Co-creation and citizen-led nature conservation

What is the research about? 
This research aims to unravel how relational values motivate people to participate in, and lead conservation initiatives that actively influence nature conservation management and policy. The research starts with people’s images of nature and the values that underpin their relationship with and experiences of nature. We aim to understand how these underlaying values motivate people to participate in citizen led initiatives and processes of co-creation (van Maurik Matuk et al., 2023). We also look at how peoples images of nature inform their ideas and stories about the strategies we use to conserve nature, such as through ‘rewilding’. Ultimately, we approach peoples interactions with nature through a lens of biocultural diversity theory (Caillon et al., 2017; Verschuuren et al., 2014), and we look at how citizens, and other actors, develop and influence processes to care for their shared environment.

How do we conduct research?
We conduct our research by participating in the processes and activities that citizens develop within the area itself or that are otherwise important and assign a role to citizens. This is a form of research characterized by co-creation and participation, also called action research (McNiff & Whitehead 2006). In addition to participating and facilitating citizen-led activities, we carry out interviews and surveys.

Where is the research conducted?|
We focus on the water catchment area of the Renkumse and Heelsumse brook valleys which blankets a 10.000 year old glacial floodplain largely consisting of sand. This is one of the largest remaining in-tact glacial floodplains in Western Europe (Schaafsma 2012) . It is located at the Southern edge of the Veluwe, the Netherlands’ largest terrestrial Protected Area known for its biodiversity and rich cultural heritage. The map shows the precise outline of the area, which (partly) includes the municipalities; Renkum, Wageningen and Ede.

History and embedment of the research
This research follows a process that originated in 2018 with a Regional Conference (Streekconferentie) about the Heelsumse brook valley. This conference involved citizens and organisations representing the public from the surrounding area of the Heelsumse brook valley. It was organized by Natuurmonumenten, The Netherlands’ largest and oldest conservation NGO, who own and manage a protected area as part of the greater Heelsumse brook valley. The conference allowed citizens to create working groups that would develop action plans for the issues they identified. One of those groups, “Connecting Landscape” commissioned a study through the WUR Science Shop to identify opportunities for developing nature together with landowners in a sub-area of the Heelsumse stream from 2019 to 2021. In addition, research has focused on the role of resilience in citizen participation at the Heelsumse Brook Valley (During et al., 2022). Since 2022 however, the focus of research has been on a citizen-led initiative geared towards developing a vision and Programme of Work for the Renkumse and Heelsumse brook valleys.

Who conducts research?
Various researchers and students from Wageningen University are participating in the project. The research is led by Dr. Bas Verschuuren from the Forest and Nature Policy department at Wageningen University. Bas investigates how human-nature relationships influence care for nature. Within the broader scope of the project, PhD and MSc. thesis students identify their own research focus that will lead to the development of new knowledge and insights. Ir. Judith Slagt is a PhD candidate at the Animal Ecology and Forest and Nature Policy departments and works at ARK Rewilding Netherlands. Judith's research focuses on rewilding; how do we view natural processes, rewilding and wild nature? Currently, MSc. students Anna Vreeburg and Annelot Don conduct sub-research for their master's thesis.

Project outcomes:
The project manifests several professional and scholarly collaborations. Several peer reviewed journal articles are expected to be published. Societal impact is achieved through the facilitation of several public dialogues and workshops as well as the involvement of students and information products for the public.

Literature:

• Caillon, S., Cullman, G., Verschuuren, B., & Sterling, E. J. (2017). Moving beyond the human–nature dichotomy through biocultural approaches. Ecology and Society, 22(4). https://doi.org/10.5751/ES-09746-220427
• During, R., Van Assche, K., & Van Dam, R. (2022). Relating social and ecological resilience: Dutch Citizen’s initiatives for biodiversity. Sustainability, 14(7), 3857
• van Maurik Matuk, F. A., Verschuuren, B., Morseletto, P., Krause, T., Ludwig, D., Cooke, S. J., ... & dos Reis Carvalho, B. L. (2023). Advancing co-production for transformative change by synthesizing guidance from case studies on the sustainable management and governance of natural resources. Environmental Science & Policy, 149, 103574. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envsci.2023.103574
• ·McNiff, J., & Whitehead, J. (2006). All you need to know about action research. Sage Publishers, London. pp. 274
• ·Schaafsma R. De Renkumse en Heelsumse beekdalen. Matrijs, Utrecht, pp. 184
• Verschuuren, B., Subramanian, S. M., & Hiemstra, W. (2014). Community well-being in biocultural landscapes: Are we living well?. Practical Action Publishing Ltd.

• www.heelsumbeekdal.nl
• www.renkumsbeekdal.nl