At Griffith, we educate communities on climate change and climate action
At Griffith, we work to raise awareness of climate risks and impacts, while equipping individuals and groups with the knowledge and tools needed for mitigation, adaptation, impact reduction, and early warning. By connecting global climate science with local realities, we foster informed action and resilience at every level, helping communities prepare for and respond to the challenges of a changing climate.
Climate change risks and impacts
Griffith is at the forefront of local education and advocacy on climate change risks and impacts, driving innovative programmes that empower communities to respond to environmental challenges. Through research-led initiatives, Griffith’s academics and partners translate complex climate science into accessible, actionable knowledge for diverse audiences. Their work spans educational campaigns, community engagement, and policy advocacy—addressing issues from coastal erosion and surf beach health to forced labour and climate justice. By fostering collaboration with local groups, industry, and government, Griffith’s projects build climate literacy, support early warning systems, and inspire proactive adaptation across Australia and the Asia-Pacific region.
Altered Tides: Creative Coastal Recreation in a Climate Changed Future is an annual initiative led by Griffith University’s Climate Action Beacon in partnership with Gecko Environment Council and SWELL Sculpture Festival. It brings together Indigenous knowledge, coastal and climate sciences, beach cultures, and the arts to support communities in responding to climate change. Through co-designed, participatory approaches—such as community storytelling, participatory filmmaking, and interactive panels—Altered Tides fosters climate literacy and civic engagement. Set within Queensland’s largest outdoor sculpture exhibition, the initiative creates space for diverse voices to explore how climate change is reshaping coastal life and how we might adapt together.
Each year, Altered Tides explores a new theme—from beach erosion and underwater ecologies to ocean custodianship—while offering PhD candidates and researchers opportunities to collaborate with communities and industry partners. These creative, cross-cultural engagements not only deepen public understanding of climate impacts but also model inclusive, arts-based approaches to environmental education and advocacy. By blending research with lived experience and creative expression, Altered Tides is helping shape a more informed, resilient, and connected response to our changing climate.
- 2026: Altered Tides: Mountains to Bay - Coming soon! Get in touch to be involved in our 2026 Altered Tides project
- 2025: Altered Tides: Our Living Shoreline
- Audio trail – published on Soundcloud
- 2024: Altered Tides: Diving Hidden Worlds
- 2023: Altered Tides: Custodians of Our Ocean
- Griffith University Youtube playlist of Custodians of Our Ocean film vignettes
The Forced Labour and Climate Change: Keeping a Focus on Women and Children project, led by Dr Amy Young, is a compelling example of a locally grounded initiative that tackled climate change risks and impacts throughout 2024. Led by Griffith University in collaboration with Indonesian partners, the project focused on coastal communities in Jakarta, Demak, Pekalongan, and Semarang—areas increasingly affected by sea-level rise, land subsidence, and tidal flooding. Through community engagement, the project raised awareness of how climate change exacerbates vulnerabilities to forced labour, particularly among women and children. It provided education on the social and environmental drivers of exploitation, while fostering local dialogue on adaptation strategies and resilience-building.
In addition to raising awareness, the project contributed to climate mitigation and early warning efforts by informing policy and legislative development. It advocated for improved infrastructure, access to healthcare, education continuity, and targeted social support to reduce the impacts of climate-related displacement. By aligning with key Sustainable Development Goals—such as Climate Action, Gender Equality, and Decent Work—the initiative demonstrates how locally tailored education and advocacy can drive meaningful change. It also highlights the importance of cross-sector collaboration, bringing together researchers, government agencies, NGOs, and community members to co-design solutions that are both locally relevant and globally significant.
The Surfrider Foundation Australia-funded project, led by Griffith University’s Dr. Gaëlle Faivre, delivered a locally focused educational initiative in 2024 examining the impacts of climate change on iconic Australian surf beaches. Through case studies of nine surf spots—including Noosa Heads, Burleigh Heads and North Narrabeen—the project translated complex climate data into accessible, site-specific insights. These studies were designed to engage local communities, surfers and coastal stakeholders in understanding how climate change affects surf quality, beach health and public safety. By combining scientific projections with visual mapping and surf culture, the project fostered awareness and dialogue around climate adaptation strategies tailored to each location.
Beyond surf-specific analysis, the project actively promoted climate literacy and community resilience. It highlighted health risks from increased rainfall and harmful algal blooms, and advocated for nature-based solutions such as dune restoration and artificial reefs. Recommendations for sustainable coastal management—including protecting key surf zones and limiting shoreline development—were framed to support local campaigns and policy advocacy. By integrating environmental science with community values, the initiative contributed to early warning education and impact reduction efforts, encouraging proactive engagement with climate risks across Australia’s coastal regions.
