Online training and educational resources for communicating biodiversity and triggering transformative change. Report No D5.9 of the Horizon Europe Project 101082212 – PLANET4B

1.1.5 2 PLANET4B receives funding from the European Union’s Horizon Europe research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 101082212. This project is funded by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) under the UK government’s Horizon Europe funding guarantee. This work has received funding from the Swiss State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation (SERI). Views and opinions are of those of the authors only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union, European Commission, the government of the United Kingdom, or the government of Switzerland. The European Union, the European Commission, the government of the United Kingdom, or the government of Switzerland cannot be held responsible for them. iii Key deliverable information Deliverable number D5.9 Deliverable title Report on online training and educational resources for communicating biodiversity and triggering transformative change Task leader Coventry University (CU) Corresponding author Alex Franklin Dissemination level Public Status Final Deliverable description This report includes an online training and educational resources for communicating biodiversity and triggering transformative change including tested methods and communicating biodiversity tips, the transformative stories and other materials. Version Status Date Authors/Reviewers 0.1 Draft 14/10/2025 Authors: Claire Lyons (CU); Barbara Smith (CU); Alex Franklin (CU); Lindy Binder (CU) 0.2 Draft 20/10/2025 Reviewer: Agnes Zolyomi (MLU) 0.3 Draft 22/10/2025 Authors: Claire Lyons (CU); Barbara Smith (CU); Alex Franklin (CU); Lindy Binder (CU) 1.0 Final 27/10/2025 Reviewer: Torsten Wähler (MLU) Project acronym PLANET4B Project title understanding Plural values, intersectionality, Leverage points, Attitudes, Norms, behaviour and social lEarning in Transformation for Biodiversity decision making Starting date 01st November 2022 Duration 36 months Website https://planet4b.eu/ Project coordination and scientific lead team Ilkhom Soliev; Alex Franklin; Agnes Zolyomi; Torsten Wähler iv Contributors to action/intervention directly leading to this deliverable Alexander E. Aas-Hanssen (OOF); Jackie Abell (CU); Håkon Aspøy (NINA); David Barton (NINA); Mahsa Bazrafshan (FiBL); Maura Benegiamo (UNIPI); Tuva Beyer Broch (NINA); Lindy Binder (CU); Reidun Bolsø (OOF); Marta Bonetti (UNIPI); Céire Booth (WCMC); Yennie Bredin (NINA); Geraldine Brown (CU); Gianluca Brunori (UNIPI); Maryna Bykova (CGE); Rafal P. Chudy (NINA); Judith Conway (CU); Kármen Czett (ESSRG); Helene Figari (NINA); Andreas Flach (FUG); Roberto Gronda (UNIPI); Sven Grüner (MLU); Vegard Gundersen (NINA); Robert Home (FiBL); Edit Hunyadi (MLU); Johan Hval (OOF); Cristina Y. A. Inoue (RU); Julian Jäger (MLU); Sandra Karner (IFZ); Eszter Kelemen (ESSRG); Berit Köhler (NINA); Mariann Kovács (ESSRG); Mirjam Krauser (FUG); Theresa Kühne (MLU); Julia Leventon (CG); Borbála Lipka (ESSRG); Blanka Louckova (CG); Geeta Ludhra (DC); Subash Ludhra (DC); Milena Marchesi (RU); Vinícius Mendes (RU); Andreas Motschiunig (FUG); Pedro Navarro Gambín (UNIPI); Patricia Ofori-Amanfo (CG); György Pataki (ESSRG); Andreea-Cezara Pletea (TERHA); Ammalia Podlaszewska (CGE); Ghezal Sabir (FiBL); Katharina Santer (FUG); Zafar Saydaliev (CGE); Mirjam Schleiffer (FiBL); Christina Seliger (FUG); Dmitriy Shorin (MLU); Elif Tugba Simsek (CG); David Steinwender (IFZ); Anne Olga Syverhuset (NINA); Lina Tennhardt (FiBL); Simeon Vaňo (CG); Daniele Vergamini (UNIPI); Matteo Villa (UNIPI); Ingrid Visseren-Hamakers (RU); Torsten Wähler (MLU); Agnes Zolyomi (MLU) Recommended citation Lyons, C., Smith, B., Franklin, A., & Binder, L. (2025). Report on online training and educational resources for communicating biodiversity and triggering transformative change. Report No D5.9 of the Horizon Europe Project 101082212 – PLANET4B. Brussels: European Research Executive Agency. DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.17243496 Rights and license This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. The Creative Commons Attribution license allows re-distribution and re-use of a licensed work on the condition that the creator is appropriately credited. Read more. Acknowledgements The PLANET4B team thank: members of Coventry City Council, Cambridge City Council, Warwickshire Country Council, Warwickshire Wildlife Trust, The Butterfly Trust and attendees at the 2025 Nature-Action Dialogues event (Cambridge, UNEPWCMC), for sharing their views during the market research phase; Juliana Lins (doctoral candidate, RU) for being interviewed/filmed on social biodiversity and her work with Prof. Cristina Aoki Inoue (RU); Netfly for graphic design work and envisioning, building and maintaining the Care-full Courses and Resources platform; Ben Cook for filmmaking; Kieren Jones for all line drawing included on the platform together with his role in the creation of the keynote film; the volunteer time of the PLANET4B Learning Community and Stakeholder Board members, which was fundamental for the adaptation and validation of the methods upon which the course is based, and also the PLANET4B consortium case study partner leads. v List of abbreviations and acronyms Acronym Definition CAC The Climate Academy CG CzechGlobe – Global Change Research Institute of the Czech Academy of Sciences CGE Culture Goes Europe CU Coventry University DC Dadima's CIC. ESSRG Environmental Social Science Research Group FiBL Research Institute of Organic Agriculture FUG Forum Urban Gardening GD GoodIssue nonprofit Ltd. IFZ Interdisciplinary