ACCESS is excited to offer a unique opportunity for a small group of environmental social scientists from diverse sectors to attend our Autumn School 2026. This will be the final residential training event hosted by ACCESS, as the project will complete in January 2027.
The Autumn School welcomes social scientists working on three main themes:
Participants can be working in any sector and at any career stage, but must be working in the UK. We especially encourage those at an early career or mid career stage to register.
The Autumn School will be held from 10:30 on Monday 12 October to 14:00 on Wednesday 14 October at Cumberland Lodge, Berkshire, UK.
Registration costs £125. ACCESS will cover the full costs of two nights’ accommodation and all meals while at the event. Spaces are limited, so please apply here. Applications will close on Wednesday 8 July at 23:59.
Autumn School 2026 focuses on fostering collaborative research. This retreat-style event will provide a relaxed and friendly environment in which to:
Collaborative research is a powerful way to improve funding applications and research projects, build professional relationships across sectors and harness broader perspectives.
Previous participants said:
“Lots of diversity in perspectives, delegates, speakers and research areas! Building solidarity among environmental social scientists of both junior and senior career stages was very helpful. The venue was beautiful.”
“The presentations were excellent, the interaction with other delegates was really interesting, and the organisation was great!”
The Autumn School is organised by Kate Burningham, Birgitta Gatersleben and Sarah Golding from the University of Surrey.
Speakers and facilitators will be drawn from the charitable and commercial sectors, government agencies and academia.
Confirmed speakers include:
An indicative programme is outlined below:
Monday 12 October
Tuesday 13 October
Wednesday 14 October
Registration costs £125, ACCESS will cover the full costs of two nights accommodation and all meals while at the event in the lovely venue of Cumberland Lodge in Berkshire, South East England. Participants will need to cover their own travel costs and travel insurance.
Spaces are limited, so please apply here.
Applications will close on Wednesday 8 July at 23:59. Offers of places will be made by the end of July, and participants will need to complete payment before 23:59 on Monday 28 September.
The cost of attendance is subsidised by ACCESS, to enable cross-sector networking and professional development, with the goal of increasing the visibility and impact of Environmental Social Science.
ACCESS is committed to advancing Equity, Diversity and Inclusion in environmental social science. We actively welcome applicants from a diverse range of backgrounds and those who may require additional support to enable participation.
What will the Autumn School involve?
The Autumn School will run over three days. We will start at 10:30 on Monday 12 October and end at 14:00 on Wednesday 14 October. For many participants, this should enable travel to be completed within the three-day window.
The Autumn School will focus on topics of concern for environmental social scientists, with contributions from experts working in these areas. We will take advantage of the attractive outdoor opportunities in the beautiful grounds of Cumberland Lodge. Peer-to-peer learning and networking will be an important part of Autumn School.
Who is eligible to apply?
You can be working in any sector, but must be working in the UK.
Participants can be at any career stage, but we especially encourage those at an early career or mid career stage to register.
You can be from any discipline, but your work must use social science perspectives and methodologies to understand environmental challenges. This might include (but is not limited to) work in the areas of decarbonisation, sustainable development, just transitions, biodiversity, land management, nature engagement, transport, and sustainable consumption.
What is the time commitment?
The Autumn School is a three day residential event and the expectation is that participants will attend the full event.
I have previously attended an ACCESS Winter/Summer School, can I apply again?
Course content will be similar to Summer School 2025, so previous participants should not apply.
What is the cost of participating?
There is a registration fee of £125, ACCESS will cover the full costs of two nights’ accommodation and all meals.
Participants will cover their own travel costs and travel insurance.
The cost of attendance is subsidised by ACCESS, to enable cross-sector networking and professional development, with the goal of increasing the visibility and impact of Environmental Social Science.
Participants will need to have paid the registration fee in full in advance, by 23:59 on Monday 28 September.
What is not covered in the registration fee?
Travel and subsistence costs (including any insurance) to and from the Autumn School are not included in the attendance fee. Participants are required to be responsible for their own travel insurance in conjunction with the event – we recommend you contact your organisation to confirm you have cover. If you do not have travel insurance via an organisation, we recommend you acquire your own travel insurance privately.
Accommodation on-site at Cumberland Lodge will be provided for Monday 12 and Tuesday 13 October. Any additional nights’ accommodation will not be covered by ACCESS.
Why do I need to complete an application to register?
We have limited places, as we believe the event works best with a smaller group to offer maximum interaction and networking for participants. We have found a smaller number of participants offers the chance to socialise with each other on a meaningful level, to get to know each other across the group and to understand each other’s research and interests. We also encourage the speakers to stay for some or all of the duration of the school, so all the participants (both participants and speakers) can have the chance to interact.
Where there are more registrations than places, ACCESS will offer places based on information provided in the registration form, with consideration to the overall mix of participants across discipline, sector and topic focus. We will operate a waiting list in this scenario.
I have a disability, can you accommodate my attendance?
We actively welcome applicants from a diverse range of backgrounds and those who may require additional support to enable participation. At ACCESS, we work to ensure that Equity, Diversity and Inclusion underpin all of our activities (see our Guiding Principles), and we strive to implement EDI best practice wherever we can.
We aim to make the Autumn School widely accessible, whether or not participants have declared a disability. There will be a named contact with responsibility for EDI at Autumn school, and all participants, whether or not they have declared a disability, should discuss accessibility or support needs with Kirstie Hatcher: k.hatcher@surrey.ac.uk. Cumberland Lodge has accessible bedrooms and bathrooms, and Kirstie will be able to liaise with the venue as needed.
I would love to register but attending would incur additional costs outside the Autumn School registration fee that I couldn’t meet personally – should I still register?
ACCESS aims to ensure that people who register successfully for a place can attend Autumn School. If your organisation covers the registration fee but you envisage other costs that would need to be met outside of the parameters of your organisation’s responsibility, please contact Kirstie Hatcher to discuss on k.hatcher@surrey.ac.uk.
If you cannot find the answer to your question above, please contact Kirstie Hatcher on k.hatcher@surrey.ac.uk.