The Reynolds Lecture 2026 – Nature, people and place: the mess we’re in and a possible pathway out

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08/07/2026 | 17:30 - 18:30
Emmanuel College, St Andrew's St, Cambridge CB2 3AP
Free - booking required
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Dame Fiona Reynolds will deliver the last in this lecture series, followed by a drinks reception.

What would it mean to place nature, people and place at the heart of how we govern? 

Growing pressures on established forms of government have brought us to a point where radical change is now widely considered both essential and inevitable. So what might we do differently, not only to meet the needs of today’s citizens but those of the generations who will inherit our landscapes, cities and natural world?

Governments and institutions struggle to think and act holistically: across departments, across generations, and across our self-imposed boundaries between the human and natural worlds. At a time when growth – including the development of housing and infrastructure – and environmental protection are treated as competing priorities, Dame Fiona Reynolds will draw on the four previous lectures in the series by Professors Robert Macfarlane, Philippe Sands, Mariana Mazzucato and writer Madeleine Bunting, and her own book The Fight for Beauty to explore how these agendas might instead be aligned through a deeper understanding of and respect for place – its history, character, ecology and meaning to the people who inhabit it.

The Lecture will run from 17:30 to 18:30, followed by a drinks reception.

Register to attend on the Centre for Science and Policy website.


About the Reynolds Lecture Series

Lord Richard Wilson established this annual lecture series in 2022 in honour of Dame Fiona Reynolds, his successor as Master of Emmanuel College and is organised by CSaP, Bennett School of Public Policy and Emmanuel College. This will be the final lecture in the series.


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Agenda

Event details

08/07/2026 | 17:30 - 18:30
Emmanuel College, St Andrew's St, Cambridge CB2 3AP
Free - booking required
Book Your Place

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