Research Centre for Technology, Work and Culture MLU Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg MOOC Massive Open Online Course NGO Non-Governmental Organisation NINA Norwegian Institute for Nature Research OOF Oslo og Omland Frilfutsråd – Greater Oslo Council for Outdoor Recreation PLANET4B understanding Plural values, intersectionality, Leverage points, Attitudes, Norms, behaviour and social lEarning in Transformation for Biodiversity decision making RU Radboud University TEHRA The Environment and Human Rights Academy UNEP-WCMC UN Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre UNIPI University of Pisa 1 Table of Contents Key deliverable information ..................................................................................... iii Acknowledgements .................................................................................................. iv List of abbreviations and acronyms ......................................................................... v Executive summary ................................................................................................... 2 1 Introduction ............................................................................................................. 2 2 Designing the Biodiversity Engagement Courses and Digital Education Platform: Methodological approach ......................................................................... 4 2.1 Biodiversity Engagement Courses: Pedagogical Framework, Target Audiences and Background Research ................................................................................................ 4 2.2 Biodiversity Engagement Courses: Structure and Content Design ........................ 6 2.3 Care-full Courses and Resources Platform: structure and design ....................... 11 2.4 Validation Activities and Future Dissemination Plans ........................................... 12 2.5 Limitations .................................................................................................................. 13 3 Results: Overview of the Biodiversity Engagement Courses and Platform .... 14 3.1 Biodiversity Engagement Courses ........................................................................... 14 3.2 Care-Full Courses and Resources Platform ............................................................ 33 4 Conclusion and outlook ....................................................................................... 43 References ................................................................................................................ 45 Statement on data availability ................................................................................. 47 Statement on ethics ................................................................................................. 47 2 Executive summary This report presents the Biodiversity Engagement Courses and accompanying Carefull Courses and Resources platform developed by PLANET4B. The courses: • Feature a range of engagement methods, including methods developed and adapted for use in the PLANET4B case studies. • Are tailored for policy, NGOs, business, and research audiences. • Build inclusive capacity for biodiversity decision-making across sectors. • Support transformative change through reflexive, co-learning design. • Are hosted on a bespoke digital platform, created to act as a lighthouse for aligned transformative learning resources. 1 Introduction The biodiversity crisis refers to the rapid, human-driven loss of species, ecosystems, and genetic diversity across the planet. Current extinction rates are estimated to be tens to hundreds of times higher than natural background levels (IPBES, 2019), driven by land-use change, resource exploitation, pollution, climate change and invasive species (Keck et al., 2025). This erosion of biodiversity undermines the ecological processes that sustain life, including food production, water regulation, soil fertility, and climate stability, and threatens human well-being and planetary health (Caballos, 2017). In addition to these direct drivers, biodiversity loss is also shaped by indirect drivers such as entrenched societal values, norms, and governance systems that mediate decision-making across civil society, business, and public policy (IPBES, 2019; Nielson et al., 2021). These interlocking power structures influence how biodiversity is perceived and prioritised, often marginalising plural knowledges and reinforcing inequalities in who gets to participate in biodiversity-related decisions (Kaijser and Kronsell, 2014). Understanding and addressing these systemic factors is essential for transformative change. Addressing this crisis requires transformative change not only in how decisions are made about land, resources, and development, but also in the underlying societal structures, values, and institutions that shape those decisions (Díaz et al., 2019). Incremental improvements are no longer sufficient. Decision-making must become integrative, inclusive, and adaptive, aligning economic, political, and social systems with ecological limits (Diaz et al., 2019, Rockström et al., 2023). This means embedding biodiversity values into all sectors, from agriculture and infrastructure to finance and governance, and empowering diverse stakeholders, including local and Indigenous communities, to co-produce knowledge and policy (Reed et al., 2024). Only by reshaping institutions and incentives at multiple levels can societies transition toward sustainable and equitable futures that protect and restore the living systems on which we all depend. Education and communication are central in enabling this transition. Education provides the foundation for transformation by equipping people