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While support for biodiversity protection remains high among Europeans, everyday contemporary living often distances people from nature, making biodiversity seem abstract and invisible in their surroundings. This gap makes it difficult to align their personal values related to nature with the urgent demands of conservation. A new report, co-authored by MIO-ECSDE as part of the SHARED GREEN DEAL project, offers encouraging insights. It shows how Study Circles — a method originally developed in Sweden for adult education — in Slovenia, Ireland, Sweden, and Greece are successfully helping communities reconnect with local biodiversity and shift perspectives.
“Exploring the Study Circle approach in fostering change in biodiversity values among adults” explores what happens when adults are given the space to learn, reflect, and meaningfully engage with the natural world around them. It also provides practical recommendations to strengthen biodiversity through education, citizen participation, and local community action, as envisioned by the European Green Deal.
The report emphasizes the importance of perception in driving conservation efforts. By focusing on everyday nature—plants along sidewalks, birds in local trees, pollinators in gardens—participants developed a new way of seeing the natural world. Experts, gardeners, and local storytellers enriched the sessions, helping participants shift their view from nature as background scenery to something invaluable and worthy of protection.
Key recommendations for policy-makers include using Study Circles to boost adult biodiversity knowledge, strengthening citizen participation, linking education initiatives with local action, and building community capacity for biodiversity decisions.
MIO-ECSDE, proud partner in SHARED GREEN DEAL, continues to support innovative ways to bring people closer to nature and promote biodiversity stewardship across Europe.
Learn more by reading the full report here.
Read in French here.