Natural England supported MRES - Responsible Outdoor Recreation

Responsible outdoor recreation on the Bradford Pennine Gateway National Nature Reserve (NNR) 

Supervisory team: Professor Kate Dashper and Dr Jason King

In 2025 the Bradford Pennine Gateway NNR was launched as a partnership between Natural England and Bradford Council. Spanning 1,272 hectares across eight sites within the Bradford and South Pennine area, approximately 90% of the NNR comprises UK priority habitats including peat bogs, heathlands and wetlands. It is home to endangered wildlife including adders, curlew and golden plover, with 738 hectares (58%) of the site designated as Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), conferring greater environmental protections.

The NNR sites are also important places for outdoor recreation for the local populations of Bradford and the West Yorkshire region, and visitors from further afield. A wide variety of outdoor recreation activities take place across different parts of the site, including hiking, dog walking, cycling, mountain biking, horse riding, golf and gliding, amongst others. Outdoor recreation brings many positive benefits to people’s physical and mental health and well-being, often improving pro-environmental attitudes. However, outdoor recreation activities can also cause environmental damage, requiring careful management to balance the sometimes-competing needs of nature and human activity.

The designation of these sites as an NNR is an exciting opportunity for Bradford and West Yorkshire to contribute to national conservation efforts to protect 30% of land for nature by 2030, and also provides people in the region with opportunities for recreation in high quality green spaces. To help maximise the benefits to people and nature, greater understanding of recreational activities in these green spaces is needed to inform management plans on this and other protected sites.

Under the supervision of staff from Leeds Beckett University, with support from the National Nature Reserve team at Natural England, the successful candidate will conduct a research project to begin to understand outdoor recreation on some of the different sites of this new NNR. We invite candidates to submit a research proposal that meets the broad aims of the project.

The successful candidate should have a strong interest in outdoor recreation and/or the management of green spaces, as well as a passion to undertake research which has real-world application. Knowledge of quantitative and/or qualitative research methods would be beneficial but further training can be provided to the successful candidate. Strong communication skills and professionalism are essential, as the candidate will be working closely with a range of stakeholders and with the general public.

Applicants are encouraged to discuss their proposals with Professor Kate Dashper and Dr Jason King

To find this course on our portal you will need to search for a Postgraduate Research course, Spring 2025/26, Full Time and search for ‘Recreation’ as the programme title.

A laptop will be provided

Fieldwork expenses: Included 

This opportunity is for UK applicants only

The successful candidates would ideally have: 2:1 or higher in a relevant undergraduate degree.

The MRes will be awarded to the strongest applications assessed on the applicant’s academic excellence, the strength of the research proposal and how the proposal fits with the research project.