Dr Ria Dunkley
- Lecturer in Geography, Environment and Sustainability (Pedagogy, Praxis & Faith)
telephone:
0141 330 5079
email:
Ria.Dunkley@glasgow.ac.uk
663, St Andrew's Building, 11 Eldon Street, Glasgow, G3 6NH
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0238-7344Biography
Ria is a Lecturer in Geography, Sustainability and Environment at the University of Glasgow within the School of Education. She is also a Senior Visiting Fellow of the Institute of Advanced Teaching and Learning at the University of Warwick and a Research Affiliate of the Sustainable Places Research Institute at Cardiff University.
Prior to her current role, Ria developed her research into Environmental Education and Sustainable Communities through several positions, most recently as a Research Associate at the Sustainable Places Research Institute, at Cardiff University (2013-2017). She has also previously held a Research Fellowship in Education for Sustainability (2012-2013) at the University of Warwick. She was a Research Assistant at the ESRC Centre for Business, Relationships, Accountability, Sustainability and Society (BRASS), at Cardiff University (2011-2012) and from 2010-2011, Ria was lead researcher for EU and UK government-funded Education Programmes at the environmental charity, the Eden Project, Cornwall. From 2007-2009, Ria was a lecturer at Cardiff Metropolitan University. She gained her PhD and PgC-Teaching in Higher Education from the University of Wales in 2007.
Research interests
I have been investigating post-humanism and people’s relationship with the environment since 2011. My research examines how environmental crisis is driven by human relationships with the natural world. I also explore effective formal and informal pedagogies (known as ecopedagogies) that raise consciousness of these relationships, to strengthen nature connectedness and pro-environmental actions and behaviours.
I am also interested in diverse forms of knowledge creation and understanding, beyond scientific and their effects on the transmission and circulation of notions of environmental sustainability.
My expertise lies in the fields of environmental education; community-engagement in environmental and climate-related local action; and citizen science participation.
I work in an interdisciplinary manner and have collaborated on projects with educators, human geographers, psychologists, philosophy scholars, geologists, social scientists and pharmacologists. I also work closely with practitioners, including environmental education and interpretation professionals, artistic and creative practitioners.
I coordinate Spot-a-Bee, a citizen science project run as a collaboration between academics at the University of Glasgow and Cardiff University.
Grants
- Spark funder crowd funding: Spot-a-Bee: Mapping the Urban Garden Bee, January 2020-January 2022 (Awarded: £3,577.50, PI: Ria Dunkley).
- Chancellors Award, University of Glasgow: Spot-a-Bee 2.0: Gathering pharmaceutical data and enhancing environmental learning opportunities and conservation efforts through plant-based citizen science, Nov 2019-Nov 2021 (Awarded: £2,500, PI: Ria Dunkley).
- School of Education, Small project award, Spot-a-Bee 2.0: Ecopedagogy through citizen science: Spot-a-Bee 2.0: a focus upon primary education settings, February 2020-June 2020 (Awarded: £4,765.20, PI: Ria Dunkley).
- European Commission EU Development Education and Awareness Raising (DEAR): Walk the Global Walk Project, September 2017- August 2021 (Awarded 270,000 EUR, Co-I: Ria Dunkley).
- Baillie, L (PI), Dunkley, R. (Co-I); MacBridge-Stewart, S. (Co-I), Thomas, L. (Co-I). Using biodiversity research as catalyst for community based co-production studies, Public Engagement Coproduction Award, Cardiff University, September 2020- September 2021: £11,341.24
- Academic Returners and Research Support, University of Glasgow: Exploring environmental education in the context of National Parks in Scotland and the United States, June 2019-Nov 2020 (Awarded: £10,000, PI: Ria Dunkley).
- “National Coastal Change Assessment 2: Enhancing the evidence base and our ability to adapt”, Application for Research and Development Project for the Centre of Expertise for Waters (CREW), PI: Professor Jim Hansom, Co-I: Dr Larissa Naylor; Dr Ria Dunkley; Dr Martin Hurst; Dr Richard Williams (£237,774.70, December 2017).
- “Impact study, British Council school programmes in Scotland”, PI-Professor Kay Livingstone; PI: Professor Catherine Doherty, Co-I: Professor Trevor Gale; Co-I: Dr Catherine Lido; Co-I: Dr Ria Dunkley; Co-I: Dr Stephen Parker (£52,358.92, December, 2017).
- Writing workshop at the University of Stavanger on young people and gardens, University of Stavanger, Faculty of Arts and Education Project Development Grant, PI – Barbara Maria Sageidet; Co-I: Ria Dunkley; Co-I: Sylvia Almeida (20,000NOK) (October 2016)
- International interdisciplinary workshop on Environmental Governance, British Council grant to participate, University of Brasilia, Brazil, 4-8 July 2016.
- Exploring the motivations and experiences of environmental citizen scientists: A comparative study of two citizen science learning spaces, Sustainable places research institute data collection fund award (£2,975.59, PI: Ria Dunkley).
- ESRC Impact acceleration Account: Building evaluative capacity amongst outdoor learning practitioners: Enhancing user experience understanding through place-based research methodologies, January 2016 -December 2016 (Awarded ESRC £2,858.00, PI).
- Santander grant to establish a citizen science project: “spotabee.buzz” (Awarded Santander, £5,000, Co-I: Ria Dunkley & Co-I: Professor Les Baillie).
- Cardiff Undergraduate Research Opportunities Programme (CUROP) award to host placement student for research project: ‘The Campus as a Living Laboratory – sustainable place-making through visualisations’, July, 2015 (Awarded Cardiff University, £1,440, PI).
