Steve Carver

Biography

I’ve long had an interest in wild places. Holidaying as a child with my parents in the Highlands, hiking and camping with Scouts led naturally to climbing and mountaineering with friends whilst a Geography student at Huddersfield. My PhD at Newcastle saw me organising expeditions to Greenland and Siberia which firmly cemented a love of wilderness in my heart and mind.

I’m now Professor of Rewilding and Wilderness Science at the University of Leeds where I’ve been researching and writing about the world’s wild places for over 30 years. Much of this work has focused on how we define “wild” and map its extent and location so that we are better able to protect these important places against the many threats they face. I have been fortunate enough to employ my mapping skills across the world including helping the US National Park Service map wilderness character, identifying 10% of France for strong protection, and helping China select landscapes for what will be the world’s largest protected area network. Closer to home I’ve helped NatureScot and the national parks map wild land areas leading to their inclusion in NPF3.

I’ve been a John Muir Trust member for over 10 years and have hugely enjoyed helping on various projects including developing a UK-wide wildness map, assessing impact of wind farm proposals and identifying wild places for potential purchase. As a Trustee I’d be looking forward to helping us get our collective heads around wild places, scale and the varied geography of the UK.

Member since

2005