Kingston University launches key research initiative to tackle diversity gap in environmental science

Young people from underrepresented backgrounds could gain new pathways into environmental science education and green careers through a pioneering Kingston University-led research project. 

The £600,000 initiative, funded by the Natural Environment Research Council (UKRI-NERC), part of UK Research & Innovation, sees Kingston University working alongside further education colleges and environmental sector leaders to directly address long-standing inequalities within environmental fields.

Mapping Futures 2: Reframing Environmental Science Pathways in Further Education is a 33-month project tackling the structural issues faced by young people from minoritised ethnic backgrounds and neurodivergent learners through an innovative combination of research, creative practice and immersive field studies.

Building on work that began in the first stage of the initiative, the project follows research which revealed that people from these groups consistently express strong interest in climate and environmental justice. However, they are significantly underrepresented in environmental science degree programmes and workforce pipelines due to structural and institutional barriers within post-16 education, where dedicated environmental science subjects are often fragmented or missing entirely.

Led by Associate Professor in the Department of Geography, Geology and the Environment Dr Kerry Brown, the project will feature academic expertise from all four Knowledge Exchange and Research Institute (KERI) areas at the University.

The academics will work with the Field Studies Council, The Selby Trust and colleges and sixth forms in North and East London as part of the project. With experiential and sensory-aware learning activities that will help students connect their lived experiences to formal environmental science practice.

Students will take part in hands-on workshops exploring earth-building techniques, sustainable construction and carbon accounting as they produce small-scale earth installations and document environmental change using film, sound and digital storytelling.

They will also attend a fully funded two-day immersive fieldwork residential trip, complete with sensory-aware adaptations, ecological sampling, rewilding workshops and peer mentoring with Field Studies Council Youth Panel members.

Throughout these sessions, the researchers will evaluate how student perceptions change over time, track the subjects they choose to study, their university applications and their career intentions up to six months after the project ends.

Following the project, the research team will co-develop adaptable curriculum strategies for colleges at various stages of environmental provision, including a national strategic framework for further education colleges, inclusive pathway design guides, student-produced films and policy briefs presented directly to national stakeholders via the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Education.

Dr Brown said the project aims to reshape how post-16 institutions deliver environmental education. “Outreach shouldn’t be a one-off event,” he explained. “There’s a huge underrepresentation of those from minoritised ethnicities and neurodivergent backgrounds in this sector right across the world and we’re passionate about addressing this. 

“We believe through this project we can help knock down the systemic barriers and make a real change because we know from previous work there is huge interest in environmental science in a time when climate change is becoming increasingly real.”

• Find out more about the Knowledge Exchange and Research Institutes at Kingston University.
• Find out more about the UKRI’s Opening up the environment programme.