The Tourism Panel on Climate Change (TPCC), led by Griffith’s Professor Susan Becken from 2022 to 2024, is a leading example of a climate education initiative that connects global science with local action. Through its collaborative network of over 60 experts from more than 30 countries, TPCC produces accessible resources—including the Stocktake Report, Science Assessment, and Horizon Papers—that educate tourism stakeholders on climate change risks, impacts, and mitigation strategies. These resources are designed to support evidence-based decision-making in tourism-dependent regions, many of which are highly vulnerable to climate hazards such as sea-level rise, extreme weather, and biodiversity loss. TPCC’s work helps local communities understand the implications of climate change and empowers them to take informed action.
In addition to raising awareness, TPCC promotes adaptation, impact reduction, and early warning by identifying climate risks and resilience pathways tailored to specific destinations. Its emphasis on climate justice ensures that low-income countries and marginalised communities—often most affected by climate change—are not left behind. By fostering collaboration between academia, industry, and civil society, TPCC drives sector-wide transformation and supports the development of sustainable tourism practices. This makes TPCC a vital contributor to local climate education, equipping communities with the knowledge and tools needed to navigate and respond to the challenges of a changing climate.
Climate change mitigation and adaptation
Griffith is a leader in advancing local education and community campaigns on climate change mitigation and adaptation. Through collaborative projects across Australia and the Pacific, Griffith empowers communities to understand, prepare for, and respond to climate risks. By translating climate science into practical knowledge, delivering hands-on training, and fostering partnerships with Indigenous groups, local organisations, and government, Griffith’s initiatives build capacity for both mitigation and adaptation. These efforts not only raise climate literacy but also support early warning systems, resilience planning, and sustainable development—ensuring that local voices and knowledge are central to tackling the challenges of a changing climate.
The climate-resilient landscapes project, which ran from 2023 to 2026, is providing local education on climate adaptation by engaging communities in the Northern Rivers region of New South Wales and the Wet Tropics of Queensland. Led by Griffith University, the Jagan Alliance Aboriginal Corporation, and James Cook University, the project worked closely with local community groups, Indigenous organisations, natural resource management bodies, and government agencies to build capacity for climate adaptation planning.
Education was delivered through a series of six one-day workshops in each region, involving 30–50 participants from partner organisations. These workshops focused on recognising climate-related risks to key species and ecosystems, identifying feasible adaptation options, and developing adaptation decision pathway plans. The project also provided access to data, tools, and guidance through the NESP Land and Sea Adapt decision support platform, supporting ongoing learning and adaptation planning.
By integrating local and Traditional Knowledge, and fostering collaboration, the project empowered communities to make informed decisions and adapt to the increasing risks posed by climate change.
Find out more Read about the project at the National Environmental Science Program page
The ESRAM BIEM Vanuatu 2022-2025 project delivered local education on climate change by actively involving community members in both research and training. The project team recruited and trained local enumerators, with a focus on women and young people, to collect data and conduct household surveys. This hands-on approach not only built local research capacity but also raised awareness of climate risks and adaptation options within the community. Training was guided by Pacific research protocols and gender-inclusive toolkits, ensuring that gender, equity, disability, and social inclusion (GEDSI) were central to all activities. Community members who participated in data collection received Griffith University-endorsed credentials, recognising their new skills and knowledge. Through these efforts, the project fostered a deeper understanding of climate change impacts and adaptation strategies, empowering local people to contribute to resilience planning and sustainable development in their own communities.
This 2023-2025 research integrates Indigenous women’s knowledge with Western science to identify ecosystem-based adaptation measures that enhance community resilience to climate change. By embedding education on climate change adaptation within the research process, the project empowers communities in Aceh, West Sumatera, and Queensland with practical, culturally grounded strategies. The outcomes will provide policymakers, community leaders, and other stakeholders with valuable insights to support the development of more effective, socially just, and equitable climate change adaptation policies, strategies, and programs. The project is a collaboration between Universitas Andalas (Department of Socio-Economic Agriculture, Faculty of Agriculture) and Griffith University’s Australian Rivers Institute, led by Dr. Simone Maynard with contributions from Prof. Yonariza and Arrum Harahap.
This 2025-2026 project, led by Associate Professor Patricia Lee and colleagues, exemplified Griffith University's commitment to community engagement in building climate resilience by delivering a locally relevant initiative that assesses climate-related health risks and promotes adaptive practices within aged care environments. The project focuses on understanding and addressing the climate-related health vulnerabilities of elderly residents in residential aged care facilities operated by Anglicare Southern Queensland. It adopts a co-design, mixed-methods approach in Toowoomba and Hervey Bay to bring aged-care residents, staff, carers and families together as equal partners to assess climate-related health risks, map the adaptive resources and capacities already in place, identify gaps, explore global and local examples of mitigation and adaptation measures, address the issues in strengthening the resilience of aged-care settings and co-design practical interventions. The project aims to contribute to climate change adaptation in RAC settings by raising awareness of the specific vulnerabilities facing older Australians, sharing and disseminating knowledge of how communities can adapt, empowering participants to prioritise needs, and embedding sustainability and resilience into aged care through collaboratively developed strategies.
