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Centre for National Parks and Protected Areas

An International Research Centre

Who We Are

We are an interdisciplinary team of academics, professors of practice, visiting and honorary fellows.

We are interested in making a difference to national parks and protected area management. We collaborate widely with those professionals seeking to manage our special places for the benefit of all.

What We Do

CNPPA operates a transdisciplinary approach, which focuses on world-class academic excellence with a global reach, the purpose of which is to inform and influence policy making, develop best practice, governance and innovation of resource use and promote knowledge transfer through high-quality translational skills.

It aims to attract internationally and nationally renowned academics in relevant discipline areas through conferences, fellowships, research and enterprise projects, whilst at the same time encouraging dialogue with policymakers and professional practitioners.

CNPPA logo.

Our Vision

Our vision is to be a national and international centre of excellence for transdisciplinary study and research into national parks and protected areas, that address complex local and global challenges and develop innovative practices to enhance landscapes and communities.

A short-haired woman smiled under an umbrella.

Meet the Director of the CNPPA

Lois Mansfield is the Director of the CNPPA alongside acting as a Professor of Upland Landscapes, and Director of the University of Cumbria's Ambleside Campus.

Lois is a recipient of a Winston Churchill Fellowship (2019) related to place-based rural development using cultural capital in Japan. Additionally, she participates in active research in the area of upland agriculture as part of the Centre for National Parks & Protected Areas.

Find out more about Lois

Meet the Team

  • Photo of Dr Penny Bradshaw

    Dr Penny Bradshaw

    Theme Lead: Cultural Landscapes

  • Photo of Dr Angus I. Carpenter

    Dr Angus I. Carpenter

    Theme Lead: Conservation

  • Photo of Professor Chris Loynes

    Professor Chris Loynes

    Theme Lead: Human-Nature Relations

  • Photo of Dr Angie Anthonisz

    Dr Angie Anthonisz

    Theme Lead: Rural & Visitor Economy

  • Photo of Professor Julia Aglionby

    Professor Julia Aglionby

    Professor of Practice

  • Photo of Ian Stephens

    Ian Stephens

    Professor of Practice

  • Photo of Sarah Hall

    Sarah Hall

    Professor of Practice

  • Photo of Tania Lemmey

    Tania Lemmey

    CNPPA Development Officer

Latest News & Events

CNPPA Newsletters

Landscapes for Nature Recovery events (March-April 2022)

National Landscapes Partnership Panel Discussion (February 2022)

What is Natural Beauty? Symposium (December 2021)

COP26 Joint Statement

Farming with Nature Conference (May 2021)

 

Stay up to date with the CNPPA

We are pleased to bring you news of our research, events, and community projects. To subscribe to future editions of the newsletter sign up below!

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Our Research Themes

Japanese mountain

Cultural Landscapes

This theme brings together areas of research that engage with the 'combined works of nature and humankind' (UNESCO) and which explore interpretations of, and creative responses to, the complex and dynamic relationship between humans and nature.
People walking in The Lake District

Human Nature Relations

The engagement of people with nature produces a landscape. Personal, social, economic and political actions interact with natural processes, habitats and species in dynamic relations.
A lake.

Rural and Visitor Economy

The rural and visitor economy theme adopts a transformational business philosophy that encourages the development of innovative thinking and contemporary approaches to planning and management that are linked to supporting a broad range of resources.
Close up image of a hawk

Conservation and Ecology

The Conservation and Ecology group take a transdisciplinary action-orientated approach, drawing on natural and social sciences, to conduct research with the aim of protecting species, their habitats and ecosystems from biodiversity loss.
Place Collective logo

Place

The PLACE Collective is a community of artists engaged with issues of nature, environment and rural societies. It brings artists into a wider process of research, debate and knowledge-sharing and encourages more sustainable approaches.

Our Partnerships

  • Uplands Alliance logo
  • Foundation for Common Land logo
  • Lake District National Park Partnership logo
  • Place Collective logo
  • Food, Farming and Countryside Commission logo
  • Our Common Cause: Our Upland Commons logo
  • Place Innovation logo

Related Articles

News
‘Deep Time’: New Public Art Programme featuring leading contemporary artists announced for Lake District Coast

‘Deep Time’: New Public Art Programme featuring leading contemporary artists announced for Lake District Coast

A lesser-known stretch of England’s rugged North West coast is the inspiration for a new public art commissions programme announced today and launching in spring 2023. The project, supported by the University of Cumbria's Centre for National Parks and Protected Areas, is called Deep Time: Commissions for the Lake District Coast and draws on the varied landscape and rich heritage of West Cumbria, its people and place.


