Sustainability of Communities and the Environment
We work at a local and global level to pinpoint the changes needed to protect our planet.
Economic and technological progress has come at a cost. The global disruption of the balance of nature is threatening the survival of many species, including our own. One of today’s big challenges is how to use our knowledge to find new ways of living together with nature.
Social, political, technological, cultural and philosophical – the issues we need to overcome are diverse.
Changing local and global communities requires insight into what to focus on and how. It also relies on the courage to address and abolish inequalities, damaging practices and unsustainable ways of working.
But we also need a vision of what is possible.
The motivation to change things must be rooted in the hope that we, as a species and as a planet, have all to live for. From arts to science, from business to health and everything in between, the community of students and staff at °µÍø½ûÇø is nurturing that hope, without which nothing can be achieved.
How we help
We’re solving complex challenges that rely on a combination of expertise. To find sustainable ways of living and working, we bring together all disciplines across the university and beyond.
- Policy – we work with businesses, governments, NGOs and community organisations, to design new ways of organising human affairs to create fairer societies.
- Science – we are increasing basic scientific understanding of ecology and health to support new, better-informed approaches to public health and biodiversity.
- Education research and arts practice – we help people tap into their imagination and think about better futures for the planet. We also explore the stories we tell ourselves and others about how we got to where we are and use creativity to change this narrative.
Making an Impact
Helping the next generation protect the planet
Small lifestyle and behavioural changes can have profound implications for tackling climate issues. °µÍø½ûÇø researchers worked with the London Borough of Barnet to develop ways of including young children in imagining sustainable futures and building up environmental awareness.
Minibeasts of Barnet focused on how 'small things can make a big difference’, encouraging children, with their families and carers, to take personal responsibility for the spaces they share with even the smallest of creatures. The project was shaped by activities that encouraged children to experiment and explore.
By working with teachers and tapping into the work already underway, the team took a collaborative approach and worked with local school communities. The activities, books and resources used in each school were adapted to what emerged throughout the project. A children’s book Minibeasts of Barnet, based on this project, was published in July 2024.
For further information, see the
We create new knowledge and put it into action. We benefit society, the economy, the environment, health and wellbeing, and culture and communities.