reserves, 500 active volunteers, and 27,000 members.
I lead the strategic development of Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust’s community work, leading a team that creates opportunities for people from a wide range of ages, abilities and backgrounds to experience nature and begin to appreciate the importance of conservation. This includes public events, activities, community development projects, education and training programmes. We link the environment to key social and economic priorities, such as health and wellbeing, job skills and social deprivation. We also help existing wildlife enthusiasts develop their knowledge and take action to support conservation, notably through volunteering. As an ecologist, I am also a spokesperson on relevant wildlife topics and help to drive an evidence-led approach to conservation, particularly in relation to carnivores, such as Eurasian otter Lutra lutra, which are my ecological passion.
What is your most interesting recent/upcoming project and why?
We recently began a community project at a country park on the edge of the city of Gloucester. Many of the surrounding communities have deprivation, low incomes and high levels of health and education inequality. The park is a fantastic free-to-access green space with some great wildlife habitats, but public use was both low and declining. The project aimed to encourage more local people to use the park, by providing opportunities and understanding the barriers that deterred them. Rather than focusing on activities that appeal to traditional wildlife audiences, such as species identification and guided walks, there was a focus on free family focused activities that made being outdoors fun. In just two years, over 10,000 people attended events and use of the park increased by over 40%.
Before this project people didn’t feel “entitled” to use the park, or indeed know what to do there. It seems obvious now, but expecting the average person to begin their wildlife journey with bird watching or species identification was completely unreasonable. This goes to show how many people could be interested in wildlife if they are given the right opportunities and barriers are removed. Attitudes to nature can be complex because they are shaped by a complex combination of cultural values, knowledge, embedded behaviours, and personal incentives and disincentives, and it is our job to change these where necessary to encourage more people to value nature.
What’s been best part of this particular project?
Before the project began, many local conservationists discounted it as a waste of time because they felt that our target urban communities ‘were never going to be interested in wildlife'. Consultation undertaken during the project actually revealed that ‘more places to see wildlife’ was one of the top wishes of local residents. This just shows how out of touch applied ecologists can be with the way in which many people engage with nature and highlights the opportunities that exist to change this if barrier can be broken down.
What do you see as the main challenges in your field and how can they be overcome?
Our biggest challenge is getting more people to value wildlife and think that conservation is worthwhile. Applied Ecologists often live in a bubble, where many of our co-workers and friends have similar attitudes towards wildlife and we assume this reflects society on a whole, but often this is not the case.
It is often thought that overcoming people-nature engagement challenges means improving the public’s knowledge of wildlife issues. In reality, extensive research has shown that increasing knowledge has little impact on people’s environmental attitudes or behaviours. Stimulating pro-environmental behaviour is affected by a complexity of factors, particularly embedded values and internal/external incentives or disincentives. For example, many people know about the catastrophic loss of traditional wildflower meadows in the UK but continue to maintain their garden lawns with herbicides and regular mowing. Providing information is not enough, we have to help people to build an emotional connection by providing exciting, interactive and accessible experiences. Nature should be for everyone, but the conservation sector often engages people who are already pro-wildlife – the ‘easy wins’. This must change if we are to mainstream the natural environment as one of society’s most valued assets and priorities.
Finally, how did you get into community-focused conservation and what advice would to others?
Like quite a few ecologists, I started off aspiring to traipse around the wilderness studying wildlife and publishing my research. I soon realised that, for all the great ecological research being undertaken, very little was filtering through to the front end of conservation. I kept seeing management plans and monitoring techniques that were years behind current ecological understanding. I became tired of hearing the standard disclaimers of ‘we have always done it that way’ and ‘that’s what the handbook says’. The handbook was out-of-date: I wanted to do something about this by working for a practical conservation organisation. When I got there I quickly realised that the most of society doesn’t really value wildlife or the natural environment, or at least not enough for it to be a top priority for policy makers and governments. I decided that engaging people was a key problem facing conservation and that was where I wanted to focus my efforts.
People get into community work through all manner of routes. There are a few key things that are crucial to working in this field. Firstly, you have to be able to inspire people about wildlife, so knowing your stuff and being able to communicate to people of different ages, abilities, and backgrounds is vital. You have to understand what motivates people to support conservation and the best way to do this is to volunteer yourself. Many conservation professionals do not understand why engaging people, particularly those ‘who aren’t already interested’, is important. Don’t get deterred by that: remember that nature should be for everyone.