The role of the Advisory Group

The Advisory Group:

  • Provided advice and guidance on the scientific evidence presented to the People’s Assembly for Nature 
  • Checked the resources and materials presented to the People’s Assembly, making sure that they are balanced, accurate and include perspectives from across all four nations.
  • Helped give context to the work of the People’s Assembly for Nature within wider debates on biodiversity loss, climate change and food production & consumption. 
  • Connected the People’s Plan for Nature programme to other initiatives to share learnings. 
  • Advised and supported the delivery team in ensuring the process is accessible and equitable for all attendees. 

The members of the Advisory Group have expertise in the areas that the People’s Assembly for Nature covered: biodiversity, climate change, and food and farming. They were representative of a broad range of ideological standpoints, representing different parts of society, including business, government representatives, academia, NGOs and civil society groups.

How were they selected?

The project design team for the People’s Assembly for Nature- consisting of Involve and staff members from the RSPB, the National Trust and WWF - created a shortlist that focused on ensuring the Advisory Group included:

  • A breadth of perspectives  
  • Representation of the devolved nations   
  • Representation of different parts of society   
  • Had an intergenerational focus;  
  • An understanding of the topic area in question.

This list was also reviewed by the two Academic Leads working on this project.   

Meet the Advisory Group

To make sure The People’s Assembly for Nature was impartial and fair, an independent Advisory Group was appointed to check the content being discussed and how it was delivered.   

Here’s who was in the group.

Professor Nathalie Seddon

Professor of Biodiversity, University of Oxford

Professor Pete Smith

Professor of Soils and Global Change, University of Aberdeen

Tom Chigbo

Community Engagement and Participation Manager, TPXimpact (formerly FutureGov)

Russell De’ath

Senior Specialist Advisor, Natural Resources Wales

Anurag Deb

PhD researcher, Queen's University Belfast

Dr Miranda Geelhoed

Policy and Project Development Coordinator, Scottish Crofting Federation

Nick Halfhide

Director of Nature and Climate Change, Nature Scot

Sarah Hendry

Director General, Country Land and Business Association (CLA)

Tony Juniper

Chair, Natural England

Aekus Kamboj (She/Her)

Environmental Officer, Ethnic-Minority Environmental Network (EMEN)

Dr Becca Lovell

Senior Lecturer, University of Exeter Medical School

Thomasina Miers

Co-Founder, Wahaca

Ali Morse

Water Policy Manager, the Wildlife Trusts

Nadeem Perera

Co-Founder, Flock Together

Hedd Pugh

Rural Affairs Board Chairman, National Farmers' Union (NFU) Cymru

Buzz Saltmarsh

FLAME - the youth branch of Land Workers' Alliance

John Watkins

CEO, National Association for Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONBs)

Dr Meriwether Wilson

Co-Director Ocean Leaders, University of Edinburgh

Advisory Group meeting notes

Meeting #1

Download and read the meeting notes from the first Advisory Group meeting on 4 October 2022.

Meeting #2

Download and read the meeting notes from the second Advisory Group meeting on 20 October 2022.

Meeting #3

Download and read the meeting notes from the third Advisory Group meeting on 22 November 2022.

Meeting #4

Download and read the meeting notes from the fourth Advisory Group meeting on 19 January 2023.

Add your voice to the People’s Plan for Nature

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Together we can make this plan too big to ignore.