Gill Ainsworth

I am a social scientist working on the Cephs & Chefs project at the University of Santiago de Compostela (Spain), exploring behavioural dynamics regarding sustainable fishing of cephalopods through a non-monetary value chain analysis. My PhD research from Charles Darwin University (Australia) investigated the relationship between social values and the conservation of Australian threatened birds. My field of specialisation is social psychology. My research interests include understanding non-monetary factors that shape human interactions with the natural environment, such as shared and cultural values regarding threatened species and ecosystem services, as well as knowledge co-production, conflict transformation and transformative travel. This type of research has significant impact because it explores the interface between science and policy, for example when scientific evidence affects stakeholder livelihoods. I am also interested in developing ways to improve the integration of science into policy-making decisions. 

Relevant papers

Ainsworth, G.B., 2019. A whale of a time: stakeholder views on managing the marine environment in the Southwest of England. A report of the Marine Ecosystems Research Programme. Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, Edinburgh, UK.

Ainsworth, G.B., Kenter, J.O., O’Connor, S., Daunt, F., Young, J.C., 2019. A fulfilled human life: Eliciting sense of place and cultural identity in two UK marine environments through the Community Voice Method. Ecosystem Services 39, 100992. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoser.2019.100992

Ainsworth, G.B., Fitzsimons, J.A., Weston, M.A., Garnett, S.T., 2018. The culture of bird conservation: Australian stakeholder values regarding iconic, flagship and rare birds. Biodiversity and Conservation 27 (2), 345-363. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-017-1438-1

Ainsworth, G.B., Aslin, H.J., Weston, M.A., Garnett, S.T., 2016. Do social values influence levels of conservation effort in threatened species? The case of two Australian chats. Oryx 50 (4), 636-645. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0030605315000538

Ainsworth, G.B., Aslin, H.J., Weston, M.A., Garnett, S.T., 2016. Social values and species conservation: the case of Baudin’s and Carnaby’s black-cockatoos. Environmental Conservation 43, 294-305. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0376892916000126

Honorary positions:

Research Fellow, Research Institute for the Environment and Livelihoods, Charles Darwin University, Australia

CEH Fellow, Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, UK