Exploring How Informal and Structured Environmental Engagement Opportunities Support Distance Learning Student Wellbeing and Sense of Belonging

Project leader(s):  Harriet Marshall Yvonne Chakraborty

• Theme:  Supporting students
• Project faculties:  STEM
• Status:  Current
• Date:  February 2026 to July 2026

Focusing on OU students studying environment-related modules, this pilot study will investigate how community engagement can act as an empowering intervention for all students, particularly for those facing eco-anxiety. 

Eco-anxiety has been reported among students across multiple disciplines but is particularly high in student studying environmental subjects at The Open University (Patent, et al., OU 2024) with the authors recommending further exploration of supportive interventions for this cohort. Additionally, emerging scholarship suggests that eco-anxiety is influenced by the wider social and political contexts in which environmental issues are encountered (Hallmark, 2025) which are themselves subject to ongoing change and uncertainty. The idea of supportive spaces for discussing environmental issues, addressing ecoanxiety and motivating constructive responses (‘climate cafes’) are becoming established (De Jong et al 2025). In the distance learning context, these spaces could be established online to provide support and facilitate sharing of experience, knowledge and coping strategies, with the aim of building community and positively influencing students’ wellbeing.     

This project will investigate the impact of structured discussion opportunities through the research question: 

1. What role do School-wide online discussion sessions on environmental themes play in building supportive communities and influencing students’ mental wellbeing?

The project will use the existing EEES community space to run co-student moderated discussions for students around environmental themes and collect data around impacts on students’ mental well-being. 

Anticipated outcomes from this pilot study include  data on the impact of such structured discussions on eco-anxiety scores, student wellbeing and sense of community, and recommendations on the most effective formats for engaging students and having meaningful discussions. 

This information could be used to determine the viability of larger scale trial on application of this approach, with a view to formal establishment of online community engagement sessions in the School of EEES. If successful, the model could be applied more widely across the University. 

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