We are pleased to highlight a new publication by CLR member Annette Green: A place to disagree: using social science methods for engaging communities and exploring contestation in changing landscapes (The British Academy, 2025).
As environmental, social, and political pressures reshape the UK’s landscapes, there is growing recognition that land management must adapt urgently to meet multiple societal and ecological needs—from food and housing to carbon sequestration and access to nature. Central government initiatives such as the Land Use Framework, Local Nature Recovery Strategies, and Landscape Recovery schemes reflect this ambition for large-scale change.
However, change is rarely straightforward – particularly when it comes to changing the places people live in, work in and care about. Annette’s research emphasises that disagreement is inevitable when stakeholders have differing ideas about how land should be managed and for whose benefit. Rather than treating consensus as the default goal in environmental engagement, her work advocates approaches that help people disagree well.
Central to this is the Restoration Partnership Development (RPD) toolkit*, developed in collaboration with colleagues at the Universities of Edinburgh and Cambridge. The toolkit is designed to guide stakeholders with diverse perspectives through sensitive conversations about nature and land management. By highlighting areas of consensus and potential conflict, it helps identify risks, build relationships, and generate insight into priorities—making restoration projects more fair, effective, and place-sensitive.
Annette Green is a postdoctoral research associate at CLR and a political ecologist, exploring how societal and environmental beliefs shape conservation decisions. Her research aims to support restoration projects in navigating complex landscapes in ways that are inclusive, informed, and equitable.
The publication is available for download via The British Academy
The RPD toolkit project was supported by the Endangered Landscapes & Seascapes Programme, managed by the Cambridge Conservation Initiative in partnership with Arcadia. This project was also supported by the Natural Environment Research Council (UKRI NERC) Changing the Environment Programme through their support for the Centre for Landscape Regeneration [grant number NE/W00495X/1].