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Academic

Research Affiliations

  • 2018 - Present

    • Adjunct Faculty, School of Environmental Studies, University of Victoria, Canada

  • 2018 - 2019

    • Visiting Scholar at Stanford University in the Graduate School of Education, USA

  • 2011 - 2016

    • Adjunct Principal Research Fellow, Centre for Research and Innovation in Sustainability Education, The Cairns Institute, James Cook University, Australia.

  • 2002-2004

    • Educational Researcher, Center for Education, Diversity and Excellence (CREDE), U.S. Department of Education, Office of Educational Research and Improvement, National Institute on the Education of At-Risk Students., USA 

CV

elin kelsey, PhD 

elinkelsey@gmail.com 

https://www.elinkelsey.org/ 

As an environmental journalist, author, communicator and academic, I work in collaboration with institutions, organizations and media outlets to engage people with solutions to climate change and biodiversity loss. I am a leading proponent for evidence-based hope and solutions-focused communications in response to the climate crisis. My work explores the reciprocal relationships between humans and the more than human world, particularly in relation to resilience in social-ecological systems; the implications of the narrative of doom and gloom on agency, empowerment and engagement; how inequality and other social justice issues shape the emotional toll of climate disruption; the integration of solutions journalism into biodiversity and climate change communications; and children’s environmental literature.

Academic Publications

  • Kelsey, E. (in process). Why Evidence-based Hope is Critical to Meaningful Climate Engagement in an Age of Doomism. In S. van den Heuvel & A. Scioli (Eds.), The Oxford Compendium of Hope. Oxford University Press. 

  • Kelsey, E. (2023). Why I Sleep Outside. Springs. Rachel Carson Center for Environment and Society. Munich, Germany. 

  • Kelsey, E. (2021) Celebrations of Resilience. In M. Oziewicz, B. Attebery and T. Dědinová (Eds.) Fantasy and Myth in the Anthropocene: Imagining Futures and Dreaming Hope in Literature and Media. Bloomsbury Academic, London. UK. 

  • Kelsey, E. (2016). Propagating Hope. Emotions and Environmental Education. Canadian Journal of Environmental Education, 21. 

  • Kelsey, E., (Ed.) (2014). Beyond Doom and Gloom: An Exploration through Letters. RCC Perspectives, 6. 

  • Ardoin, N.M., Gould, R.K., Fielding-Singh, P. & Kelsey, E. (2014). Collaborative and Transformational Leadership in the Environmental Realm. Journal of Environmental Policy & Planning, 17(3), 360–380. DOI: 10.1080/1523908X.2014.954075 

  • Kelsey, E. (2013). Circumnavigating Hope. 3rd International Marine Protected Areas Congress Proceedings. Marseille, France. 

  • Kelsey, E. and Armstrong, C. (2012). Finding Hope in a World of Environmental Catastrophe. In A. Wals and P.B. Corcoran (Eds). Learning for Sustainability in Times of Accelerating Change (187–200). Wageningen Academic Publishers’ Education and Sustainable Development Series, NL. 

  • Kelsey, E and Zeyer, A. (2012). Environmental Education in a Cultural Context. In M. Brody, J. Dillon, B. Stevenson & A. Wals. (Eds.) International Handbook of Research in Environmental Education (206–213). AERA/LEA. 

  • Ardoin, N.M., Clark, C.R., & Kelsey, E. (2012). An Exploration of Future Trends in Environmental Education Research. Environmental Education Research, 19(4). DOI: 10.1080/13504622.2012.709823 

  • Kelsey, E. (2011). Nurturing hope, happiness and resiliency in a time of environmental despair. Sixth World Environmental Education Congress Proceedings. Brisbane, Australia. 

  • Kelsey, E. (2011). Nurturing hopeful narratives in the age of climate change and environmental despair. Invitational Seminar on Climate Change Education Proceedings. Cairns, Australia. 

  • Kelsey, E. (2011). How Do We Sustain Educators, Environmentalists, and Students in the Gloomy World of Climate Change? American Education Research Association Annual Proceedings. New Orleans, Louisiana. 

  • Kelsey, E. and Dillon, J. (2010). If the public knew better, they would act better: Challenging the myth of the ignorant public. In R. Stevenson and J. Dillon (Eds). Engaging Environmental Education, Learning Culture and Agency (99–110). Rotterdam: Sense. 

