Jennifer Atkinson presents research on eco-anxiety, climate grief and pretraumatic stress

IAS faculty member Jennifer Atkinson presented her research on eco-anxiety, climate grief and pretraumatic stress at the Association for Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education. Speaking to an audience of climate educators, students, university administrators and environmental justice activists, her panel shared emerging research in higher education showing that young people carry an increasing emotional response of fear, anger, frustration, and sadness in response to climate disruption.

College faculty and staff can help students develop strategies to navigate the emotional toll of climate chaos without becoming overwhelmed, as Atkinson explained in her talk.

She was joined by two other panelists: Krista Hiser, Director for Sustainability across Curriculum for the University of Hawaii's ten-campus system, and Judy Twedt, a University of Washington climate scientist turned data sound artist who transforms climate data sets into music.