with the knowledge, skills, and critical thinking needed to understand the interconnectedness of ecological, social, and economic systems and to engage meaningfully with biodiversity challenges 3 (Sterling et al., 2017; O’Brien et al., 2013). Embedding biodiversity and sustainability concepts throughout formal curricula (from primary education to universities and professional training) fosters ecological literacy and empowers future decision-makers to act within planetary boundaries. Experiential and place-based learning, alongside interdisciplinary teaching, helps bridge the gap between abstract environmental issues and lived realities, cultivating empathy and stewardship (Tilbury, 2011). Communication extends this transformation beyond classrooms to society at large. Effective communication translates scientific knowledge into accessible, actionable narratives that engage policymakers, businesses, and the public (Moser, 2016). Storytelling, media, and participatory platforms can make biodiversity loss visible and personal, helping to reframe it not as a distant environmental problem but as a direct challenge to health, livelihoods, and justice (IPBES, 2019). Although there is a growing recognition that effective communication is critical to halting biodiversity loss, there remains a lack of accessible, inclusive training resources that reflect intersectional perspectives and build capacity in this field. Biodiversity education and communication often remain confined to technical or academic contexts, excluding many of the communities most affected by environmental change (Rose et al., 2020; Moser, 2016). Training programmes frequently privilege Western scientific paradigms, overlooking local, Indigenous, and gendered perspectives that offer essential knowledge for transformative action (Tengö et al., 2017; Smith et al., 2017). This lack of resources has real world implications, leaving a gap between aspiration and implementation. Policymakers are increasingly instructed to be more inclusive in decision-making yet lack the tools and resources to be so, while NGOs hope to call diverse actors to action, yet can lack the capacity to engage with diverse communities. There is a pressing need for practical, creative, and participatory approaches that support inclusive biodiversity engagement and decision-making. To help address this gap, PLANET4B has developed a set of four open-access online courses focused on biodiversity engagement methods. These courses were developed as part of Task 5.5 ‘Enhancing the capacity of enabling players and change agents to initiate transformative change’. The courses introduce a range of participatory tools designed to support inclusive, creative, and context-sensitive approaches to biodiversity decision-making. Each version is tailored to a specific key enabling group: policy, business, NGOs, and research/academia. Together, they aim to build capacity across sectors by offering practical guidance, examples, and resources that enable diverse actors to engage meaningfully with biodiversity challenges. The decision to focus the courses on biodiversity engagement methods was based on their central role in the empirical component of the PLANET4B project. The project’s case study research evidenced the value of engagement methods as a form of intervention aimed at triggering change – including in particular in a manner capable of integrating plural values, intersectionality, and behavioural insights (Deliverable 3.3). Notably, however, the courses also extend beyond individual methods by emphasising the importance of the overall approach taken to engaging individuals in co-creative processes of change – recognising that transformative impact depends not only on the tools themselves but on the intentional, context-sensitive way in which they are applied. In parallel to developing the set of biodiversity engagement courses PLANET4B has also created a bespoke digital educational platform – Care-full Courses and 4 Resources – within which the courses are hosted together with a wider range of engagement methods and materials arising from the project (see also PLANET4B Deliverable 2.4: Catalogue of Methods). In addition to hosting the PLANET4B courses and resources, the platform will act as a lighthouse to curate and signpost visitors to aligned courses and resources created by other transformative change cluster projects and beyond. The remainder of this report outlines the methodological approach used to design the Biodiversity Engagement Courses and platform (section 2), presents key features and content across the four tailored course versions (section 3), and concludes with validation activities, dissemination plans, and reflections on future development (section 4). 2 Designing the Biodiversity Engagement Courses and Digital Education Platform: Methodological approach 2.1 Biodiversity Engagement Courses: Pedagogical Framework, Target Audiences and Background Research Our approach to developing the PLANET4B biodiversity engagement courses is underpinned by the understanding that traditional methods of formal education are not delivering the required transformation at the either scale or speed necessary to address the current biodiversity crisis. Rather, developing inclusive and participatory biodiversity engagement requires pedagogical frameworks that move beyond knowledge transmission toward co-learning, reflexivity, and empowerment. Particularly informative in this context, as pedagogical foundations for the PLANET4B courses are, firstly, the transformative learning framework which emphasises critical reflection and personal change, helping learners question assumptions and recognise their agency in addressing socio-ecological crises (Cranton, 