News, Jobs, Events, Opportunities and lots more...
No images? Click here
A quick round up of the latest news, jobs and opportunities
News
UK Media coverage of outdoor swimming 2019-2025: a new ACCESS, C3DS, Environment Agency Report
This ACCESS-funded project, conducted by the Centre for Climate Communication and Data Science (C3DS) in collaboration with the Environment Agency,
analysed over 19,000 online UK news articles from a range of national and local news outlets over the time period 2019 – 2025.
It used a combination of AI-assisted taxonomy development methods at scale and in-depth qualitative thematic analysis, guided by collaborative conversations with stakeholders.
Key findings include:
- Media coverage of outdoor swimming has seen an upwards trend since 2019
- Outdoor swimming is described as positive, but with safety risks
Implications of polluted water are the focus of coverage, rather than causes or solutions
Institutional frameworks are framed as the only ways in which action takes place on pollution
The project was led by Travis Coan (Co-Director of C3DS, University of Exeter) and Anna Lorentzon (Principal Social Scientist at the Environment Agency).
Read the report for full findings, case studies and methodology.
NEW ACCESS Film: Nature recovery needs social science
This short film, which premiered at the ACCESS Assembly, introduces the ACCESS Nature Recovery Task Force.
This group of leading academic and nature agency social scientists who have been looking at how the social sciences can be more effectively deployed to reconfigure land use and land management policy and practice in the UK to deliver nature recovery.
Hear from Task Force Lead Michael Winter OBE, as well as Task Force members Matt Lobley and Nick Kirsop-Taylor (University of Exeter), Clive Mitchell (Nature Scot), Beth Brockett (Forest Research), and Isabelle Cardinal and James Hoggett (Natural England).
They talk about their experience of working together on the task force and why the social sciences are key to solving the urgent environmental problems we face.
Look out for the Task Force's final report, which will be published in September.
This film was made by Hannah Earl.
Events
IES Conference: Dialogue Between Disciplines
Tuesday 22 September, London
Dialogue Between Disciplines is the Institution of Environmental Sciences conference focused on facilitating effective interdisciplinary working between environmental professionals.
During the conference the IES will be launching our newly developed toolkit, developed in collaboration with ACCESS, aimed at supporting collaborative working across disciplines and sectors in the environmental sciences.
The toolkit is designed to support those working on environmental projects to embed collaborative, interdisciplinary working in their day-to-day work.
Funding
UPEN Innovation Fund
UPEN (Universities Policy Engagement Network) has launched a new academic-policy engagement Innovation Fund, providing a total of £550,000 to support collaborative projects that strengthen how universities and policy organisations across the UK work together.
With awards of £10,000 to £50,000 available on a matched-funding basis, the fund is designed to support innovative approaches, build sustainable engagement practice, and generate learning that can benefit the wider sector.
Projects must involve multiple partners, including at least one policy organisation, and demonstrate clear potential for impact and sustainability.
Closing date: Sunday 20 September
Research Capability Hub (RCH) Flexible Fund
This first Research Capability Hub Flexible Fund call will support the development of openly accessible online courses that address priority areas identified through the Hub's evidence-gathering and community engagement activities.
Up to five projects will receive up to £10,000 funding each to develop new learning resources that will benefit researchers across disciplines, institutions and career stages.
The priority themes for the first call are:
- Participatory Research Methods
- Equality, Diversity and Inclusion in Research
- Working Across Disciplines
Information sessions are being held on on Tuesday 18 August and on Monday 14 September .
Closing date: Sunday 27 September (provisional)
Jobs
Research Support Manager, Policy Response Unit, MACC Hub (8 months)
The Maximising UK Adaptation to Climate Change Hub (MACC Hub) is recruiting a researcher for an 8-month role to explore how climate risks affect industry, including workforce adaptation and labour market resilience, as well as assessing climate vulnerabilities across industrial sectors.
The Hub is led by King’s College London and is funded
by the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) and UK Research and Innovation (UKRI).
Deadline: Sunday 19 July
Postdoc in Biodiversity and Health, The Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ), Leipzig
This is a full- or part-time position for a fixed term of two years.
You will carry out quantitative analyses, empirical work and conceptual synthesis in the fields of biodiversity and human health.
Deadline: Monday 27 July
Learning and Development Specialist, JNCC, Peterborough or Aberdeen
This fixed-term position is available full- or part-time.
As Learning and Development Specialist, you will play a key role in delivering JNCC’s learning and development offer, helping to design, coordinate and promote a wide range of development opportunities for staff and managers.
The role also includes delivering in-house training, monitoring participation and evaluation data, and helping to ensure fair and inclusive access to development opportunities.
Closing date: Thursday 30 July, 11.55pm
Wilder Communities Officer (Maternity Cover), Devon Wildlife Trust
As a Wilder Communities Officer, you will nurture community leadership and inspire & support communities to take meaningful action for nature’s recovery. If you are a great communicator with a deep understanding and demonstrable experience of community capacity building, then this could be the role for you.
Closing date: Sunday 2 August
Stipendiary Lecturership in Human Geography, Christ Church Oxford
This is a part-time position for a two-year fixed term until 30 September 2028.
