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Enhancing wellbeing: Can engaging with nature in the school grounds improve children’s attention and mood?

This year I have been lucky enough to receive a Valuing Nature placement to investigate how engaging with the environment in school grounds improves wellbeing of children. Since starting my PhD at the Royal Holloway in 2000, I have been working on conservation status beetle species, starting with the stag beetle. A big part of this work has been carrying out citizen science monitoring projects, helped by members of the public. 

Social and Cultural Values of Urban Nature in Walworth, South London: An Introduction

Copyright - Social Life

This blog was first published on 10 April 2017 at Social Life

In mid-March, Dr Stephen McConnachie joined Social Life on a four-month placement funded by the Valuing Nature Programme. On April 5th, Social Life co-founder, Nicola Bacon, joined Stephen at the launch event for the placement programme. In the first of a series of posts, Stephen explains more about what he’s doing while he is with Social Life.

First Business Impact School Blog!

This is my first ever blog for a Business Impact School. Wish me luck!!

The valuing nature Business Impact School was held in London and required only getting a short flight from Belfast (mind you I thought an early flight seemed like a good idea at the time….until I realised the coffee shop hadn’t opened yet). 

The Business Impact School was hosted by Willis Towers Watson at the Willis Building and was located near the top floor where you could see the Thames River and the London eye, (mind you my ears did pop a few times going up in the elevator).

A few thoughts after the Valuing Nature’s Business Impact School

Taking seriously the email my supervisor sent me that morning to inform me about the Business Impact School was perhaps one of the wisest things I have done during the first months of my PhD journey. I immediately felt that I had to be part of this community and that I had to take hold of the opportunity Valuing Nature was offering to restless environmentally-conscious young researchers like myself, to get on the wagon to the frontline of the war we declared against nature capital's mismanagement. 

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