The Fellows are drawn from researchers, community groups, the voluntary sector, individuals and artists from a variety of professions and disciplines.
Over a period of ten months the Fellows will form a core inter-disciplinary group to collaborate with the community and other stakeholders to consider climate change and our response to the climate emergency.
Using a co-creative and intersectional cohort model, the Fellows will look at how the scale of the planetary crisis can disempower people from feeling they can act. They will work within communities and together as a cohort to have discussions about how people usually absent from climate debates can be brought to the fore.
The new Fellows that have been appointed are:
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Yaz Brien. An activist and trainer with interests in climate justice and futures.
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Emma Geen. A disability climate justice consultant, researcher, author and activist.
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Natalie Hyacinth. A composer, researcher, cultural geographer with interests in blue environments.
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Tim Kindberg. A writer and creative technologist interested in imagined futures.
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Zakiya McKenzie. A writer, researcher, facilitator and journalist.
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Polly Meyrick. An artist, musician, activist and farm worker.
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Emmanuella Morsi. An artist, producer, researcher and innovator.
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Erika Teichert. A researcher with interests in visual culture and environmental justice.
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Iman Sultan West. An artist, poet, consultant and curator.
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Kirill Vlasov. A researcher, geochemist, climate activist and communicator.
They will explore the challenge of working together across boundaries around different lived experiences, societal challenges, disciplinary disconnection and professional practices.
Professor Debbie Watson, Brigstow Institute Director said: 'I am absolutely delighted to be welcoming this incredibly talented group of community fellows and excited to see what emerges in the process of their encounters and activities together. Tackling big societal issues such as the climate and biodiversity crises requires multiple voices and diverse forms of knowledge which we are proud to have been able to bring together through this innovative scheme'.
Professor Guy Howard, Director of the Cabot Institute for the Environment said “I am delighted to welcome our new Personal to the Planetary Fellows, who are jointly appointed by the Cabot and Brigstow Institutes. Personal to Planetary Fellows will bring a wealth of knowledge and expertise to help us to understand how can navigate the scale and complexities of environmental change at local to global scales. The initiative will create valuable time, space and freedom for the fellows to collaborate and co-create new ways of thinking about how we manage environmental change, and I am excited to see what emerges”