Rebecca Robertson
I’m an interdisciplinary researcher at the University of Leeds. My PhD project explores the health and wellbeing benefits of urban green spaces in deprived communities. The project aims to empower local community members to maximise their connection with nature and the health and wellbeing benefits of using greenspaces. Knowledge was co-produced with the community from the start, from identifying problems and setting research questions through to deciding what changes to make and in which greenspaces.
I have experience in evidence-based conservation from a past role at Conservation Evidence providing evidence for decision makers, including policymakers. I have always enjoyed working or studying the science-policy interface. I have had the opportunity to explore this through a range of roles. Such as volunteering full-time for the RSPB to help on a campaign about the Birds and Habitats Directives. I also worked in the British Ecological Society Policy Team as a Policy Intern where I supported work on a select committee inquiry response and helped scope the Policy Fellowship for mid-career ecologists.
Through the British Ecological Society POST Fellowship, I also had the opportunity to work for the Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology and produce a POSTnote and POSTbrief on Insect Decline in the UK. I have also completed work for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs as part of a UKRI Policy Internship. I am also a member of the Royal Society of Biology Education and Science Policy Committee. I’m also a member of the British Ecological Society Events Committee. I want to empower ecologists to engage with policy so that they can increase the positive impact of their research and support evidence-based decisions.