COEVOLVERS is a four-year EU funded project, exploring how to more actively involve communities in nature-based activities across Europe. The project is working with seven European case studies. In Scotland, we are working with local stakeholders in Alford, Aberdeenshire, with a focus on Murray Park – a community woodland which was gifted to the local community by poet Charles Murray in 1936.
Project aim
The project will work in collaboration with Friends of Murray Park and Murray Park Trust to increase community “ownership” and engagement with the woodland through various workshops and nature-based activities. We plan to co-develop these nature-based activities with Murray Park Trust and the wider community to deepen human-nature connections.
We are also developing a virtual tour of the woodland using 360-degree camera footage to enhance virtual access. The project explores how involving community members in woodland management and activities can benefit both the local community and the wildlife in the woodland. Interacting with nature benefits people in terms of their mental health and well-being; it also benefits local wildlife through increased education and initiatives that can support animals, plants and fungi.
Such initiatives can future-proof communities and natural habitats against climate change, for example, by making them more resilient to shocks such as storms and other weather events. Building a stronger connection between communities and natural habitats can lead to a more resilient future for all.
The project started in Autumn 2022 and will run until Autumn 2026.
For more information contact: Tim Pittaway
Principle investigator
Team members
- Tim Pittaway
- Esther Banks
- Claire Hardy