2016); and, secondly, the social learning framework which focuses on collaborative, participatory learning within communities of practice (Jadallah and Ballard, 2021). The latter is already widely used in conservation and policy contexts to build trust, share tacit knowledge, and coproduce actionable solutions across stakeholder group (Reed et al., 2010). In accordance with prioritisation given within the wider PLANET4B project to environmental justice and intersectionality, our approach has also been directly shaped by decolonial and pluriversal scholarship which advocate for “knowledge democracy” and recognise multiple ways of knowing and communicating biodiversity beyond Western scientific paradigms (e.g. Tengo et al., 2017). The corresponding set of four open access biodiversity engagement courses developed by PLANET4B (via Task 5.5) adhere to the core principles of a ‘Massive Open Access Course (MOOC): they are open-access, freely available online, and designed for self-paced independent learning. The courses are tailored to four key enabling groups: policymakers, business actors, NGOs, and research / academic communities. These audiences were identified as critical leverage points for transformative biodiversity decision-making, each with distinct roles, needs, and capacities. 11 September (2025) Finalising and Launch of Content • Showcase MOOCs Platform at PLANET4B final event and consortium meeting (Brussels/hybrid) • Finalise content for all modules • Record and work with film maker to finalise remaining videos October (2025) Post-Launch Refinement, Finalisation, Upload and Reporting • Implement revisions following consortium feedback (including additional interview and film work) • Finalise content for all modules • Refine platform layout and navigation • Finalise Deliverable 5.9 reporting • Prepare for public dissemination and ongoing (5+ years) platform maintenance 2.3 Care-full Courses and Resources Platform: structure and design After consideration of existing online platforms that could potentially host both the D5.9 training materials and the D5.10 adjusted materials for educators, it was decided that a bespoke website would give more control of project branding and organisation of the materials. While the existing PLANET4B website provides a dynamic page for the project, a new website allowing more interactions and having extra capacity with the potential for future expansion – as a lighthouse transformative change educational platform – was deemed necessary. The PLANET4B project website directly links to the Care-full Courses and Resources site and visa-versa. Working closely with a web developer, the platform was developed on Webflow to host a variety of biodiversity engagement methods and materials tailored to the key target audiences (policymakers, civil society, business and researchers). The site could also host the adjusted materials for educators (D5.10) side-by-side the other courses. Organising materials in this way enables the most efficient and intuitive user experience – a policymaker (for example) accessing the website can immediately select the area of the website designed with policymakers in mind and find all the courses and methods best tailored for them. From the homepage, users can navigate directly to Care-full Resources (a database of page-long methods, Transformative Change Stories, PLANET4B case study examples and other related resources, or Care-full Courses (including closely aligned courses created via other projects (e.g. RECOMS, DAISY)). Each course landing page begins with optional introductory modules: • User Guide • Introduction to Biodiversity • Introduction to Engagement Methods • Working with a Learning Community • Developing and Delivering Impact No part of a course is mandatory, and users can navigate to any part they wish; so if, for example, they are already familiar with biodiversity, and have some experience of 12 using engagement methods within Learning Communities, they may wish to scroll down the page to reach the engagement methods directly. There is deliberately no sign-up requirement so the websites resources can be as accessible as possible. Within the biodiversity engagement courses each Spotlight Method has its own tile, designed by the web developer, to make the visual experience more appealing, alongside the more practical user experience. Each Spotlight Method is organised into Units and Lessons to make the information easily digestible, and to allow the user to skip ahead to more relevant sections as required. The Care-full Resources area of the site can also be accessed directly from a button beneath the tiles of Spotlight Methods. The platform has been designed to allow any required future edits and updates to be made to existing pages by non-experts from CU, without the need for the web developer to be involved in minor changes. It is hoped this platform will host future related courses and resources, and the web developer is engaged for five years postproject to ensure smooth running for these PLANET4B courses as well as the addition of any future ones. 2.4 Validation Activities and Future Dissemination Plans In September 2025 the series of biodiversity engagement courses, together also with the lighthouse Care-full Courses and Resources platform were showcased at the final PLANET4B consortium meeting in Brussels. They were presented and discussed across two sessions: firstly, during the internal consortium-only part of the meeting (day 2); and secondly during the public-facing external meeting day (day 3). During both sessions feedback was invited on all aspects of the courses and platform, including any suggestions for additional material to be added, in order to strengthen their overall