Combined storytelling and mapping approaches for increasing community engagement with woodland creation and expansion projects
5 affiliations
- 1Biological and Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Natural Sciences University of Stirling Stirling UK
- 2Department of Environment and Geography University of York York UK
- 3Birmingham Institute of Forest Research University of Birmingham Edgbaston Birmingham UK
- 4Storytelling Academy, School of Design and Creative Arts Loughborough University Loughborough UK
- 5Social Work, Faculty of Social Sciences University of Stirling Stirling UK
Abstract
Forests and woodlands are important for biodiversity, climate change mitigation and the provision of services including recreation, timber and non‐timber forest products. Land use policies currently aim to increase forest cover while also maximising the benefits of forests for people and improving community engagement with the process of creation, restoration and expansion. However, these initiatives often suffer from a lack of public support because they do not sufficiently engage with people's emotional connections to their local landscapes or fully consider the diverse views and needs of local communities. We explored the use of two contrasting yet complementary methods (storytelling and participatory mapping) of community engagement, applied to a large‐scale tree cover expansion project in the Forth Valley area of Scotland. In a series of workshops, we asked people to discuss the values they attach to woods and trees and what benefits they would like from local woodland expansion and creation. We used thematic analysis to explore the main themes discussed at each workshop type. We found that storytelling approaches led to insights into more emotional, subjective and abstract connections and meaning, while mapping approaches tended to be more focused on practicalities and local needs. Both types of information are crucial for woodland creation and expansion to effectively serve local communities. We then developed an integrative participatory approach that allowed storytelling to be integrated into mapping‐based discussions, for a fuller, more holistic impression of community needs in relation to woodland creation and expansion. This provided additional insights into the relationships between communities and their landscapes, clustered around the themes of wildlife and nature, local places, history, stories and childhood memories, management and protection and emotion and experience. We propose that a combined storytelling and mapping approach can be more inclusive and provide a more holistic understanding of the use and non‐use values linking people and place. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.
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BibTeX
@article{greenwood2026combined,
title = {{Combined storytelling and mapping approaches for increasing community engagement with woodland creation and expansion projects}},
author = {Sarah Greenwood and Elisa Fuentes‐Montemayor and Catherine Cowie and James Levine and Piran C. L. White and Michael Wilson and Sandra Engstrom},
journal = {People and Nature},
year = {2026},
month = nov,
doi = {10.1002/pan3.70321},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1002/pan3.70321},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Combined storytelling and mapping approaches for increasing community engagement with woodland creation and expansion projects
AU - Sarah Greenwood
AU - Elisa Fuentes‐Montemayor
AU - Catherine Cowie
AU - James Levine
AU - Piran C. L. White
AU - Michael Wilson
AU - Sandra Engstrom
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/11/04
JO - People and Nature
DO - 10.1002/pan3.70321
UR - https://doi.org/10.1002/pan3.70321
AB - Forests and woodlands are important for biodiversity, climate change mitigation and the provision of services including recreation, timber and non‐timber forest products. Land use policies currently aim to increase forest cover while also maximising the benefits of forests for people and improving community engagement with the process of creation, restoration and expansion. However, these initiatives often suffer from a lack of public support because they do not sufficiently engage with people's emotional connections to their local landscapes or fully consider the diverse views and needs of local communities. We explored the use of two contrasting yet complementary methods (storytelling and participatory mapping) of community engagement, applied to a large‐scale tree cover expansion project in the Forth Valley area of Scotland. In a series of workshops, we asked people to discuss the values they attach to woods and trees and what benefits they would like from local woodland expansion and creation. We used thematic analysis to explore the main themes discussed at each workshop type. We found that storytelling approaches led to insights into more emotional, subjective and abstract connections and meaning, while mapping approaches tended to be more focused on practicalities and local needs. Both types of information are crucial for woodland creation and expansion to effectively serve local communities. We then developed an integrative participatory approach that allowed storytelling to be integrated into mapping‐based discussions, for a fuller, more holistic impression of community needs in relation to woodland creation and expansion. This provided additional insights into the relationships between communities and their landscapes, clustered around the themes of wildlife and nature, local places, history, stories and childhood memories, management and protection and emotion and experience. We propose that a combined storytelling and mapping approach can be more inclusive and provide a more holistic understanding of the use and non‐use values linking people and place. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.
SN - 2575-8314
ER -