NATURA Meetings 2024

Event Details

Where: The Kampong, National Tropical Botanical Garden at Florida International University, Miami, USA

Host: Dr. Tiffany Troxler (Florida International University, UREx SRN and US LTER)

Participant Reflections

Participating in the NATURA All Hands Meeting was an enriching experience that allowed for both new connections and the rekindling of existing ones. Throughout the presentations and group discussions, I was inspired by the myriad of innovative approaches presented to tackle the intricate challenges our cities encounter. The abundance of fresh ideas, concepts, and synergies that emerged during our interactions promises to nurture strong bonds and maintain elevated spirits as we collectively strive to generate diverse outputs and forge new collaborations.

What struck me most was the depth of the individual conversations, which allowed for a deeper exploration of the human dimension amidst our shared endeavors. Discussing how we can nurture ourselves, support one another, uplift our communities, and ultimately enhance the vitality of our cities felt profoundly transformative. It became evident that this space is not just about research and professional growth but also about collective reflection and emergence.

I am genuinely excited about the future of NATURA, knowing that it will remain a hub for collaboration and the exchange of ideas for years to come. As we envision and shape the next iteration of NATURA, I eagerly anticipate contributing to and being part of this remarkable journey. I am immensely grateful for the opportunity to belong to this vibrant community and cherish the relationships and insights it continues to offer. Hugs, hugs, and more hugs!

I have been lucky to be involved in NATURA through the Oceania node of the Global Roadmap, the Ecological Resilience Thematic Working Group, and through the Coordinating Committee. 

As an Australian, it was amazing to be part of genuinely global experience that takes the diverse needs and perspectives of many people across the global south, north, east and west, seriously. I was also pleasantly surprised how the social sciences and humanities were represented in the workshop. My Australian experience has mostly been in the frustrating gap between urban ecology, environmental psychology and human geography – it was nice to be in a ‘place’ that respected and recognised the importance of multiple ontologies, epistemologies and worldviews.

As a human, social indeed! It was great to reconnect with a few people I rarely get to see face-to-face and bring a whole host of 2-dimensional characters to life in the real world. The workshop was filled with warmth, trust, and respect between all participants.

As a researcher, the value of and for the ECRs was clear and present. Many research endeavours aim to promote or develop ECRs, but few succeed in allowing ECRs to flourish across geographic, disciplinary and transdisciplinary boundaries and to bring their lived experiences to the table quite like we saw this week. And, of course, it was great to connect with colleagues face to face and even get a bit of work done – work that can only be done face to face. (I’m sounding like an Australian again :)

I am now increasingly working across the science-policy divide, and from that perspective it was really great to see a bunch of researchers reflecting and addressing the complex and holistic needs and requirements of policy and programs. Importantly, all effort was being made to ensure the work we discussed and debated was thoughtful and credible. Two-way exchanges like this are critical for the future of good policy-making and programs.

Lastly, we started the workshop being asked for one word to describe our feelings at the time – taking some liberties with this platform at the end of the workshop I have three words: inspiring, illuminating and interconnected!