2026 CEDHE Forum
The Community for Environmental Disciplines in Higher Education (CEDHE) Committee invites you to join them for the 2026 AGM & Forum.
This year’s free online CEDHE Forum will bring together educators, employers, and industry professionals to explore the evolving landscape of professionalising environmental education. We will explore key themes related to curriculum development, industry needs, and the essential competencies required for graduates to succeed and progress in the environmental sector. Through engaging presentations, discussions, and Q&A sessions, participants will have the opportunity to share best practice and shape the future of environmental education.
Key themes
The student perspective: Hear from IES Student Ambassadors as they share insights on skills development and graduate skills needs. They’ll provide an overview of this year’s National Careers Week webinars, highlighting advice and key skills recommended by industry professionals.
Employer perspectives: In this session, employers will share insights on graduate skills in the sector, highlighting strengths and areas for improvement.
Competencies: Explore professional competency frameworks and how programmes can align with competencies required for registration.
Curriculum professionalisation: This session will share case studies and highlight best practices in the sector through lightning presentations, offering key takeaways to implement at your institution.
Who should attend the forum?
Academics & Researchers | Environmental Science Students & Graduates | PhD Students | Non-teaching University Staff | CEDHE Members & Accreditation Contacts | Careers Advisors | Employers of Environmental Science Graduates
The September edition of environmental SCIENTIST explores an approach that the IES has long championed in the sector: interdisciplinarity.
Defined here as a way of working across and beyond traditional disciplinary boundaries, interdisciplinarity is fundamental to environmental science: a field that is home to a broad range of topics, concepts, and approaches to research and practice.
It could therefore be argued that environmental science is the natural habitat of interdisciplinary working. A less siloed approach to environmental work has gained traction over the last decade, and interdisciplinarity is now often held up as the gold standard of new research and working practices in environmental science. Professionals are encouraged to think and work with interdisciplinarity in mind: but how does this take shape when creating new research projects, new interdisciplinary teams, or engaging new audiences? Does the buzzword of interdisciplinarity bring with it adequate funding, support, and impetus for systemic change: enough to allow truly interdisciplinary work to take place, and break new ground?
This issue of environmental SCIENTIST considers the answers to these questions by showcasing success stories of the creation of new interdisciplinary communities, the formation of interdisciplinary Higher Education (HE) curricula for the next generation of environmental scientists, and considering how environmental professionals can follow their own game-changing interdisciplinary career paths.
Download the Journal (PDF) and Teaching Resource (docx) for this edition.
The Student Ambassador Scheme is an opportunity for up to two students from each of our accredited institutions to represent the IES at their university and to champion the student voice. The Student Ambassador Scheme is intended to provide a valuable opportunity for students at accredited universities to steer, and provide input into, tailored IES activities and promote the importance of professional body membership within their institution.
What is the role of an IES Student Ambassador?
From encouraging environmental action to hosting bespoke IES events and promoting student membership, the Ambassador role is diverse and flexible, allowing Ambassadors to adapt the role to meet the needs of their student body.
Ambassadors will:
- Represent the IES at your university.
- Promote environmental action and student membership.
- Run or host IES events on campus.
- Share opportunities and inspire your peers.
- Contribute to IES social media and student pages.
- Sit in on CEDHE committee meetings, influencing the future of environmental education.
Hear what the current ambassadors have to say about the role:
Why become a Student Ambassador?
- Ambassadors will develop key skills, such as communication, event management, public speaking and leadership – professional skills that will strengthen your CV
- This role will enable Ambassadors to engage meaningfully with the IES, demonstrating a commitment and dedication to the environmental science sector
- Opportunity to network with other university students, industry professionals, academics and other student ambassadors from across the world, at IES events.
Who we're looking for
We want students who are:
- Studying on an IES-accredited programme and are current IES Student Members (you can sign up today if you’re not).
- Confident communicators (written and verbal).
- Organised, proactive, and ready to lead.
- Passionate about sustainability and environmental science.
- We particularly welcome applications from students from underrepresented groups, in line with our Equity, Diversity & Inclusion (ED&I) Plan 2023–2026.
Key information
Do you know of a student who would be perfect for this role? Send them this information and encourage them to apply to represent your institution.
Ambassadors will hold the role for 13 months, which will include handing over your role to the new Ambassadors at your university. For 2025/26, Ambassadors will hold the position from November 2025 – December 2026.
How to apply
If you would like to be considered for this role, please complete the form below by 12pm on Monday 27th October 2025.
Please note: applicants must be an existing Student Member (sign up form) of the IES and logged into the members area to access this form.
If you have any further questions please don’t hesitate to contact the IES on education@the-ies.org.
The March 2025 issue of environmental SCIENTIST, Who pays? Money, power and risk in sustainable finance, is now available open access on the website. 
This issue of environmental SCIENTIST turns to one of the most contentious and complex topics within the environmental sector: finance. The edition considers how we can harness finance to advance environmental improvement, support the transition to net zero, and ensure that our economy is resilient in the face of environmental problems. Crucially, this issue asks who pays for this transition, and how.
