Katarzyna (Kaya) Mikołajczak

Kaya is a Research Fellow at Grantham Research Institute in the Resilience and Adaptation teams. As an interdisciplinary social-environmental scientist, Kaya pursues a mission‑driven, applied research agenda aimed at supporting the wellbeing of humans and more‑than‑human nature under unfolding socio‑ecological crisis. 

One line of her work examines human–nature relationships, underpinned by concepts such as nature connection, values, and environmental concern, investigating what shapes them, how they influence support for biodiversity protection, and how they can be engaged for more effective and just conservation action. Within this, past projects investigated relations between nature connection, values, attitudes, and ecological knowledge among non-Indigenous farmers in the Brazilian Amazon, perceptions of rewilding among English farmers, and service design for improving electric fences against elephant crop raiding in Gabon.

Another line of her research advances psychological, behavioural and co‑design approaches for system change towards sustainability. Currently, Kaya serves as the behavioural lead on the BASIN project, investigating psychological and behavioural approaches to water security and adaptation in sub-Saharan Africa. She also leads the development of Multi-Actor Behavioural Journey (MABEJ) for behavioural analysis of complex, high-impact policy and administrative processes affecting sustainability outcomes. 

She holds a PhD in Environmental Sciences from the University of Lancaster, an MSc in Biodiversity, Conservation, and Management from the University of Oxford, and a BSc in Zoology (Hons) from the University of Edinburgh. Google scholar profile.

Research interests

• Nature conservation, restoration, and rewilding, particularly in agricultural, wetland, and forest environments in Europe and in tropical regions
• Behavioural design and systems-thinking approaches for conservation, climate adaptation and sustainability transformations
• Human-nature relations (nature connection, values, attitudes, behaviours, meanings, motivations, human-wildlife conflict and coexistence, etc.)