impact and effectiveness. The feedback received across both days was predominantly very positive, both regarding the content and the graphic design of the courses and platform. However, only gap identified, in relation to the courses, was a perceived need for greater emphasis to be placed on ‘social biodiversity’ in the Introduction to Biodiversity module. This has since been addressed: an interview was filmed (October 2025) featuring a dialogue between experts Prof. Cristina Aoki Inoue (RU) Ms Juliana Lins (doctoral candidate, RU), on social biodiversity. The interview opened with a discussion on the notion of biodiversity and its application in all contexts, and then moved onto the following questions: • How does thinking in terms of socio-biodiversity change the questions scientists and policymakers ask? • Could you share examples where recognising socio-biodiversity has reshaped how ecosystems are managed or valued? • How does recognising socio-biodiversity influence the way empirical science understands and studies ecological systems? • What kinds of knowledges need to be valued to meaningfully engage with sociobiodiversity? 13 The final produced film of the interview has been added to the Introduction to Biodiversity module, together with accompanying text. A second notable aspect of feedback received during the event (day 3) raised the importance of ensuring that the Care-full Courses and Resources platform does not exist as only a (another) standalone output from an EC project; rather it is important that it serves as a connected and complementary component of a wider ecosystem of educational resources. It was explained that the platform has been specifically created with the intention that it will ultimately act as a lighthouse, linking users to aligned courses developed by other Horizon Europe projects (particularly those within the Transformation Cluster), thereby supporting cross-project learning and coherence. Structurally, the modular architecture allows for the integration of external content, enabling users to navigate between PLANET4B materials and related offerings from sister initiatives and beyond. As the next stage of development, the platform and courses will be strategically publicised to maximise visibility and uptake across sectors. This will include targeted outreach and integration with existing networks to ensure the platform fulfils its role as a lighthouse for transformative learning. To ensure the long-term relevance and uptake of the courses and platform, a multipronged dissemination strategy has been developed, informed by stakeholder feedback and aligned with broader Horizon Europe collaboration goals, benefiting greatly from the support of the Horizon Results Booster service. Planned next steps, across both the short and medium term include: • During October and November 2025, the set of courses and wider platform resources will be shared with those who contributed to the market research phase to maintain engagement and demonstrate how their feedback shaped the final design. • A CU (Centre for Agroecology, Water & Resilience research centre) seminar is planned for December 2025 to present the completed MOOC, share lessons from testing and piloting, and gather reflections on usability and future adaptation. • The courses and platform will be shared with other Horizon Europe sister projects working on related themes to encourage collaboration, cross-project learning, and wider application of the materials. Co-ordinating individuals within the PLANET4B CU team will prioritise being available to present about the courses wherever they are requested to do so. • An open source web analytics tool (https://umami.is/) will be integrated into the site to provide insights into website traffic, including page views, visitor information, bounce rate (how long people spend before leaving a particular page), traffic sources, location, etc. to help monitor reach/impact. Some of these metrics will also guide the design of any future courses and resources (including e.g. DAISY). 2.5 Limitations In selecting methods for inclusion, we prioritised those that had been applied within the case studies. At the same time, we sought to balance the inclusion of these core project methods with a broader range of approaches potentially suitable across the full spectrum of key enabling players targeted through the courses; it was this logic which led to the format of combining Spotlight and Snapshot methods. This approach does 14 mean, though, that some Spotlight methods may have more limited appeal or feasibility in certain settings – for example, participatory theatre, while powerful in supporting engagement and relationship building between a wider range of actors, may be too resource-intensive or complex for routine uptake by policy audiences. However, in line with the ambition that the platform becomes a lighthouse hub for transformative biodiversity engagement (including by way of sign-posting to aligned outputs developed by other Horizon Europe projects (and beyond)), we will continue to expand its scope over time (e.g. during the CU-led DAISY Horizon Europe project). The inclusion of an integrated digital catalogue of methods (see Deliverable 2.4), which itself will also be treated as a ‘living resource’ (i.e. with ongoing review and development of the curated collection over time) further supports this ambition. While the development of the MOOCs was guided by a commitment to accessibility and flexibility, several considerations emerged that may shape future iterations. As with many open-access platforms, user engagement can be difficult to predict and track in consistent ways. Learners participate independently, which means levels of interaction, completion, and