There has been widespread global implementation of new financial measures, initiatives and policies (e.g., carbon taxes, Environment and Social Governance (ESG), and green finance to name a few), but the complexities and pitfalls of our current global economic system present challenges for policymakers, researchers, and environmental professionals alike. Financial support for environmental programmes, research and innovation must also remain accessible, democratic, and innovative. This issue of environmental SCIENTIST therefore asks how we can best work towards a truly sustainable financial system, which can unlock new opportunities for environmental and social improvement.
Authors contributing to this issue are experts in the environmental dimensions of finance, from academics and communications experts to political commentators. Their articles consider the successes and failures of new financial frameworks and standards, examine the geopolitics of financing environmental improvement, explore the possibilities for new ways of communicating environmental finance, and investigate innovative solutions to financial challenges.
Download the Journal (PDF) and Teaching Resource (docx) for this edition.
Cross-sector concerns about decline of fieldwork opportunities in UK life science courses
The IES and CEDHE are signatories to a letter convened by the Mammal Society to highlight to government and the public the worrying trend of fieldwork opportunities disappearing from life science programmes at UK universities. An open letter, signed by over 20 representatives of the conservation, ecology, education and museum sectors, was sent to ministers on Monday 12th May 2025.
Fieldwork provides opportunities for undergraduates to gain hands-on experience of applying ecology knowledge and skills in a real-world context, ensuring that they can solve real-world challenges and recognise species, signs of wildlife presence and habitat health indicators. Ecology consultancies have already reported to the Mammal Society a growing trend of career starters with life science degrees, who do not demonstrate sufficient field skills to be able to start working on projects without a period of shadowing experienced ecologists in the field.
The UK is considered severely nature-depleted based on data showing significant declines in species populations, habitat degradation, and the high number of species at risk of extinction. Since 1970, UK species have declined by about 19% on average (State of Nature 2023), and nearly 1 in 6 species are now threatened with extinction. Furthermore, only 14% of important habitats are considered to be in good condition. The government is committed to achieving a number of nature recovery targets set out in the Environment Act 2021 and Environmental Improvement Plan 2023, including the halting of species decline by 2030 and increasing species abundance by 10% by 2042, increasing tree canopy and woodland cover from 14.5% to 16.5% of total land area in England by 2050, restoring or creating more than 500,000 hectares of wildlife-rich habitat outside protected sites by 2042, restoring 75% of terrestrial and freshwater protected sites to favourable condition by 2042, and ensuring all sites of special scientific interest (SSSIs) have an up-to-date condition assessment. 50% of SSSIs are on track to achieve favourable condition by 31 January 2028. This represents a huge amount of work in the coming decades, for which a workforce of skilled ecologists will be essential.
Some institutions offer fieldwork opportunities to undergraduates but at an additional cost above course fees, or leave it up to students to find or create their own opportunities. This leads to an inequality of opportunity where students from more affluent backgrounds gain more skills valued by employers. A lack of inbuilt fieldwork can also make life science programmes less attractive and have less perceived value for students considering a career path in ecology, at a time when we need more skilled people entering the workforce to address the challenges of the biodiversity crisis.
The letter calls for the following:
- Recognition of field courses as essential training.
- Commitment to maintaining and expanding field opportunities.
- Financial support to ensure equitable access so that no student is excluded due to cost.
- Sustainable alternatives, such as UK-based fieldwork options, rather than eliminating courses in response to carbon footprint concerns.
The December 2024 edition of the IES’ journal, environmental SCIENTIST, A Planetary Prescription, is now available open access on the website.
This issue of environmental SCIENTIST sheds light on the ways in which human health and the environment are inextricably linked. Articles explore the complexities of well-known issues such as PFAS contamination and air pollution, alongside topics including inequitable access to healthcare and the green spaces necessary for wellbeing, the impacts of heat stress on maternal health, and the health effects of increasing mould and fungus in UK housing due to climate change. This edition will ultimately raise important questions about the unevenly distributed effects of environmental damage on human health, and propose ways to address these imbalances head-on.
Contributors in this issue respond to the health impacts of both systemic and specific environmental crises, driving forward thinking around how we respond holistically to the countless health challenges global society is facing, particularly those that are intensified by climate change and its multifaceted effects.
Download the Journal (PDF) and Teaching Resources (docx) for this edition.
To support our education community in delivering equitable, diverse and inclusive programmes, and to help ensure students from diverse groups are supported to succeed in professional practice, the CEDHE committee have published this guidance. This document explores how to address EDI in preparing students for professional practice in line with the QAA ES3 Benchmark Statement and Section B of the CEDHE accreditation application.
This guidance has been informed by examples from our accredited higher education institutions. There are already some excellent resources that document best practice in relation to how programmes are designed to ensure they are equitable, diverse and inclusive. We have included some resources in this guide to complement the examples submitted from the community, which focus their attention on EDI best practice with respect to preparing students for professional practice.
This project highlighting and sharing examples of EDI best practice also forms an important part of the IES’s EDI Plan 2023-2026, which seeks to enhance diversity and inclusion across the sector, help the IES to act as an agent for change, and lead by example for the betterment of our society, economy and environment.
