Ryan is a senior lecturer in psychology, having worked in Higher Education since 2013. His research has focused on the psychological construct of nature connectedness and its associated wellbeing, mental health, and pro-nature behavioral outcomes, specifically how people can reconnect with nature through the five pathways of senses, emotion, meaning, compassion, and beauty, a framework he created in his PhD in 2016. This Pathways Framework has been applied by organizations across the world, including the National Trust, the Wildlife Trusts, Durrell Conservation Trust, and the New Zealand Department of Conservation, with Ryan working as an advisor on their application and research partner. After working at other Higher Education institutions, Ryan joined NTU in May 2022.

Alongside continued work researching and applying the Pathways, Ryan is currently conducting research with collaborators in conservation and ecological disciplines on citizen science and working with the VIA Institute on Character on research and applied projects. Ryan is particularly interested in applying the Pathways Framework within wider society, including how it can benefit higher education institutions and its potential for benefiting mental health within greencare/social prescribing and in conservation settings such as zoos.

Ryan has worked on evaluation projects for Derby Museum, the National Trust and Wildlife Trusts and was also a member of Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust’s Conservation Advisory Panel. Presently, Ryan is a member of external groups, notably the QUENCH Network and the Nature Connectedness Network, and acts as an advisor for the International Alliance for Nature Connected Practitioners. He is also working in conjunction with the VIA Institute of Character as part of a special interest group and working with Chester Zoo on the nature connection pathways.

Ryan has received training as part of a DEFRA-funded Citizen Engagement with the Environment scheme to help communicate scientific research to the general public and engage them with it. Ryan also appeared as a guest on BBC Three’s Hayley Goes Back to Nature in 2020.