We’ve been awarded an Ecological Citizens grant!
We’re thrilled to share that I Stand Beside, in partnership with the University of Oxford’s Nature-based Solutions Initiative (NbSI), has been awarded a major grant from the Royal College of Art’s Ecological Citizens programme. This funding will support the development and launch of a powerful new digital platform that invites people to build creative, emotional, […]
We’re thrilled to share that I Stand Beside, in partnership with the University of Oxford’s Nature-based Solutions Initiative (NbSI), has been awarded a major grant from the Royal College of Art’s Ecological Citizens programme. This funding will support the development and launch of a powerful new digital platform that invites people to build creative, emotional, and informed relationships with the natural world.
At the heart of the project is a simple but profound idea: what if, instead of observing nature from a distance, we chose to stand beside a species with curiosity, care, and commitment?
The platform will act as a matchmaker between people and the rest of life on Earth, helping users discover a species to champion and offering personalised content, creative prompts, and guidance on how to advocate for it, both online and in the real world.
Alongside this, we’ll be piloting Interspecies Assemblies (or More-than-Human MOOTS)—public gatherings where nature’s voices are represented through storytelling, ritual, and imaginative role play. These events aim to build both ecological literacy and empathy and nurture an ecological citizenship grounded not in guilt or obligation but in kinship and joy.
As ISB leads the creative and participatory dimensions of the work, NbSI will ensure scientific rigour, ecological credibility, and insight into how digital tools can inspire genuine behavioural change.
We’re immensely grateful for the support of the Ecological Citizens fund, which shares our belief that the future of biodiversity depends on more than facts, it depends on relationship. Together, we’re building a platform and movement that aims to make those relationships possible.
Watch this space.