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Human-nature relationship thesis hits the right chord
The winner of this year’s Birgit Elands Thesis Award wrote several piano pieces to explore the relationship between humans and nature.
The jury was impressed by the use of multiple methodologies by Leonoor Opstelten to illustrate different global climate and biodiversity crises discourses – from analysis of newspaper articles, focus groups and interviews to musical impressions – in her MSc thesis.
“For many people, especially young people, this period of time is not an emotionally easy time”, says the jury in its laudation. “War, climate and ecological crises can induce negative feelings including anxiety. Leonoor argues that those feelings of anxiety and loss are deeply connected to the relation we have as society with nature. As humans, we need a story that gives a sense of stability and ontological security…she connected discourses with emotions and came up with five different story lines.”
Leonoor’s thesis is titled (In)Secure in the Anthropocene. She distinguishes five different storylines showing how people cognitively and emotionally respond to current crises. She wrote short piano pieces to explore and represent each story line. Click on the QR codes at right to listen to the musical pieces. She was supervised by dr. Jelle Behagel of the Forest & Nature Conservation Policy (FNP) Group of Wageningen University. She wins 1000 Euros and will plant a tree in the Droevendaal Food Forest of Wageningen University.
In addition to the main prize, a special prize has been awarded to Catherina Ossio Tord of the Environmental Policy Group to mark the Dutch 'Year of the Forest'. Her thesis is about how to deal practically with climate and biodiversity crises, such as using carbon credits in tree-planting projects in Peru, how such market mechanisms have their disadvantages, as they reinforce the influence of governmental institution and NGOs on the land used or inhabited by local communities. A total of 14 interesting MSc theses were submitted for the award by thesis supervisors from various Dutch universities.
The award this year was presented in the Groeneveld Castle in Baarn on 21 November during the 125th anniversary of Staatsbosbeheer which organises this annual award together with FNP and NatuurCollege. The award aims to give recognition to students at Dutch universities and universities of applied sciences who can increase our understanding of human-nature relationships and the pathways to strengthen this relationship, which can contribute to inclusive transformative change.
Read more about the award here.
Photo above shows Caterina Ossio Tord (fourth from left) and Leonoor Opstelten holding their prize certificates. Flanking them are the judges and students whose theses were among the five short-listed entries.
“For many people, especially young people, this period of time is not an emotionally easy time”, says the jury in its laudation. “War, climate and ecological crises can induce negative feelings including anxiety. Leonoor argues that those feelings of anxiety and loss are deeply connected to the relation we have as society with nature. As humans, we need a story that gives a sense of stability and ontological security…she connected discourses with emotions and came up with five different story lines.”
Leonoor’s thesis is titled (In)Secure in the Anthropocene. She distinguishes five different storylines showing how people cognitively and emotionally respond to current crises. She wrote short piano pieces to explore and represent each story line. Click on the QR codes at right to listen to the musical pieces. She was supervised by dr. Jelle Behagel of the Forest & Nature Conservation Policy (FNP) Group of Wageningen University. She wins 1000 Euros and will plant a tree in the Droevendaal Food Forest of Wageningen University.
In addition to the main prize, a special prize has been awarded to Catherina Ossio Tord of the Environmental Policy Group to mark the Dutch 'Year of the Forest'. Her thesis is about how to deal practically with climate and biodiversity crises, such as using carbon credits in tree-planting projects in Peru, how such market mechanisms have their disadvantages, as they reinforce the influence of governmental institution and NGOs on the land used or inhabited by local communities. A total of 14 interesting MSc theses were submitted for the award by thesis supervisors from various Dutch universities.
The award this year was presented in the Groeneveld Castle in Baarn on 21 November during the 125th anniversary of Staatsbosbeheer which organises this annual award together with FNP and NatuurCollege. The award aims to give recognition to students at Dutch universities and universities of applied sciences who can increase our understanding of human-nature relationships and the pathways to strengthen this relationship, which can contribute to inclusive transformative change.
Read more about the award here.
Photo above shows Caterina Ossio Tord (fourth from left) and Leonoor Opstelten holding their prize certificates. Flanking them are the judges and students whose theses were among the five short-listed entries.