Whitney Fleming is a researcher with expertise in environmental psychology, human-nature interactions, and well-being. Her work explores how biodiversity, social factors, and accessibility shape experiences in natural environments. She employs interdisciplinary methods, including quantitative large-scale survey techniques, experimental studies, and qualitative analysis to assess engagement with nature. 

Module Contributor for: 

  • Module ONS-1001: Environmental data & analysis
  • Module DXX-2009: Conservation Practice
  • Module DXX-3701: Dissertation
  • Module DXX-3801: Human Aspects of Conservation
  • Module ENS-4205: Management planning
  • Module ENS-4318: Social Issues in Forest Mgt.

PhD Students

  • Joe Roy ESRC- WGSS (Welsh Graduate School for Social Scinces) PhD student in studying human wellbeing and biodiversity in soundscapes. 

Research Interests

  • Human-Nature Interactions and Well-Being 

  • Access to Nature

  • Sense of Place

  • Environmental Perceptions and Governance 

  • Environmental Stewardship and Behavior

  • Science Understanding and Misconceptions 

Available Project

I welcome enquiries from prospective Master’s and PhD students interested in working in areas related to my research. While I do not currently have dedicated funding available, motivated students are encouraged to get in touch to discuss potential projects and funding opportunities.

If you are interested, please email me with a CV and a brief research proposal outlining your interests and how they align with my work.

2026

2024

2023

2022

2026

  • CAInC Colloquium: The Experience of Listening

    Diminished interactions with natural environments have contributed to an ‘extinction of experience’ (Pyle, 1978; Soga and Gaston, 2016), an erosion of attention exacerbated by urbanised and increasingly digital living. This in turn weakens human engagement with ecological issues such as biodiversity loss. How can the arts and sciences together deepen environmental awareness through listening as an impetus to action?

    Birdsong, as a recognisable sound in the landscape, provides a focal point for considering the ways in which changing acoustic environments are perceived and reflected through poetry and music.

    What kinds of listening are activated in citizen science and how do they change the listener?

    How does collective participation in active listening to natural environments, either in the context of citizen science or artistic practice, influence wellbeing or an individual's desire to act?

    How does an art form shape environmental listening – or vice versa? In what ways does 'art as experience' (Dewey, 1934) enable renewed attention to environments?

    What impact do poetry and music that draw attention to biodiversity have on individual or collective wellbeing?

    How do the arts and sciences mediate questions of individual versus collective efficacy? What does 'action' mean in the arts?

    In creative research practices, poetry and music embody tacit knowledges that are not immediately or directly reducible to summary, but which encode and enable future-oriented collective thinking. How can these knowledges complement or interact with the quantifiable insights of data-led science?

    Supported by WREC Wales Research Environment and Culture.

    4 Jun 2026

    Activity: Participation in Academic workshop, seminar, course (Speaker)

Current 

  • Leverhulme Trust - The effects of biodiversity on human wellbeing in soundscapes
  • UKRI – Mobilizing Community Assets to reduce Health Inequalities Programme (Deaf Health) 

Past

  • Zuckerman STEM Leadership Program  – Zuckerman Postdoctoral Scholar Fellowship