  • Kelsey, E. (2010). Teaching climate change from a hopeful perspective. European Council of International Schools Conference Proceedings. Nice, France. 

  • Kool, R. & Kelsey, E. (2006). Dealing with despair: The psychological implications of environmental issues. In W.L. Filho & M. Salomone (Eds). Innovative Approaches to Education for Sustainable Development. Peter Lang Publishing. 

  • Kelsey, E. (2006) Conversations about conservation: conversation-based learning theory and the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s volunteer guide program. American Education Research Association Annual Proceedings. San Francisco, CA. 

  • Kelsey, E. (2003). Constructing the Public: Implications of the discourse of international environmental agreements on conceptions of education and public participation. Environmental Education Research. 9(4). 

  • Kelsey, E. (2003). Integrating Multiple Knowledge Systems into Environmental Decision-making: Two Case Studies of Participatory Biodiversity Initiatives in Canada and their Implications for Conceptions of Education and Public Involvement. Environmental Values, 12. The White Horse Press. 

  • Kelsey, E (2003). Conversations about Conservation: An Evaluation of Guide/Guest Interactions and Guide Training at the Monterey Bay Aquarium. The Informal Learning Review. No. 62. 

  • Kelsey, E. (2002). Implications of the Nation-State System on Public Involvement in Environmental Problem-Solving. In: F. Biermann, R. Brohm, & K. Dingwerth, (Eds) Proceedings of the 2001 Berlin Conference on the Human Dimensions of Global Environmental Change: Global Environmental Change and the Nation State. PIK Report No. 80, Potsdam: Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research. 

  • Kelsey, E. (2001). Reconfiguring public involvement: Conceptions of “education” and “the public” in international environmental agreements. Doctoral Thesis, King’s College London, London, England. 

  • Kelsey, E. (2001). Spontaneous Interpretation of Real Life Events: An Innovation in Conservation Education. Journal of the International Zoo Educators Association, 37. 

  • Kelsey, E. (2000). Real-life events: a new approach to zoo interpretation. Interpretation Journal, 5(3), 8–10. 

  • Kelsey, E. (2000). Common themes across a varied geography: A first look at theory and practices of biodiversity education in Canada. In W. A. Kent & S. Jackson (Eds.), Geography and Environmental Education: International Perspectives, 163–8. London: Institute of Education, University of London. 

  • Dillon, J., Kelsey, E. & Duque-Aristizabal, A. M. (1999). Identity and Culture: theorising emergent environmentalism. Environmental Education Research, 5(3), 395–405. 

  • Kelsey, E. (1998). Biodiversity Education, Awareness and Training in Canada. In Public Education and Awareness: How to put it into Practice. Global Biodiversity Forum Proceedings. Switzerland: IUCN. 

  • Kelsey, E. (1998). Conceptions of “Education” and “the Public” in International Environmental Agreements. In M. Meheut & G. Rebmann (Eds) Theory, Methodology and Results of Research in Science Education. 102–5. Marley-le-Roi, France: ESERA. 

  • Kelsey, E. (1996). Contemporary Approaches for Public Participation-Based Conservation and their Implications for the Canadian Museum of Nature. Biodiversity News, 5, 13–8. 

  • Kelsey, E. & Nightingale, J. (1995). The Role of Partnerships in Implementing a New Marine Protected Area: A Case Study of Whytecliff Park. In: N. L. Shackell & J. H. Willison (Eds), Marine Protected Areas and Sustainable Fisheries. Science and Management of Protected Areas Association. Nova Scotia, Canada. 

  • Kelsey, E. (1994). An Alternative Paradigm for Conservation Education: Innovations in the Public Presentation of Killer Whales at the Vancouver Aquarium. Unpublished Master’s Thesis, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC. 

  • Kelsey, E. (1991). Conceptual change and killer whales: constructing ecological values for animals at the Vancouver Aquarium. International Journal of Science Education, 13(5), 551–9. 

  • Kelsey, E. & Wright, C. (1990). “After the show”: New developments in the training and interpretation of killer whales at the Vancouver Aquarium. IMATA proceedings. 150–156. DeVilbiss Printers: Baltimore. 

  • Kelsey, E. (1989). Parameters for Consideration in the Planning and Design of a New Exhibit—Arctic Canada. Visitor Studies: Theory, Research and Practice Volume 2. 140–8. Jacksonville, AL: Center for Social Design. 

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