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Is Environmental Psychology Research Fit for Purpose
Environmental challenges such as climate change and biodiversity loss demand effective responses from individuals, communities, organisations, and governments. Environmental psychology has an important role to play in understanding these challenges and identifying pathways towards change. Yet a persistent question remains: how can we ensure that our research is relevant, useful, and ultimately translated into meaningful societal impact?
This pre-conference will bring together researchers, practitioners, and others interested in environmental psychology to explore how the field can better connect with policy and practice, and how engagement with communities and practitioners can help shape more relevant and impactful research.
The programme will feature two invited talks from Prof. Iain Walker and Dr. Simon Lambert, followed by a panel discussionbringing together Prof. Walker, Dr. Lambert, Dr. Bella Zanin, and Prof. Matthew Hornsey. Together, the speakers and panelists will offer perspectives from environmental psychology, Indigenous environmental management, science communication, policy, and research–practice collaboration. There will also be a networking opportunity, providing space to build connections, and explore new collaborations.
This event is open to anyone interested in environmental psychology and its real-world impact, at any career stage. Whether you are a student, early-career researcher, established academic, practitioner, community researcher, or simply interested in how environmental psychology can become more useful outside academia, we invite you to join the discussion.
Speakers: Simon Lambert, Iain Walker
Panelists: Simon Lambert, Iain Walker, Bella Zanin, Matthew Hornsey
Prof. Iain Walker
Iain Walker has spent more than four decades doing research on a range of topics in social and environmental psychology. Most recently, he has been involved with colleagues in research looking at resilience and cohesion following bushfires, responses to climate change and environmental degradation, the relationships between environmental and human health, how humans anticipate living in a warmer world, racism and allyship, organ donation, and communicating the science of synbio. He has recently finished editing the forthcoming Handbook of Environmental Psychology. Iain is currently a professor of psychology at the University of Melbourne, where he was formerly the Director of the Melbourne Centre for Behaviour Change in the School of Psychological Sciences. He has also been Professor and Head of School at the Australian National University, the University of Canberra, and Murdoch University. He spent several years working at the CSIRO, where he was Research Group Leader of the Social and Behavioural Sciences Group, and then Research Program Leader of the Social and Economic Sciences Program. His PhD is from the University of California at Santa Cruz, and his undergraduate degrees from Flinders University and the University of Adelaide. He is a fellow of SPSSI and SPSP.
Dr. Simon Lambert
Simon Lambert belongs to the Ngāi Tūhoe and Ngāti Ruapani mai Waikaremoana iwi in Te Urewera, central North Island. He has a Masters in Geography from the University of Canterbury (NZ) and a PhD in economic geography from Lincoln University (NZ). His research focuses on Indigenous environmental management, conservation, biosecurity, disaster risk reduction and emergency management. He is the Chief Scientist for Te Tira Whakamātaki, the only national Māori environmental NGO, since 2022.
Simon was Associate Professor of Indigenous Studies at the University of Saskatchewan, Canada from 2017 to 2023 and remains an Adjunct Professor with the Department of
Indigenous Studies. He was the inaugural Chief Science Advisor Māori for the Ministry for the Environment, 2023-24, and sits in several advisory committees advocating for Māori and other Indigenous communities in research that supports Indigenous aspirations.
Dr. Bella Zanin
Bella is an environmental communications and engagement specialist who is happiest in the ocean or the mountains. She has fought for the protection of coral reefs in the Red Sea, helped implement chemicals and waste policy at the United Nations, and advised the UK Government on climate change public engagement. Most recently, Bella worked as the Policy and Knowledge Exchange Manager at the Centre for Climate Change and Social Transformations (CAST), where she liaised between researchers and key decision-makers to translate scientific evidence into real-world impact.
Prof. Matthew Hornsey
Matthew Hornsey is a social psychologist at the University of Queensland Business School. Throughout his career he has worked to develop models equipped to understand the logic behind supposedly “irrational” behaviour, and used them to facilitate positive social change. His most recent work focuses on understanding (and reducing) people’s motivations to reject scientific consensus, including the psychology of conspiracy theories, vaccination hesitancy, and climate inaction. Supported by an ARC Laureate Fellowship, Matthew co-leads the Net Zero Observatory, a multi-disciplinary group of academics and practitioners who design strategies to accelerate industry action and community support for rapid decarbonisation
The organising team comprises Chris Klebl, Maddie Judge, Boryana Todorova, David Cheney, Susilo Wibisono, and Taciano Milfont.
If you have any questions, please contact the organising team through the ANZEP email address:
To register for the preconference, please fill out the form here: https://uniofqueensland.syd1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_cwmZGbwAqUxN2iW
For updates and further information, please visit:
https://sasp.org.au/events/conference/sasp-2026-conference/