Robin Grove-White (born 1941) is an

Anglo-Irish Anglo-Irish people () denotes an ethnic, social and religious grouping who are mostly the descendants and successors of the English Protestant Ascendancy in Ireland. They mostly belong to the Anglican Church of Ireland, which was the State rel ...

Welsh environmentalist, and academic, Emeritus Professor of Environment and Society at

Lancaster University Lancaster University (officially The University of Lancaster) is a collegiate public university, public research university in Lancaster, Lancashire, England. The university was established in 1964 by royal charter, as one of several new univer ...

. Grove-White Chairs the board of the Institute for Study of Welsh Estates (ISWE) at

Bangor University Bangor University () is a Public university, public Research university, research university in Bangor, Gwynedd, Wales. It was established by Royal charter, Royal Charter in 1885 as the University College of North Wales (UCNW; ), and in 1893 ...

. He is also involved in local organisations such as Menter Mechell and Cymdeithas Hanes Mechell and is president of the Anglesey Antiquarian Society. In 2018 he was awarded an honorary fellowship for Services to the Community at

Personal life

Grove-White was born in

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

and raised on Anglesey, Wales, the son of William Grove-White, descended from the Bulkeley family of landowners and residing at Brynddu (rebuilt 1690) near

Llanfechell Llanfechell (from Welsh: ' church + Saint '' Mechell'') is a village in Anglesey, Wales. It is the largest of several small villages and dispersed settlements that make up Mechell Community Council area. It is east of Holyhead, and west of A ...

. He attended

Worcester College, Oxford Worcester College ( ) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. The college was founded in 1714 by the benefaction of Sir Thomas Cookes, 2nd Baronet (1648–1701) of Norgrove, Worcestershire, whose coat of arms was ad ...

. Robin Grove-White is married to the artist Helen Grove-White (née Smith) and they have three children; Ruth, Simon and Francis. Robin Grove-White has another child, Will Grove-White, a member of George Hinchcliffe's

Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain The Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain (UOGB) is a British musical ensemble founded in 1985 by George Hinchliffe and Kitty Lux. The orchestra features ukuleles of various sizes and registers from soprano to bass. The UOGB is best known for pe ...

, from his first marriage to the writer

Virginia Ironside Virginia Ironside (born 3 February 1944) is a British journalist, agony aunt and author. Born in London, she is the daughter of Christopher Ironside, painter and coin designer, and Janey Ironside who was the first professor of fashion design a ...

Career

From 1963-1968 he became a freelance scriptwriter, for the television series TW3 (

That Was the Week that Was ''That Was the Week That Was'', informally ''TWTWTW'' or ''TW3'', is a satirical television comedy programme that aired on BBC Television in 1962 and 1963. It was devised, produced, and directed by Ned Sherrin and Jack (aka John) Duncan, and pr ...

), a satirical programme hosted by

David Frost Sir David Paradine Frost (7 April 1939 – 31 August 2013) was an English television host, journalist, comedian and writer. He rose to prominence during the satire boom in the United Kingdom when he was chosen to host the satirical programme ...

and featuring

Ned Sherrin Edward George Sherrin (18 February 1931 – 1 October 2007) was an English broadcaster, author and stage director. He qualified as a barrister and then worked in independent television before joining the BBC. He appeared in a variety of r ...

Willie Rushton William George Rushton (18 August 1937 – 11 December 1996) was an English cartoonist, comedian actor and satirist who co-founded the satirical magazine ''Private Eye''. Early life Rushton was born 18 August 1937 at 3 Wilbraham Place, Chelsea, ...

and

Lance Percival John Lancelot Blades Percival (26 July 1933 – 6 January 2015), known as Lance Percival, was an English actor, comedian and singer, best known for his appearances in satirical comedy television shows of the early 1960s and his ability to impr ...

. Other work was in TV, radio, cabaret, film, and advertising in UK, US and Canada (including 'The Establishment' (London), 'The Frost programme' (ITV), 'Marty' (TV series),

This Hour Has Seven Days ''This Hour Has Seven Days'' was a CBC Television public affairs program that ran from 1964 to 1966, offering viewers in-depth analysis of the major social and political stories of the previous week. The show, inspired by the BBC and NBC-TV s ...

(CBCTV),

The Second City The Second City is an improvisational comedy enterprise. It is the oldest improvisational theater troupe to be continuously based in Chicago, with training programs and live theaters in Toronto and New York. Since its debut in 1959, it has b ...

(Chicago), and McCann-Erickson (Toronto & London). In his late 20s he returned to complete his degree at the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

in politics, economics and philosophy (

1971). This led him into rural protection and environmental campaigning with the

Campaign for the Protection of Rural England CPRE, The Countryside Charity, formerly known by names such as the ''Council for the Preservation of Rural England'' and the ''Campaign to Protect Rural England'', is a charity in England with over 40,000 members and supporters. Formed in 1926 ...

(1972-1981, then Director, 1981-1987). He was Chair of the Board of

Greenpeace UK Greenpeace is an independent global campaigning network, founded in Canada in 1971 by a group of environmental activists. Greenpeace states its goal is to "ensure the ability of the Earth to nurture life in all its diversity" and focuses its c ...

until 2004. After a short spell at

Imperial College Imperial College London, also known as Imperial, is a public research university in London, England. Its history began with Prince Albert, husband of Queen Victoria, who envisioned a cultural district in South Kensington that included museums ...

he moved to

in 1989 as a research fellow, eventually becoming Professor of Environment and Society. He established the Centre for the Study of Environmental Change (CSEC) in 1991, to focus on problems of contemporary environmental knowledge and policy development. The centre now resides in the Sociology Department but it was highly active in environmental research, achieving a 5* research rating in the 1990s, with funding from the

Economic and Social Research Council The Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), formerly the Social Science Research Council (SSRC), is part of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI). UKRI is a non-departmental public body (NDPB) funded by the UK government. ESRC provides fundi ...

