Defence Infrastructure Organisation funded MRES - Outdoor recreation on the Defence Estate

Defence Infrastructure Organisation funded MRes looking at perceptions of risk for recreationalists on the Ministry of Defence training estate

Supervisory team: Professor Kate Dashper and Dr Jason King

The MOD is one of the largest landowners in England. The Defence estate includes sites of environmental and conservation value and has many public rights of way (PRoW), including footpaths, bridleways and byways. 

The Defence estate encompasses many green and blue spaces that are important for outdoor recreation, whether that be walking, dog walking, cycling, fishing, or swimming, among other activities. However, the primary purpose of the Defence estate is to provide an environment for active, realistic military training for British forces and sometimes our allies. 

Military training takes place all year round and includes live firing, heavy tanks and machinery, and other activities that have potential to cause serious harm, even death, to civilians. The MOD estate needs careful managing to try and balance the training needs of the military alongside public access rights for recreation and environmental conservation. 

This balance is complex and challenging. The MOD tries to manage this through a combination of measures including signage, use of flags to indicate when live firing is happening, communications on websites and through leaflets, and through officers on the ground.  

Yet incursions – people (whether civilians or military personnel) on land where they should not be – still happen and can cause costly stoppages to training operations and increased stress for defence staff. Most seriously, incursions have potential to cause serious harm, even death, to people and dogs who stray onto land they should not be on. 

Under the supervision of staff from Leeds Beckett University, with support from the Defence Infrastructure Organisation Forestry, Heritage and Engagement Team at the MOD, the successful candidate will conduct a research project to begin to understand some of the challenges related to recreation activities (e.g., dog walking, running, cycling) that occur on the Defence Estate.  Fieldwork may be conducted at one or two major MOD sites – Catterick, in North Yorkshire and Longmoor in Hampshire. 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 in the MOD and with the general public. 

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.