Media Releases and Opportunities

The impacts of climate change are diverse and far-reaching, including everything from fire and sea level rise to erosion and flooding. For some, those risks can lead to the difficult decision to pack up their home and permanently relocate.

While researchers continue to study threats linked to climate change, some are also looking at people's emotional response to relocation and the disruption to connections they have to the places where they live, known as 'place attachments.'

Robin Willcocks-Musselman, a PhD student in the School for Resource and Environmental Studies at Dalhousie University, has launched a study that will examine the experiences of Atlantic Canadians who have moved due to climate change-induced risks.

The research will explore the nature of place attachment during the relocation process to better understand the stress and sense of loss it can cause, with the goal of supporting the mental health and well-being of people going through the process.

The study is recruiting people 19 or older who live in Atlantic Canada, and who have moved due to climate risks. Participants would do a 30 to 45-minute online call and an in-person interview.

Willcocks-Musselman is available to discuss the project and how there will be a greater need to support people who have relocated as climate change forces more retreats from high-risk areas.

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Media contact:

Alison Auld
Senior Research Reporter
Dalhousie University
Cell: 1-902-220-0491
Email: alison.auld@dal.ca