Browsing by Author "Cumming R"

Now showing 1 - 4 of 4
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    How does learning about the future of the ocean impact children's emotional wellbeing? Insights from ocean literacy educators in Aotearoa New Zealand
    (John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of British Ecological Society, 2023-09-04) Murray L; Breheny M; Cumming R; Erueti B; Mooney M; Nash KL; Severinsen C; Shanly J; Roy H
    1. Four decades of research on the health effects of ‘connection to nature’ identifiesmany wellbeing advantages for young people. Yet this literature has developedlargely without reference to biophysical evidence about mass biodiversity loss,the degradation of marine environments and climate change. 2. As these interlocking planetary crises progress, children will be more likely to witnessthe marine environments they learn about degrade or disappear as they grow up. 3. Improving ocean literacy is important to protect marine environments into thefuture. However little is known about how learning about ocean degradation af-fects young people's emotional wellbeing. 4. We undertook qualitative research to investigate how ocean literacy educators inAotearoa New Zealand view the content they deliver in relation to the emotionalwellbeing of young people. 5. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 21 key informants from non-government organisations (NGOs), Ministry of Education funded programmes,university-community partnerships, youth-led initiatives and local and nationalmuseums and aquariums. Transcripts were analysed using the six steps of Braunand Clarke's (2022) reflexive thematic analysis. 6. Ocean literacy education was described as positively affecting young people'semotional wellbeing through interactive experiences in coastal environments.These provided opportunities for experiencing wonder, curiosity and a sharedsense of connection and belonging. 7. Educators reported witnessing distress and overwhelm in young people whensome information was delivered. This resulted in educators ‘not focusing on thenegative’ and moving straight to solutions young people could take part in. 8. Our findings provide opportunities for re-imagining ocean literacy education asa space for promoting mental wellbeing, especially when young people have theopportunity to be part of collective experiences that promote joy and wonder. 9. Intergenerational solutions where young people can be supported to take actionwith adults who work in solidarity with them are also recommended. 10. Further research into how educators can be resourced to acknowledge and fa-cilitate support around young people's negative emotional responses (such asgrief, overwhelm and anxiety) is required.
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    Plastic Pollution and Waste Colonialism
    Peryman M; Cumming R; Farrelly T; Ngata T; Fuller S; Borrelle S
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    Plastic Pollution as Waste Colonialism in Aotearoa New Zealand
    (Ocean Nexus Centre and Nippon Foundation, 2021-11-19) Peryman M; Cumming R; Farrelly T; Ngata T; Sascha F; Stephanie B
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    Representations of Youth Climate Anxiety: A Framing Analysis of Emotional Responses to the Climate Crisis in International News Media
    (Taylor and Francis Group, 2025-06-02) Murray L; Breheny M; Cumming R; Doig T; Erueti B; Mooney M; Severinsen C; Shanly J
    Reports of children feeling distressed, anxious, or angry about the impacts of climate change have appeared in the international news media with increasing frequency since 2019. There is international evidence that young people are increasingly worried about climate change, and such distress negatively affects their daily lives. The ways that such distress is framed in public discourse vary widely. We conducted a framing analysis of 274 articles from the international news media (published between 2019 and 2021) to explore how the media frames young peoples' emotional reactions to the climate crisis. Our findings revealed three key frames: (1) Climate distress as inevitable “teen angst” fueled by activists and the media. (2) Climate distress as an appropriate response to a genuine threat, and (3) Climate distress as embodied social suffering caused by societal inaction on climate change. These framings of negative emotional responses to climate change have implications for public health responses to youth mental health in a changing climate. Framing distress in terms of social suffering brings about productive possibilities for social change. This framing avoids pathologizing widely felt experiences, builds empathy between generations, and situates young people's mental distress in the context of their present and unfolding social milieu.