WetlandLIFE: Taking the bite out of wetlands

WetlandLIFE is a project exploring the ecological, economic, social and cultural values associated with wetlands in England to better understand how to manage change into the future. WetlandLIFE is an interdisciplinary project utilising a range of natural and social science research techniques, as well as approaches from the humanities and the arts, to understand some of these values of wetlands from both an historical and contemporary perspective. Running from 2016 - 2020 the project studied the cultural, historic and economic aspects of English wetlands, alongside an ecological focus on mosquito management now and in the past. The overarching aim was to improve wetland management by delivering ecological guidance for managing insect populations, particularly mosquitoes, for healthy wetland environments, and to encourage the recreational use of wetlands to support the health and well being of local human populations. This work is supported by the Natural Environment Research Council, the Arts and Humanities Research Council, the Economic and Social Research Council and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs under the Valuing Nature Programme (NERC grant reference number NE/NO13379/1).