LOL Lab Member at EnviroCon 2026

On March 20, 2026, LOL MA student Ashley Rodrigues (School and Applied Child Psychology) presented her research at Western University's EnviroCon 2026. The event brought undergraduate, graduate, and faculty researchers from various disciplines at universities across Ontario together to share their work and engage with community members involved in sustainability and pro-environmental initiatives.  

Ashley presented a 10-minute talk which summarized her undergraduate thesis findings. Students' qualitative experiences with eco-anxiety (a chronic fear of environmental doom driven by climate change) were discussed as they related to their anxiety-driven or pro-environmental behaviours.  The findings of this project contribute to the emerging research on climate anxiety, youth pro-environmental engagement, and resilience.  

Ashley intends to expand this research in the LOL lab, where she will investigate the psychological drivers of these pro-environmental behaviours, bridging the gap between individual eco-anxiety and collective action. Her upcoming work will leverage the lab’s behavioural focus to operationalize nature-based and community interventions, moving from qualitative observations toward developing specific, actionable models for youth coping with climate-related distress. 

Congrats to Ashley on sharing her work with the academic and broader community!