The successful candidate will be expected to deliver 6 hours of high-quality undergraduate teaching per week, averaged over three eight-week terms per year (commencing 1 October 2026).
Closing date: Monday 3 August, 12 noon
Research Fellowships, Peterhouse Cambridge
Peterhouse is electing a number of full-time fellows for a fixed term of 3 years.
The College wishes to encourage applications from a wide range of candidates and the Fellowships are available in all branches of University studies.
Closing date: Monday 7 September
Opportunities
Test the new JUST Readiness Tool
In the UK we have a range of valuable datasets at our disposal. But these datasets are not joined up, they can be time consuming to work through, and they are rarely available at the scale needed to comprehensively address local issues.
The JUST (Joined-Up Sustainable Transitions) Centre is creating a ‘JUST Readiness Tool’, which brings data together in a user-friendly interface to help communities grapple with the transition to net zero in a just and equitable way.
The tool will be a new user-friendly interface which layers neighbourhood carbon footprints, behaviour and attitudes towards low-carbon lifestyles and local social and physical resources.
Survey: Transport Researchers and Engagement with UK Parliament
Are you an academic at a UK University whose research relates to transport? If so, Transport thematic research lead Louise Reardon would love to hear from you through a ten minute online survey.
Share your views on research use in UK Parliament and motivations and barriers to engagement.
Insights gained through the survey will be used to inform the development of resources to support future academic engagement.
Survey: What UK Transport Might Look Like on the Road to Net Zero
Another transport-related survey – this time from UKERC researchers at the University of Strathclyde and University of Oxford who are exploring how future transport scenarios in the UK could impact energy demand, air quality and social equity.
The 15-minute questionnaire is aimed at researchers, policymakers, and practitioners with expertise in transport, energy systems, sustainable development or mobility transitions. The purpose of this study is to explore how transport systems in the United Kingdom may evolve under different possible societal pathways to net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.
Closing date: 4 August
IGNITE your PhD in Energy: Starting your Doctoral Application Journey
11 September, 10-11.30am, online
The IGNITE PGR Recruitment Hub in Energy is hosting a free webinar designed to demystify the doctoral application process and provide practical advice for prospective applicants.
The webinar will cover:
- Finding funding
- Approaching potential supervisors
- What admissions panels are looking for
- Strengthening applications
- Preparing for interviews
- Live Q&A with an expert panel
Please share this opportunity with relevant students, graduates, colleagues
Info
From carbon to care: Reimagining just transitions in corporate climate governance
This article in Geoforum from Matilda Becker, Alexis McGivern, and Grace Wright-Arora (University of Oxford) maps the imaginaries of what and how a just transition can be achieved between youth and corporate leaders.
The authors make recommendations, using de la Bellacasa’s framework of care, about how the net zero standards landscape can support transition plans that are sensitive to local implementation pressures and justice principles.
This research was funded by an ACCESS Flex Fund award. Visit the project page: Unlocking the Power of Youth to Develop Equity in Net Zero Governance.
The ISO Net Zero Standard public consultation (ISO 14060) closes today for any colleagues wishing to comment. More here
More‐than‐verbal methodological approaches to studying eco‐emotions: A critical narrative review
This review, in Geographical Research, by Sara-Jayne Williams, Rosamund Portus, Erika Peklanska, and Lucas Ramirez (University of the West of England) highlights the value of using more-than-verbal methods in the design of eco-emotions research. Analysis of 247 studies reveals a dominant focus on fear and sadness, often investigated through surveys. In contrast, eight studies using creative, participatory methods uncovered a wider emotional spectrum and offered participants opportunities for reflection and emotional processing. These approaches capture the complexity of climate-related emotions and enrich data quality.
The findings advocate for more inclusive, innovative methodologies to complement existing work and better reflect the full emotional landscape of climate engagement—supporting more empathetic, effective responses to the psychological dimensions of the climate crisis.
Sara-Jayne, Rosamund and Erika were on the project team of an ACCESS Flex Fund Round 1 project: Buzzing about bees: exploring active storytelling for transforming children’s environmental agency, which developed a model for action-based storytelling in the classroom and examined how this supported children’s engagement in and sense of agency over environmental issues.
Child drownings spike during heatwaves – and it’s a serious climate justice issue
This piece in The Conversation by Katie Parsons (Loughborough University, argues that heat wave drownings are not only about water safety, but are also about climate justice.
The author notes that the risk of drowning is more than twice as high for children living in the most deprived areas:
"For a teenager in a hot, crowded home, with little money, limited transport and few local cooling spaces, a river, lake, canal or reservoir may feel like the only available place to go. [....] A climate-safe childhood should not depend on whether a family can pay for swimming, drive to the coast, access a garden or live in a cooler home."
Are you on the ACCESS Network database?
ACCESS aims to make social science expertise more accessible. We have created a publicly available, searchable database (The ACCESS Network) of social scientists and experts working in the fields of climate and environment.
Join the ACCESS Network to share your research and start making connections with other environmental social scientists.