This 2024-2025 project, led by Dr Mujibul Anam (Griffith University) and Professor Brooke Ackerly (Vanderbilt University), focuses on understanding and amplifying the lived experiences of people in climate-affected coastal regions. The research listens to residents’ voices and examines their struggles and strategies within historical, political, and economic contexts. This approach highlights how issues such as sea-level rise, salinisation, and displacement intersect with governance challenges, inequalities of power, and broader justice concerns. By grounding analysis in community narratives, the project strengthens understandings of climate justice as it is shaped locally and draws attention to crises of governance that hinder fair and effective adaptation.
Beyond the local context, the project contributes to international debates and policy dialogue by showing why community experiences must inform climate justice advocacy. In May 2025, the researchers presented their findings at Lund University, where they explored how grounded normative theory and human rights frameworks can illuminate justice claims arising from Bangladesh’s coastal communities. Their forthcoming book, Funding Justice: A Human Rights Approach to Climate Justice, extends this contribution, calling for policy engagement that centres lived experience and governance accountability in shaping climate adaptation and resilience.
Climate change impact reduction and early warning
Griffith is making a significant impact on local education and campaigns focused on climate change impact reduction and early warning. Through collaborative projects with partners such as the Queensland Police Service and community health organisations, Griffith delivers targeted training and outreach that build capacity for disaster risk management and climate resilience. By integrating scientific research with practical education—ranging from early warning systems for police and aged care to heat-health alerts for vulnerable populations—Griffith’s initiatives empower communities to recognise risks, respond proactively, and reduce climate-related impacts. These efforts foster a culture of preparedness, supporting safer and more resilient futures across Queensland and beyond.
The Ethos Project at Griffith University, conducted during 2022 -2025, aims to enhance local awareness and knowledge on climate change by focusing on the growing risks of extreme heat for older Australians. Recognising that older adults are particularly at risk to heatwaves, the project developed an individualised, in-home heat-health early warning system, trialled in over 120 homes across Southeast Queensland. This system uses sensors to monitor indoor and outdoor conditions (temperature and humidity), providing timely alerts to help residents respond to heat risks. The system also gives the users of multiple cooling strategies which they could use based in their accessibility and acceptability.
Education and outreach are central to the project’s approach. The Ethos team has hosted community engagement activities such as international and local symposiums, world cafés, and focus groups, all aimed at raising awareness about heat-health risks, mitigation strategies, and adaptation pathways. The project has also produced educational videos to make climate science accessible to older people, carers, and the broader community. By fostering collaboration (increased communication) among researchers, policymakers, and community members, the project empowers individuals to take action (enhance their preparedness and response capacity) and supports climate justice and health equity in line with the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
Funded by the NHMRC HEAL Network and running from 2024 to 2025, this project demonstrated Griffith University's leadership in delivering community-based programmes that integrate climate/environmental science, health promotion, and social care for older Australians. Led by Associate Professor Patricia Lee and a multidisciplinary team, the initiative partnered with an aged care service provider (Communify) to co-design action plans to address climate vulnerability and health concerns in disadvantaged community-dwelling seniors. Beginning with groundwork and followed by workshops involving residents, staff, and stakeholders, the project culminated in the development of practical solutions to the issues identified by the community. Its key deliverables – analysing climate vulnerability, conducting co-design workshops, creating an action plan, and impact reduction. The initiative empowered individuals to express their needs and concerns in intensified climate change-related events and reflect on what resilience means in their own lives. The project also advocated stronger social connections, government support and more sustainable operations for providers, which are essential for healthier ageing and reducing the impacts of climate change.
Griffith University’s Centre for Environment and Population Health is leading efforts to strengthen climate resilience in the Asia-Pacific through the development and sustainable adoption of digital prediction tools for climate-sensitive infectious diseases. Between 2023 and 2028, this initiative focuses on diseases such as dengue, malaria, and cholera, which are increasingly exacerbated by climate change. The project promotes a 3-U framework—ensuring tools are useful, usable, and used—by combining high-quality data, user-centred design, and integration into national health systems. These tools provide early warnings that enable timely public health interventions, helping to reduce disease burden and protect vulnerable communities.
Importantly, the initiative also delivers local education and capacity building by engaging public health professionals, community health workers, and government agencies through training, co-design, and open-access resources. By embedding these tools into routine surveillance systems and making them accessible across languages and regions, the project supports long-term, locally led responses to climate-related health risks. This work exemplifies Griffith’s commitment to climate action, public health, and sustainable development in the region.
Contact Griffith Sustainability
Griffith Sustainability Room 2.40, Building N54, Griffith University, 170 Kessels Road, Nathan QLD, 4111