reflection naturally vary. This autonomy supports broad reach but can also make it challenging to ensure that complex or practice-based content is fully absorbed and applied. Additionally, we would welcome the opportunity to translate the courses tailored for business, policymakers, civil society and researchers into other languages beyond English (as has been done with the educatorfacing resources). Expanding language accessibility remains a priority for future development to better support diverse user groups. By targeting specific groups, there is always the risk that someone arrives at the site who does not feel represented by any of the pre-defined categories, however, the benefits of targeting courses and resources to particular groups outweigh the disadvantages of being too generalist. Categories such as Civil Society can be interpreted broadly, so it is hoped most users will find a suitable route to useful materials. 3 Results: Overview of the Biodiversity Engagement Courses and Platform 3.1 Biodiversity Engagement Courses This section provides illustrative examples from the PLANET4B biodiversity engagement courses. The examples are presented in accordance with the structure of the MOOCs and are intended to illustrate key features, modules, and design elements. To explore the full set of courses and resources, users are invited to visit the platform directly at care-full-courses.com. The introductory modules (User Guide; Introduction to Biodiversity, Introduction to Engagement Methods, Working with a Learning Community, Developing and Delivering Impact) have been designed to be consistent across all four courses, introducing the core values and key learnings of the PLANET4B project. These modules are relevant to all participant groups and focused on broad, foundational themes. For example, the Introduction to Biodiversity module outlines the basic concepts of biodiversity and explained how these were understood and applied within the project. 15 Figure 1. Biodiversity Engagement Course – course introduction menu, showing five introductory modules consistent across all five courses. 16 Figure 2. Biodiversity Engagement Course – example extract from Introduction to Biodiversity Module Defining Biodiversity Lesson. 17 Figure 3. Biodiversity Engagement Course – example extract from Introduction to Biodiversity Module, Traditional Methods of Recording Biodiversity in Western Science Lesson. 18 Figure 4. Biodiversity Engagement Course – Still from Keynote Introduction to Biodiversity Video. The video featured in the Introduction to Biodiversity Module introduces biodiversity as the fabric of life that connects every species, habitat, and ecosystem on Earth. It traces the intricate relationships that keep a forest alive, showing how plants, animals, fungi, and people all depend on one another. As species decline and connections unravel, the film explores the human causes of this crisis and the urgent need for collective action. It invites viewers to imagine new ways of living and working with nature, where restoration, care, and shared responsibility become the path forward. The subsequent Working with a Learning Community and Developing and Delivering modules (also universal across all four courses) draw on insights from across the PLANET4B project. The module explains how working with these groups supported collaboration, co-creation, and various forms of community engagement for understanding – and enhancing – biodiversity-related decision-making. In follow on, the Developing and delivering impact module explains strategies for evidencing impact within an engagement method, how to tell an impact story and how to ensure participants are included and represented in impact. 19 Figure 5. Biodiversity Engagement Course – example extract from Working with a Learning Community Module, What is a Learning Community? Lesson. 20 Figure 6. Biodiversity Engagement Course – example extract from Developing and Delivering Impact Module, What is Impact and Why is it Important? Lesson. Following on from the five standardised introductory modules, the courses then feature a range of methods tailored to each specific target audience. The Policymaker, NGO / Civil Society, and Researcher Courses feature the same Spotlight and Snapshot methods, but with the content adapted to align with the potential needs and contexts of each audience. The decision for these three groups to share methods was informed by the market research phase, during which comparable interests were expressed in the kinds of engagement tools, applications, and outcomes they valued. Using a common set of methods also enabled more a greater range of material to be developed and shared across these audiences. Whilst the method instructions are consistent across all courses, the main adaptations appear in sections explaining how the methods could be applied beyond the project context. For example, in the Participatory Theatre module, Unit 1, Lesson 2 (Why Use the Method) presents different examples tailored to Policymaker, Civil Society, and Researcher audiences. Figure 7 shows the version contextualised for Policymakers. 27 Figure 13. Biodiversity Engagement Course for Researchers – example extract from a Participatory Theatre – Adapting methods to academic and research settings lesson. 28 Figure 14. Biodiversity Engagement Course for Researchers – example extract from a Vegetable Exhibition – Adapting methods to academic and research settings lesson. For the Course aimed at private sector businesses, a separate selection of Spotlight and Snapshot methods was designed. These were more closely aligned with principles of choice architecture, behavioural change, and practical feasibility for business contexts. The final selection was also shaped by feedback gathered through the 29 market research process with support from UNEP-WCMC, ensuring that the methods reflected both business priorities and realistic opportunities for biodiversity engagement. See Figures 15, 16, 17, and 18 below. Figure 15. Biodiversity Engagement Course for Businesses – example extract from Business Course homepage featuring three Spotlight methods. 