Dr Carla Mateus, Assistant Professor in the Geography Department at Maynooth University, has received a Public Engagement Grant from the European Geosciences Union (EGU) to undertake the project Prison talks: bringing climate change conversations into the Irish prisons.
This climate change outreach project will have a transformative role by providing values, knowledge, and skills to help individuals reach their full potential, motivate for positive citizenship, develop social responsibility and personal transformation, increase well-being and a sense of community and belonging to live more successfully on release. This project aims to raise awareness of climate change among prisoners, a hard-to-reach audience who don’t have much access to science outreach activities. As part of this project, Dr Carla Mateus will visit the Irish prisons to deliver talks and have climate change conversations with the prisoners. A minimum of two talks will be delivered per prison. The prisoners attending the talks will do so voluntarily.
The EGU Public Engagement Grants are awarded to EGU members to develop an outreach project to raise awareness of geosciences outside the scientific community. These grants celebrate and recognise excellent science communication in the earth, planetary and space sciences. The awardees receive a grant of €1500 to undertake the project. In addition, the grant winners will receive one free registration to attend the EGU General Assembly in Vienna the year following the receipt of their grant to present on their projects.
The EGU Public Engagement Grants have been announced by EGU: https://www.egu.eu/news/1125/egu-public-engagement-grants-2024-winners-announced/