Posted on Wednesday, June 22, 2022

News
‘Northern stronghold’ for rare hazel dormice created in Lancashire

‘Northern stronghold’ for rare hazel dormice created in Lancashire

A ‘northern stronghold’ of rare hazel dormice is being created in Lancashire thanks to a partnership of nature and conservation organisations, including the University of Cumbria Back on our Map (BOOM) lottery-funded project.


Posted on Friday, June 24, 2022

News
Feel good factor film for Lakes’ farmers

Feel good factor film for Lakes’ farmers

In the wake of a pioneering publication showcasing why farming matters to the Lake District’s iconic landscapes for nature recovery and climate action, a new film follows in its footsteps.


Posted on Monday, May 16, 2022

News
All Lakes’ farmers to be reached in publication first

All Lakes’ farmers to be reached in publication first

Every farmer in the Lake District is set to receive the first publication of its kind setting out why famed cultural landscapes matter in the crusade for nature recovery and climate action. 'What Did Farming Ever Do for Us?', authored by University of Cumbria's Professor of Upland Landscapes Lois Mansfield, will be distributed across the national park’s 1,246-strong agricultural community as it transitions from EU grants for food production to funding for public benefit.


Posted on Tuesday, January 25, 2022

News
Prison in Queen’s major tree mission

Prison in Queen’s major tree mission

Men at HMP Haverigg, Cumbria's only prison, are at forefront of The Queen’s Green Canopy tree-planting mission. They are working with the University of Cumbria's Back on our Map lottery-funded BOOM project on helping to reintroduce threatened native species to areas around Morecambe Bay and south Cumbria.


Posted on Monday, December 13, 2021

News
Countryside celebrity in natural beauty spotlight

Countryside celebrity in natural beauty spotlight

TV presenter Kate Humble is to lead a stellar line-up of speakers for a Lakes-based COP26 event on December 1 that will explore natural beauty in some of the country's most popular and fragile places. It will be hosted by the university's Centre for National Parks and Protected Areas and the People Land Art Culture Ecology (PLACE) Collective.


Posted on Monday, November 22, 2021

News
Lakes centre in major COP26 initiative

Lakes centre in major COP26 initiative

A University of Cumbria-led organisation has joined guardians of some of the biggest tracts of protected landscapes on earth in signing a pivotal COP26 statement calling for world leaders to support them.


Posted on Tuesday, November 9, 2021

News
Global gathering signals race against time

Global gathering signals race against time

World leaders gathering for COP26 should be a catalyst for action, boosting ambitious goals to make Cumbria carbon neutral 13-years ahead of government targets. So says University of Cumbria’s Mike Siddall, a key adviser in the county’s drive for business sustainability and CO2 reduction,


Posted on Monday, October 18, 2021

News
Cumbria's key role in £10.5m programme exploring how trees can help UK reach ‘net zero’

Cumbria's key role in £10.5m programme exploring how trees can help UK reach ‘net zero’

Scientists from the University of Cumbria are part of a new £10.5 million UK programme that will explore how trees can help the UK reach net zero greenhouse gas emissions.


Posted on Wednesday, August 18, 2021

News
Conference spotlight on uncertain countryside

Conference spotlight on uncertain countryside

Nationally recognised experts, including senior Defra staff, will be taking part in Farming with Nature, a virtual conference organised by the university's Ambleside-based Centre for National Parts and Protected Areas and taking place this month.


Posted on Monday, May 10, 2021

News
Celebrated author in lodestar landscape role

Celebrated author in lodestar landscape role

Cumbrian author Sarah Hall will be working with English LIterature students in her new role as Professor of Practice at the University of Cumbria's Ambleside-based Centre for National Parks and Protected Areas


Posted on Monday, April 26, 2021

News
Voting for the survival of Cumbria’s internationally rare rainforest

Voting for the survival of Cumbria’s internationally rare rainforest

The race is on for votes to clinch vital European funding to safeguard universally rare rainforest – in Cumbria.


Posted on Tuesday, March 30, 2021

View All
 

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