I’ve just returned to the UK from Plentzia Bay in the Basque Country, where I had the privilege of delivering a seminar and workshops on climate change communications for ERASMUS students attending BlueAdapt’s Summer School.

I met an inspiring group of early-career researchers from across the world, including Argentina, Bangladesh, Costa Rica, Germany, Iran, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Philippines, Rwanda, Spain, Sri Lanka, Uganda, and the USA. Their passion, curiosity and commitment to creating a healthier, fairer world left a lasting impression on me.

Below is a round-up of my presentations, and you can also look at the PDFs below:

1. Lecture: Communications and Policy Action for Climate and Health Research (Kerri Hall and Alba Godfrey)
2. Interactive Communications Workshop (Kerri Hall)

A room of confident voices

Standing in front of an international group of future researchers and leaders felt both exciting and humbling. At the start of the session, I asked everyone to move from the back of the lecture theatre to the front. It was a simple request, but it completely changed the energy in the room.

I then admitted that this was my first experience teaching university students.

The students responded with cheers and encouragement, and immediately the atmosphere became warm, supportive and collaborative.

I also chose to be honest about my own experience. I shared that I had recently started therapy to help manage my climate anxiety. After a period of feeling overwhelmed by climate change and struggling with fears about the future, I found my way back through optimism, community and action.

I wanted to share the tools, ideas and stories that helped me reconnect with optimism, because these students are supporting the generations most affected by climate change.

A Journey to 2030

We began with a video from writer and activist Rob Hopkins, who invites audiences to “time travel” to the year 2030.

In his imagined future, humanity has done everything possible to tackle the climate crisis. Rivers teem with fish, cities are greener, air is cleaner and cycling highways connect communities. Hopkins reflects on how, when he focused only on the destruction caused by climate change, people often reacted with fear and disengagement. But when he began describing hopeful and achievable futures, people leaned in and wanted to hear more.

This became a central theme of the session: optimism can be a powerful motivator for action.

Thoughtfulness matters

Next came a practical communication exercise inspired by Eoh for Good.

Pretending to be a hungry alien, I asked a volunteer student to explain how to spread butter on a slice of bread. As they carefully gave instructions, I deliberately misunderstood them, plunging the knife into the butter block and wiping it awkwardly across the bread.

The exercise was light-hearted, but it carried an important message: as communicators, we often assume our audience shares our knowledge and understanding. Effective communication requires us to view information through the eyes of the receiver rather than the sender.

Researchers spend years immersed in specialist knowledge. The challenge is learning how to make that knowledge accessible and meaningful to everyone else.

Why optimism encourages action

One of my favourite resources is the Positive Communications Toolkit, which offers practical techniques for framing environmental communication in ways that inspire engagement rather than helplessness.

The toolkit contrasts messages focused solely on doom and loss with those that highlight solutions, progress and opportunities for collective action. While the challenges facing our planet are real, people are more likely to engage when they can see a pathway forward. Optimism doesn’t ignore the scale of the challenge; it recognises that solutions exist and that collective action can make a difference.

As Conservation Optimism explains: “Conservation Optimism is built on the belief that securing our planet’s future hinges on as many people around the world as possible stepping up to take action for nature.”

Throughout the session, we discussed why optimism is not about ignoring problems. Instead, it is about communicating challenges honestly while also highlighting solutions, innovation and the remarkable work already being done around the world.

I also shared some of the reasons I feel optimistic today: the growing number of people working across disciplines to address climate and health challenges, the creativity of communities finding local solutions, and the commitment of young researchers like those attending the Summer School.

Art, nature and empathy

Communication is not always about facts and figures. Art and nature can help us to connect to a topic on a deeper level, especially in a room full of strangers.

As artist, researcher and educator Red explains: “Neuroscience tells us that our brains respond faster to visual images; this allows us to feel an experience and lets empathy emerge almost immediately.”

I shared examples of artists and creatives who are communicating climate and health research in powerful and unexpected ways. Whether through illustration, photography, installations, storytelling or performance, creative approaches can help us connect research with human experience.

Sparking Human Connection

Before the afternoon workshops began, I asked students to think about a place in nature where they feel deeply connected.

As people reflected on coastlines, forests, mountains, gardens and rivers from across the world, smiles appeared around the room. For a few moments, we were connected through shared experiences of nature despite coming from very different places and cultures.

I encouraged students to remember this feeling when communicating their own research. Creating space for human connection can often be just as important as sharing scientific evidence.

Feeling Safe and Empowered

We also discussed why climate and health communication can feel difficult.

Impacts are uncertain, future-focused and hard to visualise. Climate change affects communities differently, and researchers often worry about being challenged, saying the wrong thing or causing alarm.

The students recognised these concerns immediately.

Together, we explored how thoughtful communication can help researchers feel more confident and help audiences feel informed rather than overwhelmed.

A framework for thoughtful climate change communication

The session concluded with a simple framework that I put together that researchers can use when planning communications activities.

1. Identify Your Audience

Who needs this information? Who is most affected? Who has the power to take action?

2. Define Your Purpose

What are you trying to achieve? Are you aiming to inform, inspire, persuade, mobilise action, change behaviour or build trust?

3. Choose How to Reach People

Consider the most appropriate channels, whether that is a blog, workshop, conference presentation, social media campaign, press release, community event or one-to-one conversation.

4. Consider How People Best Absorb Information

Different audiences engage with information in different ways. Formats might include videos, podcasts, infographics, illustrations, policy briefs, music or written content.

5. Check Your Tone of Voice

Decide how you want to sound. Should your communication be approachable, compassionate, trustworthy, confident, helpful or supportive?

6. Be Sensitive to Local Context

Always consider culture, values, lived experience and vulnerability. As the students reminded me, it is not equally safe or easy for everyone around the world to discuss climate change.

7. Make Every Message Accessible

Climate communication often becomes inaccessible because it is too technical. Use clear language, avoid unnecessary jargon and explain concepts in ways that everyone can understand.

Looking ahead

The BlueAdapt Summer School left me feeling genuinely optimistic.

Not because the challenges facing our climate and health systems have become smaller, but because talented, compassionate people are dedicated to finding solutions and supporting communities around the world to adapt.

If there was one message I wanted students to take away from the session, it was this: People are far more likely to act when they can imagine a better future. Optimistic climate communication does not diminish the challenges we face, it helps people to see what is possible and empowers them to become part of the solution.

Thank you

Thank you to the BlueAdapt Summer School organisers from University of the Basque Country and BC3, and to every student who participated so openly, thoughtfully and enthusiastically. Your curiosity, compassion and commitment to creating positive change made me feel so hopeful. It is an active choice to focus on solutions, progress and the collective action needed to create a healthier future for people and the planet.

If you would like to ask me any follow up questions about this blog please contact k.l.hall@exeter.ac.uk.