Researchers from UCRH were among a group of academics who gathered in Sydney earlier this week for the University of Sydney Climate Research Forum.
Representing UCRH at the Forum was leading Aboriginal health and climate researcher Associate Professor Veronica Matthews; Professor of Rural Health Ross Bailie; climate change adaptation and disaster researcher Rebecca McNaught; Senior Research Fellow Dr Jo Longman and Aboriginal health systems Research Fellow Talah Laurie.
A genuine university-wide collaboration, the Forum bought together representatives as diverse as those from the Institute for Transport and Logistics Studies, the Marine Studies Institute, School of Architecture, Design and Planning and the Sydney Institute of Agriculture. Health experts were also well represented, with colleagues from the Brain and Mind Centre, Heat and Health Research Centre and more joining UCRH’s team who attended.
One of the key purposes of the Climate Research Forum was to support the development of multidisciplinary teams working on complex climate related issues and to support climate researchers to build the relationships that will allow them to more powerfully achieve their research goals. With that in mind, the Forum showcased a diverse range of examples of the work being done across the University around climate change.
For example, the session co-hosted by UCRH focused mental health impacts of climate change. Co-hosted with Brain and Mind Centre; Ecological Emotions Research Lab and CREATE Centre, the session was an interactive workshop exploring various mental health impacts of climate change and diving into methodologies for improving mental well-being.
Across the day, the content was engaging and inspiring, with key insights including the need to be creative around communicating research outputs, the value that can be gained from local and community knowledge and the importance of drawing on different skills across disciplines at different stages of problem solving.
