About NFLL

Find out our project mission and vision, and student and policy impacts 

NFLL vision and mission

The New Forest Living Lab (NFLL) is a programme of student-led research focused on the New Forest, run by undergraduate and MSc students from the School of Geography and Environmental Science of the University of Southampton. It connects students with local organisations to work on projects that address real conservation and land management challenges.

Projects are co-developed with partners including the New Forest Biodiversity Forum (NFBF; our primary funder), Forestry England, Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust, and Wild New Forest. By aligning with partner priorities, NFLL ensures that student research contributes directly to ongoing work in the New Forest.

Through a competitive application process, students gain practical experience in research, collaboration, and professional skills, helping prepare them for careers beyond university.

Policy impacts

Our initiative provides a structured, collaborative platform for generating data that informs biodiversity conservation and education in the New Forest. By working with local partners and aligning student research with the New Forest Biodiversity Forum strategic priorities, this initiative helps ensure that findings can be integrated into local decision-making processes.

Management impacts

NFLL will generate direct management impacts by supplying locally relevant, partner-aligned evidence that can inform practical conservation and land management decisions within the New Forest National Park. By co-developing projects with local organisations, we will help address specific knowledge gaps and support adaptive management approaches grounded in current data. Student research outputs, particularly where they feed back into partner organisations, will contribute to site-based management planning, monitoring, and evaluation of interventions. Our programme will also strengthen collaboration between academic and practitioner communities, improving the flow of information into management processes and supporting more coordinated, evidence-based stewardship of wildlife.

Student impacts

Student participation in our project is structured to delivering tangible academic, professional, and personal outcomes. Through direct engagement with real-world conservation challenges and partner organisations, students develop transferable skills, build professional networks, and contribute to applied research with clear external relevance.

Professional development and networking

• Students gain experience in applied, policy-relevant research, useful for careers in research, conservation, environmental consultancy, and land management.

• Work directly with conservation professionals.

• Build professional networks that support future career opportunities.

• Develop skills in stakeholder engagement and science communication.

• Acquire hands-on experience and demonstrable skills valued by employers in ecological and environmental fields.

Research support

• Projects are co-designed with partner organisations to address identified knowledge gaps.

• Access to logistical support, local expertise, and field sites through project partners.

• Assistance with permissions and site access.

• Expert guidance alongside academic supervision.

• Opportunity to feed results and outcome back to Forest partner organisations.

Unique life experience

• Research conducted in the New Forest National Park, a landscape of international conservation importance.

• Opportunities to work with rare and protected species and habitats.

• Development of practical field and analytical skills in a real-world conservation setting.