I am a DPhil Student at the University of Oxford, interested in how to influence public perceptions and engagement with biodiversity and conservation. I began studying human-animal interactions during my BSc (Hons) Psychology programme at the University of Plymouth, which led me to pursue the MA Anthrozoology course at the University of Exeter. Following this, I have become involved in conservation marketing projects, where I have led studies on how portrayals of species or environmental messages may influence public behaviour.

For my DPhil research I am examining the impact of commercial video games on players’ connection to nature, as well as their support for conservation efforts. Video games have been considered a potentially valuable mode of outreach for improving conservation support, but current literature on this topic is scarce and mostly speculative. Given the urgent need to reconnect humans with nature in an increasingly urbanised world, thorough evaluation of their potential to inspire support for species protection is a promising territory for exploration.

My project is funded by EPSRC, and supervised by Dr. Diogo Veríssimo and Dr. Paul Johnson at the Wildlife Conservation Research Unit (WildCRU).

You can read my CV here.