In Chapter One we said that there were four inter-related themes running through this book as indicated by its title: mapping, environmental sustainability, systemic practices and participatory research. We explained what we meant by each of these and then in Chapter Two set out in more detail how mapping was a feature of systems thinking and that systems thinking influences how we view environmental sustainability and how we practice our research. That research practice includes working closely with the participants of the situations we are researching and acting within. Chapters Three to Eight then provided different case studies on the use of mapping within their research. These case studies are from people at The Open University who share a common praxis (in that we all collaborate on developing coherent teaching materials on these topics) but are free to undertake their own research in various ‘niches’ relating to the broad field of environmental sustainability. Chapter Nine then took a theoretical perspective on using systems thinking and mapping to help with the evaluation of research projects and programmes.

As well as reflecting on these four themes, we want to add a fifth theme in this final chapter, one that has been implicit throughout the book, that of research methods. This is important since we said in Chapter One that the idea for this book arose out of interest in our use of visual methods in research from doctoral students and research fellows at The Open University and elsewhere. They wanted to know what the benefits of using such participatory visual approaches were, but also the limitations or drawbacks. They were interested in how we had used mapping as a tool or technique as a method for engaging participants, and as a way to frame a methodology. And although the book is particularly relevant to researchers, these same issues around the methods used are also relevant to any practitioner working in complex environmental situations that necessarily involve many different people and perspectives. What follows are our concluding remarks on each of these themes, but what will also be apparent is how each theme is closely tied to the other themes. Hopefully this exposition will help you in developing your own praxis.