Introducing the Nature and People Action Collaborative at CU Boulder
We are excited to launch The Nature and People Action Collaborative (NPAC) at the University of Colorado Boulder. NPAC brings together researchers, communities, and decision-makers to advance nature-based solutions to the grand challenges of climate change, biodiversity loss, and inequitable declines in human well-being.
Why now?
Science, collaboration, coordinated action, and environmental leaders are required now as more and more communities are experiencing the negative impacts of global climate change, biodiversity loss, and social inequity. Nature-based solutions (NbS) – ways of conserving, restoring, or better managing ecosystems that simultaneous improve climate mitigation and adaptation, biodiversity, and human-wellbeing – are being promoted as solutions to these interlinked challenges. Despite the promise of NbS, there are still gaps in the evidence base underpinning NbS and practical implementation and monitoring of NbS. These gaps impede high-integrity implementation, financing, and scaling of NbS.
NPAC was created in response to these needs. The center is designed to bridge the gap between research and implementation by connecting interdisciplinary science with community and end-user partnerships. By working across ecology, climate science, economics, social sciences, education, and policy, NPAC supports the design, evaluation, and scaling of solutions that benefit both ecosystems and the people who depend on them.
What is our approach?
NPAC researchers, educators, and partners are breaking down traditional silos between academic research, training, and on-the-ground implementation. NPAC has two pillars:
actionable, engaged research
training current and future environmental leaders.
Our research approach centers around engaging end-users from the start. Through partnerships with municipalities, conservation organizations, and government agencies, we work directly with stakeholders, rightsholders, communities, and decision-makers to ensure our research is actionable and informed by diverse forms of knowledge. Our projects develop monitoring and evaluation frameworks, synthesize the best available knowledge, support decision-making, and help partners adapt and refine solutions to deliver real outcomes. Grounded in local needs and research co-design, our approach helps create solutions that are not only effective, but also equitable and more likely to be adopted and sustained over time.
Our second pillar will train the next generation of environmental problem solvers and leaders through innovative community-engaged education and training of practitioners who are making decisions on-the-ground. We aim to prepare the next generation of leaders to be effective at collaborating across disciplines, cultures, and sectors and to have the skills to consider and navigate different viewpoints and objectives. To do so, NPAC will: 1) support innovative student training in real-world problem solving and mentoring in use-inspired science; 2) generate new pedagogical tools and models in co-producing NbS, drawing from CU Boulder’s discipline-based education research (DBER) fields and broad expertise in environmental and experiential education; 3) bridge training in ecosystem and climate science with the social and behavioral sciences; and 4) provide training opportunities for practitioners in advanced skills sets (e.g. impact evaluation, adaptive management).
NPAC’s mission is to advance just and sustainable nature-based solutions addressing climate change, biodiversity loss, and human well-being. We connect rigorous, transdisciplinary science with community partner needs and bridge global knowledge with local action to design, evaluate, and implement nature-based solutions.
Who are we?
NPAC is a group of interdisciplinary researchers based at the University of Colorado Boulder led by Drs. Laura Dee and Lisa Corwin. Our researchers come from diverse environmental disciplines and value scientific rigor, transparency, and collaboration. We proudly partner with numerous organizations to develop and employ relevant science and programs focusing on nature-based solutions.
By linking global scientific insights with local action, NPAC aims to serve as a hub for innovation in nature-based solutions—helping communities respond to climate change, conserve biodiversity, and build a more resilient and equitable future.