- GW4 Initiator fund: 'Sustainability, Place and Memory': An Environmental Humanities Network, 2015 (Awarded £5,106 GW4) (PI: Dr Nicola Whyte, Co-I: Ria Dunkley, Co-I, Professor Peter Coates, Co-I, Professor Axel Goodbody)
- ERASMUS+ Teaching mobility placement, Luleå University of Technology, ERASMUS 2015 (Awarded EU funds 1,480 EUR).
- Canal and Rivers Trust (CRT) – Devising a Public Benefits Outcome Framework, 2014 (Awarded CRT, £40,000) (PI: Professor Terry Marsden, Co-I: Dr. Ria Dunkley; Co-I: Dr. Alex Franklin)
- Two Cardiff Undergraduate Research Opportunities Programme (CUROP) awards to host placement student for research project: ‘The University Campus as a Living Laboratory – Exploring place-based learning approaches to Education for Sustainability’, July, 2014 (Awarded Cardiff University, £2,720, PI).
- Funding to host a HEA Seminar at Cardiff University: ‘The Campus as a Living Laboratory: Place-based Approaches to Education for Sustainability’, 2013. (Awarded HEA, £750.00) (PI).
- ‘Sensing, sense-making and sustainable place making: An arts & social science collaborative network’, 2013, (Awarded AHRC, £39,920.51) (PI: Professor Karen Henwood, Co-I: Professor Carl Lavery, Co-I, Dr Ria Dunkley, Co-I: Dr Chis Groves).
- ‘Creative Resilience through Community Imaginings’, 2013, (Awarded AHRC, £11,939) (PI: Professor Ann Light; Co-I: Dr. Carl Lavery; Co-I: Dr. Ruth Rettie; Co-I: Dr. Katrina Brown; Co-I: Dr Ria Dunkley.
- Best postgraduate presentation, in the Tourism Training Forum for Wales, Tourism Research Conference, 2005 (£200).
- University of Wales, Doctoral Scholarship, 2004-2007 (Fees & Living Stipend).
- Ian Bell Trust Award for work placement, year group’s most promising young professional, 2003 (£1,000).
Supervision
Ria has in the past supported Masters Students through their disssertations in a range of subjects within the field of human geography and education studies. She currently supervises Postgraduate students within the School of Education, through the MEd Professional Practice programme.
She currently supervised the following doctoral candidates within the School of Education:
- Brighid Golden Thesis title: Exploring the potential of development education within initial teacher education in Ireland to develop critical thinking and a commitment to social justice in its students.
- Shuqi Rao The Challenge of Unity among Diversity: A Comparative Study of National Identity Education in the Context of Globalization in China and Scotland
- Ruiqi Jiang Exploring the concept of formal environmental education: by comparing the curriculum practices in China and UK.
Ria has acted as an internal and external examiner for PhD and MRes theses at Erasmus University Rotterdamm; the University of Otago (New Zealand), La Trobe University (Australia); the University of Birmingham & Cardiff Metropolitan University.
I am happy to hear from students interested in pursuing research projects in environmental education; education for sustainability; climate change education; community-engagement in environmental and climate-related local action and citizen science.
- Affiah, Uduak
Vulnerability of the Nigerian coastal communities to climate change induced coastal hazard. - Golden, Brighid
Exploring the potential of development education within initial teacher education in Ireland to develop critical thinking and a commitment to social justice in its students - Jackson, Neil
EPSRC iCASE 2016 Green biofilters: testing multifunctional urban greening solutions that improve asset resilience and air and water quality - Jiang, Ruiqi
Exploring the concept of formal environmental education
Teaching
I teach on undergraduate and postgraduate courses in the areas of geography, environment and sustainability and am course convenor for Rethinking Education and Society at Level Three. I also act as a supervisor for dissertation students at Masters level; and supervise doctoral researchers.
Courses include: Rethinking Education and Society (Level Three); Education and Society (Level One); Education and Society (Level Four); Education Enquiry (Level 3); Education in Practice (Level 3); Education in Practice (Level Four); Social Studies (PgDE); Heritage Citizenship and Sustainability (Level Three) and Dissertation Supervision (MSc in Education Studies).
I was an Advisory Board for PhDs through the Research Excellence Initiative project "War! Popular Culture and European Heritage of Major Armed Conflicts" at the Erasmus School of History, Culture and Communication (ESHCC) (University of Rotterdam).
I am a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and gained a distinction for my PgC in Teaching in Higher Education (2007). I am also an honorary fellow of the Institute of Teaching and Learning at Warwick University (2016-2021).
Additional information
Professional Qualifications
- Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (2007).
- PRINCE2® (PRojects IN Controlled Environments), Accredited Practitioner (2012).
- Professional Certificate in Environmental Management, Institute of Environmental Management and Assessment (IEMA), Distinction (2012).
Professional Memberships
- Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society
- Member of the Royal Scottish Geographical Society
- Member of the Scottish Association of Geography Teachers
- Member of National Association for Environmental Education
- Member of Global Environmental Education Partnership
- Member of the Association of Heritage Interpretation
Academic Refereeing
Area, Environmental Science & Policy, Journal of Environmental Policy, Mobilities, Elementa: Science of the Anthropocene; Annals of Tourism Research, Journal of Tourism Management, International Journal of Tourism Research, Tourism, Routledge, Journal of Adult and Continuing Education, Leisure Studies, Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Research, International Journal of Tourism and Cultural Change, Education Research.
