Dr Kiera Chapman has co-written a report published by Wild Justice entitled 'Unprotected Nature'. The report states that Natural England is failing in its duty to designate the most important sites for nature, known as Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs). This failure means that nationally important sites for wildlife have been lost to development, with many others at high risk of harm from inappropriate building projects nearby.
Dr Kiera Chapman is an interdisciplinary scholar whose work ranges across arts and humanities, social science, and ecological science to explore how natural and urban spaces are produced and contested, and why this matters socially, economically, politically, and in terms of human and more-than-human health and co-flourishing. This is one of her more scientific papers, but she also works on the aesthetic politics of housing and is about to begin a project to see whether daily creative journalling about nature can help young people feel a greater sense of wellbeing.
Kiera said: "We know that nature is key to our health and wellbeing – as well as being a tremendous source of creative inspiration. It is depressing to see that a major government body tasked with its protection is failing to this degree".
Read the full report on the Wild Justice website
