Spotlight on Prof Nicola Walshe

Prof Nicola Walshe

Pro-Director of Education at IOE

UCL’s Faculty of Education and Society,

What is your role and what does it involve?

I am Executive Director of the UCL Centre for Climate Change and Sustainability (CCCSE). The overarching aim of the Centre is to support teachers to equip young people with the knowledge, skills and agency they need to participate and thrive in a climate-altered future. This work is driven by our aspirations that every child and young person:

• has the agency and capabilities to act for the environment;
• is equipped to contribute to a socially just, equitable and compassionate world;
• experiences a life-long connection with nature which enhances their physical and mental wellbeing; and
• understands our planet as an interconnected system.

We support these aspirations by conducting research to address pressing questions related to climate change and sustainability education policy and practice; through the design and implementation of free, phase- and subject-specific professional development for teachers and school leaders; and through national and international policy engagement to enhance the implementation of quality climate change and sustainability education in England and further afield. 

How are you improving the health of the public?

Holistic, affective approaches to climate change and sustainability education have the potential to mitigate climate anxiety which we know children and young people increasingly experience. More specifically, some of my personal research has explored how artistic practice in nature supports the mental health and wellbeing, nature connection and pro-environmental behaviour of children and young people. For example, the Eco-Capabilities project took place in schools in areas of high deprivation in East Anglia, finding that arts-in-nature practice improved children’s wellbeing through the development of self-confidence and self-esteem, agency, and connectedness with nature; children felt happier with their life and were more optimistic about what the future holds for them. We are now working with a range of partners to support schools and teachers to be able to embed arts-in-nature experiences into their practice for the benefit of all children and young people. So our work very much develops practice which supports - and improves – both the health of the public, and the health of the planet.  

What do you find most interesting or enjoyable about your work?

One of the most enjoyable aspects of my role is engaging with children and young people, both as participants of our research in schools, but also as experts with lived experience on project advisory boards and through youth organisations, such as Teach the Future. It is hugely rewarding to work with them; the passion, energy and perspectives they bring teach me an awful lot, and keep me enthusiastic and focused on what I am doing at the most frustrating and difficult of times.  

How have cross-disciplinary collaborations shaped your research?

Cross-disciplinary collaborations have been fundamental in shaping not only my work, but also the way I think about and approach research to address the challenges within our educational systems. My own personal journey has meandered somewhat through disciplines; I originally completed a doctorate in glaciology (geophysics) before going on to study to become a geography teacher. I then undertook an MEd to better understand how children and young people learn and develop; this introduced me to social science research and was a real challenge for me as I experienced a big shift in disciplinary expectations from science to social science. 

As I have explored ways of engaging children and young people with issues of climate change and sustainability in ways that are empowering and agentic, I have increasingly turned to the arts and I now work closely with artists across a range of projects. The work of arts, nature and wellbeing charity, Cambridge Curiosity and Imagination (CCI) has been particularly transformational for me. Many of the CCCSE’s projects are now cross-disciplinary collaborations with academics and practitioners spanning health and care, education, the arts and natural sciences; I believe that it is only through these collaborations that we can hope to develop impactful system change to achieve human and planetary health and wellbeing. 

What advice would you offer to others interested in developing cross-disciplinary research?

Cross-disciplinary working is hugely rewarding, but not always easy. Approach such collaboration with an open mind, embrace the discomfort you might feel when immersing yourself in different disciplinary traditions, and allow yourself to feel energised by the creativity that may ensue. In my experience, cross-disciplinary work has always been hugely rewarding and invariably it reshapes my thinking and practice moving forward, so it is worth the challenge!  

What’s next on the research horizon for you? 

We have recently completed a survey of students aged 11-14 which explored their experiences and perceptions of, and aspirations for, climate change and sustainability education. As part of this, we identified significant inequalities in how students are experiencing climate change in relation to gender and socio-economic status; for example, girls and those with more advantaged backgrounds told us that they are more concerned about climate change than boys, and feel more negative emotions in relation to climate change than boys, including sadness, anxiety and shame. Our data suggests that climate change and sustainability education is not currently sufficiently relevant and responsive to the needs of diverse learner groups and communities. We now need to do more focused research speaking to children and young people to try to uncover the reasons behind these differences and – building on what we already know - develop an educational approach that addresses them. 

If you could make one change in the world today, what would it be?

Without a doubt, I would mandate weekly arts-in-nature experiences for all children and young people in school, whatever their age and background. I have no doubt that this would have a significant, positive impact on both their wellbeing and also – through increased nature connection and pro-environmental behaviour – the wellbeing of the planet. The likely secondary positive effects on school attendance, children and young people’s sense of belonging within the school community, and their engagement with learning across the curriculum, would be an added bonus.