(ESRC), the

Health and Safety Executive The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is a British public body responsible for the encouragement, regulation and enforcement of workplace health, safety and welfare. It has additionally adopted a research role into occupational risks in Great B ...

, and the

European Environment Agency The European Environment Agency (EEA) is the agency of the European Union (EU) which provides independent information on the environment. Definition The European Environment Agency (EEA) is the agency of the European Union (EU) which provides ...

. Other important members and collaborators included Prof.

Brian Wynne Brian Wynne is Professor Emeritus of Science Studies and a former Research Director of the Centre for the Study of Environmental Change (CSEC) at the Lancaster University. His education includes an MA (Natural Sciences, Cambridge 1968), PhD (M ...

, Prof. Elizabeth Shove, Simon Shackley, Bron Szerszynski, Prof. Claire Waterton and Prof. Phil Macnaghten. He was a member of the Government's Agriculture and Environment Biotechnology Commission. Grove-White retired in 2006 and moved back to the family farm in

, Anglesey, initiating several environmental improvements. He completed a PhD in History in 2011 at

, with a thesis entitled ''Welsh, English - or British? Hugh Hughes and late sixteenth-century Anglesey''. This was later published by the Anglesey Antiquarian Society. He served as High Sheriff of Anglesey and Gwynedd in 2011–12. In Llanfechell he helped initiate the community hub venture, Caffi Siop Mechell. He has also received a honorary doctorate from the

University of Bath The University of Bath is a public research university in Bath, England. Bath received its royal charter in 1966 as Bath University of Technology, along with a number of other institutions following the Robbins Report. Like the University ...

Contributions

Grove-White's career is dedicated to the challenge of a viable future in the face of environmental and technological change. As an academic he strove to develop social science-based approaches to 'environmental' research, using 'sociology of knowledge' frameworks linking university centres with wider society. His main contributions there were to the public understanding of science, attitudes towards genetic engineering, local economic development, and spirituality and nature. He continues to agitate.

Publications

* Deane-Drummond C., B Szerszynski and R. Grove-White (eds.). 2003. ''Reordering Nature: Theology, Society and the New Genetics''. London: Bloomsbury. * Waterton, C, B Wynne, R Grove-White and T Mansfield. 2001. Scientists Reflect on Science: Scientists' Perspectives on Contemporary Science and Environmental Policy. Lancaster: CSEC, Lancaster University. * Grove-White R., P. Macnaghten and B. Wynne. 2000.
Wising up : the public and new technologies.
'. Lancaster University: Centre for the Study of Environmental Change. * Grove-White R., P. Macnaghten, C. Waterton & S. Weldon. 1998. Woodland Sensibilities: Recreational Uses of Woods and Forests in Britain. Edinburgh: CSEC & Forestry Commission. * Grove-White R., P Macnaghten, S Mayer & B Wynne. 1997
Uncertain World: Genetically Modified Organisms, Food and Public Attitudes in Britain
London: CSEC & Unilever. * Walsh, M, S. Shackley and R. Grove-White. 1996.
Fields Apart? What Farmers Think of Nature Conservation in the Yorkshire Dales
Lancaster: CSEC, Lancaster University. * Waterton, C., R. Grove-White, J. Rodwell and B. Wynne. 1995. Corine: databases and nature conservation: the new politics of information in the European Union. Lancaster: CSEC, Lancaster University. * Grove-White, R., and B. Wynne. 1995. Science, Culture and the Environment (Research Report), Lancaster: CSEC, Lancaster University. * Grove-White, R, H. Armstrong and J. Darrall. 1994. Building Lancaster's Future: Economic and Environmental Implications of Lancaster University's Expansion to 2001. Lancaster: CSEC, Lancaster University. * Grove-White, R, J. Darrall, P Macnaghten, G Clark and J Urry. 1994. Leisure Landscapes (main report), Lancaster: CSEC, Lancaster University. * Grove-White, R., A. Phillips and M.D. Toogood. 1993. Sustainability and the English Countryside (Report to the Countryside Commission). Lancaster: CSEC, Lancaster University. * Wynne, B., C. Waterton and R. Grove-White. 1993 (reissued 2007)
Public Perceptions and the Nuclear Industry in West Cumbria
Lancaster: CSEC, Lancaster University. * Grove-White, R. 1991. The UK's Environmental Movement and UK Political Culture (Report to EURES-Institut fur Regionale Studien Europa). Lancaster: CSEC, Lancaster University. * Grove-White, R, P. Morris and B. Szerszynski. 1991. The Emerging Ethical Mood of Environmental Issues in Britain (Report to World Wildlife Fund UK), Lancaster: CSEC, Lancaster University. * Grove-White, R. 2020
A Prism for his times: Late-Tudor Anglesey & Hugh Hughes of Plas Coch
Llangefni: Anglesey Antiquarian Society.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Grove-White, Robin Living people British non-fiction writers Academics of Lancaster University Alumni of St Edmund Hall, Oxford Sociologists of science British climate activists Irish climate activists British male writers British environmentalists Sustainability advocates 1942 births Male non-fiction writers People from Anglesey High sheriffs of Gwynedd]