According to the United Nations, 2021-2030 is "The Decade on Ecosystem Restoration", where everyone, from governments and businesses to individuals, needs to rethink their relationship with nature.

The new MSc Nature Recovery, Restoration and Rewilding (NR3) will respond to these needs by challenging students to consider the theoretical and practical implications of initiatives such as rewilding, which provide novel and ambitious approaches to restoring nature, while also gaining a critical understanding of how these approaches can tackle the twin global crises of biodiversity loss and climate change.

Enhancing biodiversity requires a wholesale change in attitudes towards nature, from individuals through to large corporations. The programme is unique in its approach to stimulating this change as its curriculum goes beyond conventional conservation methods, embracing knowledge and skills from the natural and social sciences, to give students the training and skills needed to recover, restore and rewild the world's ecosystems. It will also equip students with a critical understanding of social-ecological systems and nature positive solutions, preparing graduates for roles across the public, private and charitable sectors such as ecological consultancy, planning, and conservation practice.

The course will be led by Dr. Ian Thornhill and Dr. Anna Gilchrist from the School of Environment, Education and Development at The University of Manchester. It will deliver a programme of learning that focuses explicitly on the biodiversity challenges we're facing and the innovative solutions that are needed to overcome them.

Anna Gilchrist, Co-Programme Director of MSc Nature Recovery, Restoration and Rewilding, added: "For too long, humans have viewed nature as something that should be at our mercy, eradicating anything that is messy, disruptive or poses a threat. We are finally being shown the reality that we are at the mercy of nature, and that our systematic dismantling of ecosystems, now threatens humanity itself. Current generations must act now – going beyond saving what little we have left, to actively working to put back what we have taken away. We have to do this, not just by understanding the natural science of how to transform ecosystems, but also by changing the hearts and minds of people – this Masters is all about showing students how to do both.

"To ensure the course is solutions driven, the academic team involved will cultivate students' real-world understanding with field visits, where they will learn a diverse array of practical skills such as data analytics, ecological survey techniques, and geographical information systems."

Ian Thornhill, Co-Programme Director of MSc Nature Recovery, Restoration and Rewilding, said: "Developing solutions to the environmental crises will require interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary approaches. From the outset, we'll be equipping students with a diverse portfolio of learning opportunities, including lectures and seminars given by experts in transformative conservation, delivering a blend of philosophical, ethical and applied perspectives.

"The NR3 programme is about delivering positive change and rebuilding what's been lost. We want to work with students from a range of disciplines and backgrounds to explore how we can give autonomy back to nature to bring back intact and resilient ecosystems."

The Masters course is made up of six core modules including People and Nature, Planning for Nature Recovery, Rewilding: Principles and Practice, Environmental Restoration, Methods for Ecological Analysis and the Nature Positive Field Tour. Students will also have the opportunity to participate in a residential field visit per semester, a three-day residential trip to the Lake District to work on a restoration project as well as an international trip in semester two, alongside other 'day field visits' to gain lots of real-world, practical insights into nature recovery, restoration and rewilding.

MSc Nature Recovery, Restoration and Rewilding is planned for an Autumn 2025 entry, with applications now open.

Find out more and apply: https://www.manchester.ac.uk/study/masters/courses/list/21491/msc-nature-recovery-restoration-and-rewilding/