Australians love spending time in nature. We’re proud of our iconic species and our incredible landscapes. But loving nature doesn’t mean people will always do the best thing for the environment, nor for themselves. Indeed, all around the world, human actions cause most of our environmental problems. This means the solutions lie in human behaviour, too, but how do we get people, and the systems we live in, to change?

Dr Lily van Eeden is an interdisciplinary scientist with expertise in conservation biology, socio-ecological systems, and environmental psychology. She’s interested in how people interact with nature, and what factors cause them to act in ways that protect or harm the natural environment. This can include a variety of things, from exploring people’s beliefs about nature through to industry practices and environmental policy.

Lily has a PhD from the University of Sydney in human-wildlife coexistence, where her research explored the human dimensions of conflict between livestock producers and dingoes. As a postdoctoral researcher based at Arthur Rylah Institute (Victorian government), she used behavioural psychology to encourage people to connect with nature and act in nature-friendly ways.

She's now a Lecturer and ARC Industry Fellow at RMIT University where she continues to conduct research in partnership with Victorian government and other partners to improve societal relationships with nature. She translates these experiences into her teaching, helping students to understand the science-policy interface and how to have impact in their careers.