Project team
Catherine Walker is a researcher at the Sustainable Consumption Institute, University of Manchester. Catherine is leading the YPX project in Manchester, and she designed the overall project. The ideas have developed from previous research that Catherine has been involved in with young people and families in the UK, India and Brazil.
These projects have explored young people’s environmental knowledge, concerns and everyday experiences, and how they negotiate these things with parents. Catherine’s research interests are principally around young people, climate change and the environment, but they extend into environmental education, cultural identity and geographies of sustainability (how ideas about sustainability are culturally and spatially located, and how they travel).
Ellen van Holstein is an urban geographer at The University of Melbourne. Ellen is a research fellow on the YPX project and she will be working with young researchers on the Melbourne case study. Ellen’s research focuses on what enables community inclusion and political participation in the face of environmental and technological change. Ellen is passionate about participatory methods and has experience working with community co-researchers which she will draw on in the YPX project.
Sherilyn is a Professor in Environmental Politics at The University of Manchester. She specialises in the relationships between environmental (un)sustainability and social inequality, applying insights from ecofeminist and other critical political theories. Current research projects include: the impacts of climate change on unpaid care work (funded by Oxfam USA); a feminist Green New Deal for the UK (funded by the Women’s Budget Group); and ‘everyday sustainabilities’ in Muslim households (funded by the Leverhulme Trust). She is an Editor of the Environmental Politics journal.
Natascha Klocker is an Associate Professor in the School of Geography and Sustainable Communities and the Australian Centre for Culture, Environment, Society and Space (ACCESS), University of Wollongong, Australia. Natascha is a mentor on the Young People at a Crossroads project. Her research and teaching focus on equity, discrimination and inclusion/exclusion, most often explored through the lens of migration and ethnic diversity. She brings to this project her experience in children’s and young people’s geographies and participatory action research, as well as a research focus on diverse migrants’ environmental knowledge and capacities.
Adelin is an undergraduate student of Psychology who recently completed a Citizen Social Science course to complement his studies.
Adelin is passionate about conducting and sharing research, particularly in the area of health.
Adelin has assisted Catherine and Ellen with training Young Researchers on the YPX project in interview skills.
He commented that ‘it was fantastic to take part in the Young People at Crossroads Project and to encourage, support and enhance adolescents’ learning whilst they were taking their first steps as researchers’.
Diana is a PhD student at the Centre for Agroecology, Water and Resilience at Coventry University, studying people's perceptions and practices around exotic ornamental plants in Southern Africa.
Diana has brought her interest in environmental education, diverse worldviews, and everyday life to the YPX project by assisting Catherine and Ellen with training Young Researchers on the project in interview skills.
Diana began her academic training in biology, plant ecology, and biodiversity conservation in Cuba and is currently developing her skills to understand people's perceptions, opinions, and behaviours around plants and nature.
Diana has written a number of articles as a spokesperson for the Cuban Botanical Society, including on plastic pollution in the Caribbean Sea, the relationship between nature and the economy, and the growing use of health and beauty products based on native Caribbean species in Global North contexts.
Kauser Husain is a creative writer and a social science researcher. Kauser has assisted Catherine and Ellen with training Young Researchers on the YPX project in interview skills, including creative interviewing methods.
Kauser's day job involves working at Coventry University within Research Services where she supports the day-to-day delivery of funded projects within the Institute of Creative Cultures. As a writer, she takes a socially engaged approach, drawing inspiration from community and social research that she has conducted. She is keen to amplify the voices and experiences of marginalised communities through short stories, micro-fiction and scriptwriting. She is particularly interested in South Asian migration to the UK and second and third generation experiences of education, employment, and communities, as well as long-term illness and disability.
Read more about Kauser's creative writing.
Leo is a PhD student in Plant Sciences at Santa Catarina University (UDESC), Brazil, and the Centre for Agroecology, Water and Resilience (CAWR), Coventry University, UK.
Leo's research focuses on the study of holistic and integrative farming practices such as the use of homeopathy applied to plants and biodynamic farming methods to increase the vitality of farming systems (view a recent Open Access publication in English).
Leo completed the University of Coventry's Citizen Social Science course in 2021, which complemented his background in agronomy with qualitative research skills to better understand farmers' decision-making process, perceptions of farming practices, and their relationship to food production and nature.
On the YPX project, Leo has brought his interest in ecological awareness and education, diverse worldviews, and sustainable practices to the YPX project by assisting Catherine and Ellen with training Young Researchers on the project in interview skills.
Maisy Summer is an independent Illustrator and Animator. Maisy works closely with clients on projects that often have storytelling and community at their centre. Her clients include Google Arts and Culture, Sunday Times and British Council. Maisy is a lecturer on Illustration with Animation at Manchester School of Art, and Creative Director of international network Small Fry Collective hosting creative workshops, projects, discussions and events across Manchester and beyond. The events and projects are broad covering topics such as creative business strategies and publishing, to identity and mental health.
Maisy is passionate about using illustration to bring to life stories on the impacts of climate change in an approachable and playful manner, yet informative and considered. Maisy is thrilled to be able to draw upon this with the YPX project and visualise these important contributions from the young researchers in a personal and handcrafted manner.
Maisy's original work for YPX will be profiled in the YPX Project Book, due to be published on this site in September 2022.
Kit Marie Rackley (they/she) is an award-winning ex high-school Geography teacher in the UK. Throughout that time and continuing today, Kit Marie provides teacher continuous professional development (CPD) and training, which previously included a role as Associate Tutor for the School of Education at the University of East Anglia.
Kit Marie has worked as an education consultant and project manager with climate and energy scientists, including researchers based at NOAA Boulder, Colorado and as an educator and trainer at the Exploratorium Museum in San Francisco, California, and is now freelance consultant with the UK’s Geographical Association and the National Association of School-Based Teacher Trainers (NASBTT). They are a published educational author, including works with National Geographic Kids and Diverse Educators.
Kit Marie is a strong and passionate advocate of youth voice and empowerment, decolonising the curriculum, and inclusive and intersectional education. Much of their work revolves around the climate crisis, focusing around framing it as a school safeguarding issue. Kit Marie runs an educational resource blog at Geogramblings.com, and is host and producer of the Coffee & Geography podcast.
Nerida Thompson (she/her) lives and works on the unceded lands of the Wurundjeri people. Previously a passionate primary school teacher who at all opportunities nurtured a sense of wonder and awe of, and love and respect for, the natural world in her students; she now works at Environment Education Victoria managing the delivery of the State Government’s international award winning ResourceSmart Schools (RSS) program to schools across two regions in the state. RSS supports schools to embed sustainability into the culture, curriculum, and operations of schools.
Outside of paid work, Nerida is an active community member and climate activist, with a focus on relocalisation, creating a more resilient and empowered community, and participatory democracy.
Project Advisory Committee
- Manisha Anantharaman, St Mary’s College of California
- Sophie Hadfield-Hill, University of Birmingham
- Tally Katz-Gerro, University of Haifa
- Ann Phoenix, UCL Institute of Education
- Susan Pike, Dublin City University
- Tracey Skelton, National University of Singapore
Read more about the Project Advisory Committee.