We hope that publishing examples from within our community will support the continuous improvement of environmental science education, and lead to a more diverse and inclusive workforce in the future.
This is a growing repository of work. If you would like to contribute to this guide please contact us by email at education@the-ies.org.
This is an open call to the GEES (geography, earth, and environmental sciences) community, for contributions to a new book entitled ‘How to Embed Employability within Geography, Earth, and Environmental Sciences Programmes’.
This handbook provides a practical guide to embedding employability within GEES curricula in Further and Higher Education. It explores the concepts of employability and graduate skills for students and critically considers how these can be developed, delivered, and assessed within a rapidly changing labour market and employment landscape. The book also examines the ways in which instructors can work with employers to create meaningful partnerships.
GEES educators, students and alumni, and professionals especially employers, professional bodies, and industry specialists in GEES subject areas, are invited to contribute ‘vignettes’ to support the substantive text. Final vignettes will be 500-750 words but in the first instance you are invited to submit a brief (100 words) proposal, together with your details via the proposal form.
The deadline for the Vignette Proposal is February 5, 2025 the deadline for the final Vignettes will be July 9, 2025.
For further questions about this opportunity please contact Dr Jacqueline Dohaney.
The September 2024 edition of the IES’ journal, environmental SCIENTIST, Counting on Net Gain, is now available open access on the website.
This issue of the journal examines an idea that is gaining traction in environmental thinking in recent years: net gain. Approaching this topic from a range of different disciplines and perspectives, articles in this issue of environmental SCIENTIST consider the opportunities and limitations of net gain, as a global policy and regulatory framework, and as a way of thinking that can shape our understanding of progress and development.
Contributors in this issue will examine specific policies, such as the now-mandatory Biodiversity Net Gain, which came into effect in England in February 2024, as well as broader conceptualisations of the term that incorporate marine life, the wider environment, and our society.
Situating net gain in a global context, articles will respond to important questions about its usage and implementation: including what challenges do policymakers face when addressing such complex and far-reaching goals? How can landowners and other stakeholders become engaged with long-term and complex environmental protection practices? Is net gain a concept that should be extended to other areas of environmental protection and policy, beyond just biodiversity? The authors of the articles in this issue of environmental SCIENTIST address these questions informed by their expertise in fields such as land management, architecture, land remediation, and digital ecology.
By bringing together voices at the cutting edge of these sectors, this issue takes a holistic and informed perspective on the emergence of net gain both as a policy and an ideological framework.
Download the Journal (PDF) and Teaching Resources (docx) for this edition.
The Student Ambassador Scheme is an opportunity for up to two students from each of our accredited institutions to represent the IES at their university and to champion the student voice. The Student Ambassador Scheme is intended to provide a valuable opportunity for students at accredited universities to steer, and provide input into, tailored IES activities and promote the importance of professional body membership within their institution.
What is the role of a Student Ambassador?
From encouraging environmental action to hosting bespoke IES events and promoting student membership, the Ambassador role is diverse and flexible, allowing Ambassadors to adapt the role to meet the needs of their student body.
Ambassadors will:
- Act as the main point of contact between the IES and their institution’s student body, actively promoting the benefits of IES Student Membership and relaying feedback to the IES
- Work in collaboration with the IES to deliver events/content for the IES student membership and sector at large
- Collate and share information about environmental opportunities within their institution to inspire student action
- Contribute content for the LinkedIn IES Student member page
- Have the opportunity to represent IES student members at the CEDHE Executive Committee meetings and support in informing the education work of the IES.
Why become a Student Ambassador?
- Ambassadors will develop key skills, such as communication, event management, public speaking and leadership – professional skills that will strengthen your CV
- On successful completion of their tenure, ambassadors will receive a reference and LinkedIn endorsement from the IES
- This role will enable Ambassadors to engage meaningfully with the IES, demonstrating a commitment and dedication to the environmental science sector
- Opportunity to network with other university students, industry professionals, academics and other student ambassadors from across the world, at IES events
- The opportunity to be receive the IES Student Ambassador Award, the recipient will also receive one year’s free professional membership of the IES on graduation.
What we are looking for in our Student Ambassadors?
- Currently enrolled on an IES accredited course and a registered Student Member of the IES
- In 2nd year (or 3rd year if enrolled on a 4-year course)
- Confident with written and verbal communications
- Willingness to engage in public speaking
- Proactive and organised
- Passionate about environmental science and sustainability
- In line with our ED&I Plan 2023-2026, we are particularly keen to encourage applications from people from underrepresented groups.
Do you know of a student who would be perfect for this role? Send them this information and encourage them to apply to represent your institution.
Key information
Ambassadors will hold the role for 13 months, which will include handing over your role to the new Ambassadors at your university. For 2024/25, Ambassadors will hold the position from November 2024 – December 2025.
How to apply
If you would like to be considered for this role, please complete this form by 12pm on 31st October 2024. Please note: applicants must be an existing Student Member (sign up form) of the IES and logged into the members area to access this form.
If you have any further questions please don’t hesitate to contact the IES on education@the-ies.org.