Jennifer Salmon
I have been working on Learning for Sustainability Scotland and the University’s Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) focussing on ‘Learning for a Sustainable Future’ and COP29, which run in collaboration with the British Council. This involved ensuring successful engagement with COP29 and updating the course content to reflect the conference’s updates and the policy landscape. I developed MOOC content through partnerships within the University, Schools, and international contacts involved in COPs as negotiators and activists. A real highlight was the COP simulation event we ran for secondary school students before COP29.
While working on the MOOCs and interviewing contacts negotiating for their country, it’s easy to become caught up in the technical and legal side of things. When we did the event with secondary school students, I reflected a lot on climate education’s importance to give young people the tools to engage with COPs without them necessarily being burdened with technical specifics. It was really moving to see the passion and excitement that the students had about climate negotiations and to see how vital climate education is to young people to empower them to take climate action beyond the classroom.
Jenny’s input to our MOOCs, in particular the ‘Live at COP29’ MOOC, was crucial; using her expertise, insight, and existing connections to create relevant, engaging, and timely content with a youth focus – and these two MOOCs have now reached over 50,000 learners across 180 countries since 2021. Her input to the Schools’ event also brought a new dimension to this event: inspiring the 100 young people present with her lived experience of engaging with action on climate-related issues. We are delighted that Jenny will continue to play a role in the development and facilitation of both activities as we move towards the much-anticipated COP30 event in Brazil.– Kirsten Leask, Project Manager, Learning for Sustainability Scotland
Katherine Taylor
My role has been to support the University’s engagement with the UN at the UNFCCC COP29 climate conference and COP16 biodiversity conference. Initially this involved researching the priorities for each meeting, identifying how the research and innovation that takes place at Edinburgh could contribute to these discussions, and summarising this into briefing packs for delegates. Following the conclusion of COP29 and COP16, my role has focused on evaluating the University’s engagement with COP both in terms of how the University is able to contribute and how this can be used to inform research and teaching.
During my time as an Earth Fellow, I have valued the opportunity to learn more about how academic institutions are able to engage with the UN and feed into international policymaking discussions. In particular, it has been interesting to understand the range of climate policy challenges discussed at these meetings and to see these shared with the wider University community through initiatives such as the COP café, helping to promote engagement and discussion with these topics.
Having Katherine involved with our COP-related work this year has been invaluable. She ensured staff and students were well prepared to contribute to the climate and biodiversity conferences, and we will be following the recommendations she has made strengthen our work in future years. – Chloe Francis, Edinburgh Earth Initiative
Esther Githinji
My role as Earth Fellow: Digital Media Officer with the Centre for Sustainable Forests and Landscapes (CSFL) involved developing and implementing their digital communications strategy. This surrounded growing their digital media presence and crafting their unique social identity, brand and voice to share the important work they do with broader audiences. I particularly enjoyed establishing the centre’s LinkedIn newsletter - the CSFL Digest and digital portfolio, including promoting their monthly events and showcasing members’ expertise through articles.
Two key things that stood out for me from my invaluable experience working with the CSFL are: (1) Developing my ability to convert academic research content into engaging social stories for diverse audiences. (2) The importance of mirroring interdisciplinary partnerships in real-world research projects in social media content to acknowledge and highlight the value of collaboration and bridge online engagement.
Esther has played a pivotal role in developing and implementing CSFL’s digital communication strategy. She enhanced considerably CSFL’s LinkedIn presence through regular posts, showcasing CSFL’s research and expertise and establishing mechanisms for future communication activities. It was a pleasure to have her on our team! – Nataša Honeybone, Centre for Sustainable Forests and Landscapes
Alys Daniels-Creasey
Woodland restoration is a crucial part of Scotland’s environmental strategy and practitioners play a key role in the on-the-ground delivery of this. Working with the Centre for Sustainable Forests and Landscapes (CSFL), I am seeking to understand what knowledge is required by practitioners to start co-developing a future research strategy which better accounts for their needs. This has involved conducting a survey, interviews, and a workshop which have highlighted the importance of considering practitioner-researcher dynamics to facilitate effective knowledge exchange.
Working with a knowledgeable steering group (Borders Forest Trust, Future Woodlands Scotland, Trees for Life, and the Woodland Trust), and engaging with a diverse range of people in the field, I have been able to directly experience the benefits of practitioner-researcher collaboration. This has made the project responsive to ongoing input and has developed a network which could lead to exciting future collaborations.
Working collaboratively in woodland restoration makes sense when it comes to spending limited research funding. Alys’ work was key to understanding where this funding was best directed, gaining knowledge from both the researchers and practitioners who would be undertaking and using the research. – Shireen Chambers, Future Woodlands Scotland