Communicate

Communicate conference 2023 took place on the 14th, 15th & 16th November. Communicate: Together for Nature was our biggest conference yet with 40 sessions led by 100 speakers taking place online, hybrid and live in Bristol, Manchester and London. For the first time in Communicate history, we brought together over 1000 delegates to our in-person and digital events.

Together for Nature – we invited an inspiring range of voices from across the environmental communication and media sectors, alongside diverse industries. We dived into the biggest changes, opportunities and pressures on our audiences, our key communication channels and our own sector. We asked, how can we amplify our work and partnerships even further to support our audiences to work together for nature?

Together for Nature? – we invited speakers and delegates to debate, discuss and challenge us to look deeper at our impact, our projects and our partnerships. We asked, are we constantly delivering instead of making a difference? How do we measure what matters?  How do create authentic opportunities for unheard voices to join and lead the debate, and how can we work more effectively together for nature?

In 2023, the Natural History Consortium worked in partnership with the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) to present a special strand of sessions running across all three days of the conference showcasing cutting-edge social science research.

Communicate conference 2022 offered participants the opportunity to delve into the heart of environmental communication in a changing world and an increasingly challenging comms landscape. Across 15-16 November 2022 we held two days of online content alongside in-person London and Bristol ‘deep dive’ days with over 800 delegates in attendance.

‘Amplifying Awareness, Focusing Action’ combined talks, interactive workshops and panel discussions with in-depth roundtable sessions and networking opportunities. Re-occurring themes from the conference included the importance of creative storytelling, committed collaboration and dynamic, innovative approaches to engaging people with the natural world in the ever-evolving digital age.

Read the roundtable summaries here.

Held on September 14-15 2021 this event focussed on supporting organisations preparing themselves for COP, as well as urgent and ongoing work engaging people with the environment. Packed full of practical skills-based workshops, targeted briefing sessions to bring organisations quickly up to speed with new developments in the field, deep dive workshops, and panels debating the latest thorny issues in the sector.

On the road to COP15 and COP26  was the second part of a three part series of events taking place across 2021-2022.

A special Communicate event as part of Festival of Nature 2021, exploring how UK cities and regions are engaging stakeholders and citizens in addressing the ecological and climate emergencies. We’ll be joined by inspiring projects from inside and outside the sector, with a mixture of debate, discussion and practical workshops.

Urban and Rural Environmental Emergencies was the first part of a three part series of events taking place across 2021-2022.

2020 has been a year defined by change, shining spotlights on new opportunities and challenges alike. Join a unique multisector community online for Communicate 2020 to explore five vital themes for the emerging landscape of environmental communications.

– New tools for the new normal
– Intersectionality and environment
– Nature based solutions
– Connecting to places and spaces
– Perspectives and reflections

Communicate 2020 Resources – Weblinks

In 2019 we have seen environmental issues emerge dramatically at the forefront of public consciousness, thrusting into the mainstream. People are listening, but what is the message?

As communicators, we are operating in a complex social ecology where interventions, stories and behaviour change sit against a backdrop of political upheaval, upcoming policy change and an increasingly active movement of disenfranchised youth. With different groups promoting a disparate (and sometimes conflicting) collection of simple actions, how can the sector align our messages, take action and build clarity in a society that is increasingly engaged, but lacking clear direction?

SPEAKER SLIDES

Participatory biological recording in the UK is a triumph of public contribution to our collective knowledge of the natural world. Devoted volunteers and enthusiasts generate vast databanks supporting environmental policy, research and practice with baseline data for thousands of native and non-native UK species.

As threats to UK wildlife mount, the need to grow the evidence base for effective conservation becomes increasingly vital. We need effective communications tools to be able to share this amazing energy and support an accessible, well informed citizen science culture. What key stories should we be telling to empower local communities in spaces on their doorsteps, and develop the practical skills among the existing and emerging army of volunteers, advocates and citizen scientists that will provide the evidence base and help shape the discussion going forward?

Presentations slides from the conference and Our Planet LAB resources

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As communicators in a complex, unpredictable world, there is an urgent need for pragmatic, proactive tools to seize on this time of unprecedented social and political change.

From plastics to climate change, habitat loss to nature connection, what can we each achieve to collectively engineer the right conditions and identify the catalysts of positive action? What can we learn from exploring the evolutionary history of the issues to help us navigate this complex ecology of change?

What are the challenges – and the opportunities – in crafting effective messages for stakeholder and public audiences around water?

This event brought together a wide group of environmental professionals to discuss and debate approaches to communicating the value of water to public audiences, including review of current audience research, current campaigns, use of communication channels. Using the Bristol Avon Catchment area as a case study, delegates explored ideas that can implemented or scaled-up nationally.

Download the Changing Minds: Water Stories Programme

Communicate+ was a brand new conference for 2018 which brought together secondary students from across the West of England alongside cutting edge researchers, communicators and industry figures to:

• Young people had their say on the Government’s 25 year Environment Plan and helped shape communications to encourage other young people across the country to participate in the 2019 Year of Green Action. Young people in attendance conceived the official hashtag for the Year of Youth Environmental Action – #IWill4Nature
• Learn about key environmental issues, solutions, and the science behind them from leading experts in the field
• Receive training in how to communicate complex ideas in compelling ways, to convince others and develop the tools to turn ideas into action!

Communicate+ was co-hosted by Action For Conservation

Environmental communication is in the spotlight as ocean and marine plastics are front and centre in public consciousness like never before. What has driven this global phenomenon – can it really just be Blue Planet 2? And most urgently, how can we now tackle the other major issues facing our water sources, and turn the spotlight on plastics campaigns into a tidal wave of other important environmental behaviours?

Presentations slides and resources from the conference

In a time of unprecedented social, economic and political change we urgently need proactive tools for successfully communicating environmental issues. Communicate went straight to the interface and asked some difficult questions about current approaches as we explored a shifting landscape of echo-chambers, divisive opinions and fake news.

150 delegates came together to discuss, debate, and built vital communications toolkits for the coming year over two days of inspiring content, cutting edge research, practical workshops and engaging discussion.

 SLIDES AND VIDEOS FROM COMMUNICATE 2017

Understanding how people think, feel and respond to information is vital to successfully communicating environmental issues and influencing positive change. Expert researchers and communications practitioners brought together a diverse range of perspectives, using behavioural sciences to explore and influence a shifting landscape of echo-chambers, divisive opinions and fake news.

Follow the links below to download the presentation slides.

State of the Sector Sessions

Toolbox Sessions