Naturally Informed
At Surrey Wildlife Trust, we are committed to finding the long-term solutions to ongoing biodiversity declines that nature so badly needs in our county. Science is at the heart of our decision-making, and we strive to use sound scientific evidence to inform both our policy and our actions. Building this evidence-base is a continually iterative work-stream, ever growing with advancements in applied science and conservation experience. As part of our role to ensure we can contribute to this process, to inform both ourselves and others, we are keen to work with external partners to further understanding of the natural world. You can find out more in our Research & Monitoring Framework:
Click here to see the Framework
There are six key themes to this work:
1 | Understanding the pressures on the natural world and how they impact both biodiversity and bio-abundance. |
2 | Understanding the causes for decline of key priority species in Surrey and establishing a course of action to reverse this. |
3 | Discovering better ways to manage and restore the natural environment to support biodiversity, bio-abundance and enhance habitat connectivity. |
4 | Understanding how new technology can be utilised for various applications across the field of nature conservation. For example, to capture monitoring information about the natural environment or as a tool to widen participation and accessibility. |
5 | Understanding how people benefit from and interact with the natural environment, from a variety of aspects including education, social, and health and wellbeing. |
6 |
Understanding the economic and social value of natural assets (Natural Capital) within Surrey and how this can then provide the necessary evidence to influence local policy makers, to embed more sustainable practice within all forms of commerce, including the development sector. |
Research & Monitoring Showcase
On 13 May 2024 we hosted the first Surrey Wildlife Trust Research & Monitoring Showcase at Royal Holloway University of London. Our student researchers and collaborators shared their findings and insights on how we build and utilise evidence to find long-term solutions to ongoing biodiversity declines. Watch the full showcase recording below.
Watch the recording
Evidence Champions
Surrey Wildlife Trust has committed to become an ‘Evidence Champion’ as part of a movement led by Cambridge University to build stronger links between academic researchers and front-line conservationists.
By working with Conservation Evidence, an international initiative to share and embed evidence and research into conservation practice, the Trust will ensure that it both accesses and uses the latest data from around the world to guide and inform its day-to-day work. The Trust will also be feeding back evidence into the system from what we observe on our reserves, making sure that we’ve designed robust experiments to test the effectiveness of our management.
Research news & highlights
Tiny Forests: Big Solutions for Urban Biodiversity and Community Engagement
In their latest blog, student researcher Parth Pardeshi discusses their research into Tiny Forests as biodiverse wildlife havens and…
Cattle Grazing as a Conservation Tool
Brunel University of London masters student Regina discusses the findings of their analysis of GPS collar Nofence grazing data on…
Wildlife gardening for hedgehog conservation
Research student Olivia Davis explores how we can best manage our gardens through wildlife-friendly features to support hedgehogs and…
Summer success for Space4Nature
Space4Nature, SWT’s innovative landscape-mapping project made possible by players of People’s Postcode Lottery, has made further…
Space4Nature receives Nature & Environment award
On Wednesday 12 June, the Space4Nature team were the proud winners of the Nature and Environment category at the 2024 Geospatial…
Space4Nature targets new sites for 2024
Emphasis shifts to chalk grassland and parkland as Earth Observation and AI-driven conservation project enters next stage of development…
Volunteers needed for citizen science research study
Optimow is citizen science project with the aim of understanding how we can mow our lawns to help pollinating insects in our gardens.…
Satellites, AI... and hand lenses
As the pioneering Space4Nature project reaches its halfway point, we check in with some of its key contributors.
Bridging the divide
A research project is uniting the academic and the practical