30 Figure 16. Biodiversity Engagement Course for Businesses – example extract from Photovoice – What is Photovoice lesson. 31 Figure 17. Biodiversity Engagement Course for Businesses – example extract from iNaturalist – What is iNaturalist? Lesson. 32 Figure 18. Biodiversity Engagement Resource for Businesses – example extract from Boosting Snapshot method. 33 3.2 Care-Full Courses and Resources Platform This section provides illustrative examples of the Care-full Courses and Resources Platform. The examples are presented in accordance with the structure of the Platform, illustrating key features such as user navigation, tailored course layouts, spotlight and snapshot method formats, and the platform’s role as a lighthouse for aligned transformative learning resources. To explore the full set of courses and resources, users are invited to visit the platform directly at care-full-courses.com. A site map was developed to provide overview of and organise all the necessary information in the most user-friendly way. Netfly (the web developer) worked with CU to put together the site map ahead of the website build. 34 Figure 19. Care-full Courses and Resources site map. Source: Netfly. 35 Users of the site arrive at a landing page inviting them to ‘Build Skills. Shape Change. Support Biodiversity.’ From here they can navigate to Care-full Resources, Care-full Courses, or (ultimately) to other aligned courses (currently the site features also ‘Carefull Scholarship’ – a transformational journey engaging with care theory developed as part of the RECOMS project; in the coming months and years additional courses will also be featured (including from other Horizon Europe Transformative Change projects, and beyond). Figure 20. Care-full Courses and Resources landing page. Selecting ‘Care-full Courses’ from the three options, brings users to the Biodiversity Engagement Courses page, where users can then select from Course versions tailored for Educators (D5.10), Business, Policymakers, Civil Society, or Researchers. 36 Figure 21. Biodiversity Engagement Courses page, with five scrollable options, Policymakers currently selected. The user then selects which of the tailored courses they wish to access. Below, for example, is the page they will arrive at should they click on the ‘View Course’ button under ‘Policymakers. At the top of the page are links to the introductory modules. A benzo grid displays the fifteen spotlight methods, each with its own tile designed by Netfly. Snapshot methods are collated in the Resources section. Users can navigate to these directly from the button at the bottom of the page. The Biodiversity Engagement Courses for civil society / NGOs and researchers follow the same display pattern. 43 Figure 28. Care-full Resources – Snapshot of Vegetable Exhibition. 4 Conclusion and outlook The biodiversity crisis reflects systemic failures in how societies value and manage nature. Despite decades of conservation policy, global wildlife populations have declined by nearly 70% since 1970 (WWF, 2024). These declines are not simply ecological problems – they signal the limits of incremental reform within dominant social, economic, and governance systems. The Intergovernmental Science–Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES, 2019, 2024) calls for deep, system-wide shifts in how we produce, consume and conceptualise human–nature relationships. 44 Provisioning of, and a commitment towards, education and engagement is central to enabling this transformation (UNESCO, 2022). For NGOs, inclusive education and engagement empowers communities to co-design locally relevant solutions and hold decision-makers accountable. For business, sustainability education supports corporate cultures that move beyond compliance toward regenerative practices and transparent supply chains (Dasgupta, 2021; WBCSD, 2023). For policymakers, the combining of education and engagement serves to bridge scientific knowledge and public values, aligning biodiversity goals with economic and social priorities. Open access collaborative learning platforms (spanning universities, NGOs, business, and government) are increasingly recognised as catalysts for systemic change (IPBES, 2022; Fazey et al., 2020). They enable experimentation, participatory governance, and the mainstreaming of biodiversity values across sectors. The PLANET4B biodiversity engagement courses directly contribute to capacity building and systemic transformation, offering open-access learning resources that integrate wide-ranging transdisciplinary expertise and know-how (including from practice, and from the humanities, social sciences, behavioural science and natural sciences). They equip key enabling players – across civil society, business, policy and research – with tested methods and insights to prioritise biodiversity in decisionmaking. Alongside, they contribute to advancing understanding of behavioural drivers and intersectional vulnerabilities, while also supporting the amplification of PLANET4B’s transformative change stories and sectoral interventions. Together with the Care-full Courses and Resources hosting platform the biodiversity engagement courses provide a dynamic space for reflection, co-creation, and upskilling – supporting the development of leverage points and pathways for biodiversity mainstreaming, and