Dr Samuel Aizlewood

Dr Aizlewood gained his BSc in Human Geography before completing his MSc in Global Wildlife Health and Conservation at the University of Bristol. In 2021, Sam joined DICE as a PhD student, exploring how three social and policy realities of conservation in England could be accounted for in the design of multifunctional landscapes. During his PhD, Sam took an intermission to work on the ‘Systematic Conservation Planning in the Northern Forest’ project. He also undertook a CASE placement with the Woodland Trust, co-authoring a chapter on woodland creation in the ‘State of the UK’s Woods and Trees 2025’ report and developing a guidance note for their outreach team on engaging with land-managers’ values.
Since 2026, Sam has worked as a research associate at DICE, continuing his research focus on conservation and restoration within multifunctional landscapes.

Dr Aizlewood’s research interests cross traditional disciplinary boundaries to tackle social and environmental challenges. His expertise includes interviews, questionnaires, Q-methodology, spatial prioritisation, and data visualisation.

• Systematic conservation planning
• Conservation and restoration in multifunctional landscapes
• Conservation actions on private lands
• Conservation social science
• Rewilding
• Intrinsic, instrumental and relational values
• Environmental policy and practice
• Local nature recovery strategies