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As a society, we often focus on the tangible consequences a looming development project but we seldom ask about emotions.

Seeing the gap, IWF and Fenner School student Zoe Duffin-Pruksapun explored this topic during her honours year. Her research focused on the New South Wales Government’s proposal to extend the Wyangala Dam in the Lachlan Valley, and how the local community experienced environmental emotions relating to the project.

Her topic evolved organically, a synergy of her double degrees in psychology and environmental studies and her passion for both these fields.

“One year out from graduating, I asked myself, where am I going with this? And then I found something called environmental psychology that focused on how people relate to their environment. It was this human component of building a sustainable planet that really appealed to me.”

A mutual contact introduced Zoe to IWF fellow Dr Carina Wyborn who soon became her honours supervisor. Dr Wyborn helped to nurture her growing interests in topics like ecological grief.

“I grew up reading Jane Goodall and Diane Fossey where the focus is on behaviour. To dive deeper into the emotional motivations behind this kind of behaviour was an unexpected journey but really fascinating.”

Zoe’s research uncovered two key findings. First, she found that participants experienced a sense of injustice related to the decision-making processes behind the proposal to extend the dam. Second, participants tended to discount their emotional responses, in favour of intellectual reasoning. This was explained in part by participants’ coping strategies, and may reflect a wider Western sociocultural stimga around strong emotional reactions.

“Injustice was a huge component of why people felt certain ways about the environment.”

“People tend to not want to talk about their emotions. Everyone who spoke to me had an agenda and it was as if they didn't want to come across as emotional because their arguments for thinking in a certain way wouldn't be as valid if they were.”

According to Zoe, this kind of work highlights a space for emotionality in environmental decision making.

“When a major project like a dam is proposed, most of the time a community’s connection to their natural environment and their emotional reactions to change is not considered in the decision-making process, leaving them to feel overlooked and unheard.”

Zoe argued that greater consideration of environmental emotions could prevent feelings of marginalisation and alienation, in doing so helping governments, the media, and environmental advocates to support community resilience and mental health in times of change.

After completing her Honours thesis in 2021, Zoe started a graduate position at a consultancy that supports businesses to build sustainable practices. It was a presentation about her thesis that helped her land the job.

After a fulfilling ANU honours year experience, Zoe urges other environmental studies students to consider topics focusing on water from an interdisciplinary perspective.

“Even if you don’t know exactly what the topic will look like when you’re starting out, just stick with it and it will eventually take form.”

“Merging disciplines can help to reveal gaps in the typical approach, and in doing so make way for real and positive change.”

Interested in honours reserach at the IWF? Contact us for more information.