enabling accelerated uptake of transformative practices across a full range of sectors, as well as geographic and thematic socialecological contexts. They offer scalable tools and frameworks that can be adapted for other Horizon Europe projects, policy processes and educational contexts. Furthermore, their open-access nature together with their hosting on a bespoke ‘lighthouse’ education platform help to ensure their continued uptake beyond the project’s lifespan, reinforcing PLANET4B’s commitment to long-term systemic change. To conclude, transformative change, is not only about policy reform or technological innovation but about reshaping worldviews – through inclusive education and open, trust-based communication and engagement that reconnects people and institutions with the living systems that sustain them. In this way, the PLANET4B biodiversity engagement courses actively foster the kinds of inclusive, reflective, and crosssectoral learning environments that are essential for reimagining and reshaping human-nature relationships at the heart of transformative change. 45 References Ceballos, G., Ehrlich, P. R., & Dirzo, R. (2017). Biological annihilation via the ongoing sixth mass extinction signaled by vertebrate population losses and declines. 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H., Trevelyan, R., van der Linden, S., Veríssimo, D., & Balmford, A. (2021). Biodiversity conservation as a promising frontier for behavioural science. Nature Human Behaviour, 5(5), 550–556 O’Brien, K., Reams, J., Caspari, A., Dugmore, A., Faghihimani, M., Fazey, I., Hackmann, H., Manuel-Navarrete, D., Marks, J., Miller, R., & Raivio, K. (2013). You say you want a revolution? Transforming education and capacity building in response to global change. Environmental Science & Policy, 28, pp.48–59. Pletea, A., Pye, J., Stanković, A., Binder, L., & Franklin, A. (2025). Adjusted training materials for secondary and higher education. Report No D5.10 of the Horizon Europe Project 101082212 – PLANET4B. Brussels: European Research Executive Agency. DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.17243526 Reed, M. S., Evely, A. C., Cundill, G., Fazey, I., Glass, J., Laing, A., Newig, J., Parrish, B., Prell, C., Raymond, C., & Stringer, L. C. (2010). What is social learning? 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Reimagining Our Futures Together: A New Social Contract for Education. WWF (2024). Living Planet Report 2024. https://livingplanet.panda.org/en-GB/ Statement on data availability Training materials on biodiversity engagement methods are available at care-fullcourses.com. Data arising from background research undertaken with civil servants and NGOs is available within the PLANET4B community of resources uploaded to the Zenodo platform. Further information relating to the development, adaptable and testing of individual methods during the case study research is available via the PLANET4B website and via Zenodo (see, in particular, Deliverables 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, 3.1, 3.2, 3.3). Statement on ethics Ethical approval was granted for all research undertaken within Task 5.5 of PLANET4B by Coventry University on 17.06.23 – ethical approval project reference number: P160041. For the background market research all participants were fully informed about the PLANET4B project and the purpose of the research through oral explanations and/or 48 written participant information sheets. For the CU-led market research written informed consent was obtained before participation. Data collected was primarily used for internal review purposes only. Raw data collected by CU was accessible only by CU PLANET4B research staff. Personal data collected included participants' names, email addresses, and job roles. This information was securely stored and managed in compliance with data protection regulations. Research data collected by UNEP-WCMC during the Nature Action Dialogues was gathered through facilitated group discussions. Participants were orally informed about the aims of the PLANET4B project and the intended use of their contributions to inform behavioural change guidelines in business contexts. While written information sheets and signed consent forms were not provided at the time, participants were made aware of the research purpose and their voluntary involvement. Personal data collected was limited to names and job roles (excluding contact details) and was securely stored and managed in accordance with data protection regulations. With the exception of the above data, the rest of the material contain in this deliverable report is limited to secondary analysis, synthesising findings from previously conducted method development/adaptation and empirical case study research (via WPs 2 and 3) and a broader review of relevant academic and grey literature. Given that the course material is focused on practicing engagement methods, the subject of research ethics is addressed explicitly within each of the courses. In the Introduction to Engagement Methods module, there is a specific section on ethics. The section highlights that effective engagement for the purpose of enhancing biodiversityrelated decision-making depends not only on what is done but on how it is carried out, with attention to safety, respect and inclusion being essential. Course users are encouraged to apply care-full research practices that prioritise trust, transparency and accessibility, ensuring all contributions are voluntary and that people feel valued and protected throughout the process. Additionally, each engagement method includes tailored guidance on ethical considerations specific to that method (for example, managing ongoing consent in photo interviews).