SNaP Forum 2025

Bringing together researchers, practitioners, and policymakers, this Forum will be the first of an annual event playing a key role in developing the Spatial Nature Planning (SNaP) Community in England.

The Spatial Nature Planning Forum 2025 will be hosted at the University of Kent, Canterbury, supported by funding from the E3 Sharing Space for Nature initiative. It will focus on systematic conservation planning (SCP), a proven approach for spatial planning across the world but with limited uptake in England. Through talks and interactive workshops on Tuesday 29th April, the Forum will introduce SCP, demonstrate its applications, and facilitate discussions on how developing a community of practice could help operationalise SCP in England. 

This will be preceded by a local fieldtrip and followed by two days of interactive workshops and training opportunities on 30th April and 1st May. Workshops and training sessions will be in-person only, while talks will be available to join online.

Please see the full agenda below and summarised here.

We have reached capacity for in-person attendance, but you can join the main talks online by registering through this form. The forum will consist of the following events.

  1. Main Forum: 29th April, 12.30 to 18.00 (in-person fully booked, register here to join the talks online)
  2. Field trip: 29th April, 9.30 to 12.00 (in-person only)
  3. SCP Clinic and Workshop: 30th April, 9.00 to 12.00 (in-person only)
  4. Training on SCP: Session 1 on 30th April, 13:00 to 16:00 and Session 2 on 1st May, 9.30 to 13.00 (in-person only)

A detailed agenda for each event can be found below.

Transport information is available here and there are accommodation options on campus or in nearby Canterbury City. While Forum attendance is free and will include lunch, we have fully allocated our available travel grants for in-person attendance.

Main Forum: 29th April, 12.30 to 18.00 (hybrid)

12:30-13:00​: Arrival and Registration

13:00-14:00​: Lunch and poster session

14:00-14:15: Welcome and introduction to Systematic Conservation Planning (SCP)​

Professor Bob Smith, Director of DICE

14:15-14:45: Operationalising SCP in government planning and decision making: the South African example

Tammy Smith, South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI)

14:45-15:30​: UK Case Studies of SCP application ​

  1. Chloe Edwards, Oxfordshire Local Nature Recovery Strategy Project Manager​
  2. Dr Dave Seaman and Dr Laura Kor, Innovation Fellows, DICE​
  3. Dr Rob Critchlow, University of York

15:30-16:00​: Panel Discussion and Q&A​: Integrating SCP into UK policy and planning

16:00-16:15​: Break

16:15-17:15​: Creating the SNaP Community of Practice​

Break out sessions to discuss objectives and how the community could help operationalise SCP in England

18.00: Evening social in Canterbury

Field trip: 29th April, 9.30 to 12.00 [FULLY BOOKED]

[FULLY BOOKED] A guided walk in Blean Woods with Kent Wildlife Trust, to learn about the Wilder Blean project and with the potential to see bison. We will provide transport from Canterbury Campus (departing 9.30am), or you can meet us at Blean (9.45am). Numbers are limited so please indicate attendance when registering for the Forum.

SCP Clinic and Workshops: 30th April, 9.30 to 12.00 (in-person)

9:30-10:00: SCP “clinic”, Worked examples of potential SCP application to attendee case studies

10:00-12:00: Morning workshops

  1. Discussion on how SCP could be integrated with current UK policy and priorities for nature, including opportunities and challenges
  2. Using a SCP framework to identify data gaps for conservation decision-making in the UK

Training: 30th April 13:00 to 16:00 and 1st May 09:30 to 13:00 (in-person)

Course Description:
This training course will provide an introduction to systematic conservation planning (SCP) using software tools including the Marxan Planning Platform (MaPP) and the Conservation Land-Use Zoning (CLUZ) plugin for QGIS. It will be run over two half-day sessions at the University of Kent, Canterbury, as part of the Spatial Nature Planning Forum.  

The course is designed for conservation professionals, researchers, students and planners. We will combine theoretical foundations with practical applications to develop skills in designing conservation planning systems and optimising spatial decisions. 

Session 1: 30th April, 13:00-16:00. Introduction to systematic conservation planning and spatial prioritisation 

Cost: Free for attendees of the SNaP Forum (limited numbers).  

  • Introduction to SCP. Learn the principles of systematic conservation planning and its applications. 
  • Designing an SCP system. Work collaboratively to develop a structured conservation planning framework for a theoretical example.
  • SCP using Marxan MAPP. Explore conservation prioritisation through real-world examples using a user-friendly cloud-based program.

Session 2: 1st May, 09:30-13:00. Advanced spatial prioritisation training with Marxan, R and CLUZ

Cost: £125 for attendees external to DICE (including refreshments). 

  • Opening lecture. Key concepts and practical considerations for conservation prioritisation. 

CLUZ exercises: 

  • Exercise A. Step-by-step guided exercise on using Marxan.
  • Exercise B. Setting up a conservation planning system. 
  • Exercise C (also using R). Integrating CLUZ with R using PrioritizR 
  • Exercise D. Running Marxan with Zones 

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