Information for the public
We make information about the work we fund available to the public in a number of ways. There are also opportunities for the public to get involved in some of the work our researchers do.
Our scientists are often the best people to make the public more aware of the research we support - they know it best and are its most enthusiastic proponents. We encourage and support them to attend a range of different events such as science festivals or classroom visits so that they can discuss with and inspire a wide range of people about their work.
Website and online resources
Our free science news website, Planet Earth Online, summarises a lot of the research we fund and is updated daily. It contains news stories, articles, videos, blogs, and a fortnightly podcast recorded on location, where our scientists tell their own stories about their work.
A lot of our work affects the public directly, by feeding into government policy for example, or helping businesses develop new products or understand how the natural environment impacts the work they do and vice versa. You can find more about this on our website in the working with business, information for policymakers and information for the general public sections.
Information about NERC research grants can be accessed through 'Grants on the web' to see who and what we are funding at any one time.
Publications
Our quarterly magazine, Planet Earth, is aimed at a general audience and has features on a wide range of NERC-supported environmental science.
We produce a range of leaflets that describe our facilities and the work we do and our annual report highlights some of what we consider are the most important pieces of research each year. These are all available within the publications section of this website.
Public dialogue and debate
Involving the public in understanding, discussing and debating science is an important part of ensuring that we consider a wide range of views when deciding what research we should be doing. We have open consultations throughout the process of developing out strategy to enable a wide range of views to be considered.
Another key way to involve the public is through the process of public dialogue. More information about this process, how you may be able to get involved and examples of previous work can be seen on the dialogue and debate page.
Citizen science
Being told all about science is all very well, but sometimes it is far more interesting to take part - to enable this we support activities enabling the public to get involved in collecting data, samples and information which are then used by scientists to understand what is going on. Two good examples of citizen science are BioBlitzes 
and Conker Tree Science .
Festivals, exhibitions and events
Our scientists are often involved in festivals, exhibitions and events around the country. By developing exhibits for festivals, taking part in debates or taking a stand to a local shopping centre, our scientists enable the public to find out more about the research they do and talk with them in person.
Some examples of places you can meet our scientists and find out more about their work include the Cheltenham Science Festival and the Royal Society Summer Science Exhibition . More examples can be seen on the archive of activities page.
TV, radio and press coverage
Stories about our science are very newsworthy and are always being picked up by the media (see NERC in the news). We endeavour to promote our stories as widely as possible and to the most appropriate audiences. Some examples of our research covered by the mainstream media include:
- Use of NERC research planes in understanding the volcanic ash cloud - covered on BBC's 'Bang Goes The Theory'
- Deepest living fish ever caught on film - BBC News
- NERC ship rescues sailor - BBC's 'Real Rescues'
The Naked Scientists have linked up with us to promote our podcasts and cover more NERC research in their weekly broadcasts .
NERC press releases are available on our website.