About the project

This research project explores what people in Scotland think and feel about climate change, in particular in relation to the difficult emotions or mental health and wellbeing impacts that may be associated with a changing climate. We’re interested in seeing what we can learn from stories people write about climate change, and whether these generate new insights that might be missed in other types of research into climate emotions.

The research aims to answer questions such as:

• What stories do people in Scotland write about climate change, and are these different from the kinds of stories we read in the media?
• What can these stories tell us about how people in Scotland think and feel about climate change?
• Can writing stories about climate change help manage feelings of distress around climate change, and/or does this lead to pro-environmental action?
• How can people’s stories about climate change impact on the way climate organisations understand and respond to the Scottish public?

There are several ways to take part in this research project:

Write a story

We’re inviting people from around Scotland to write a story (up to 1,000 words long) about climate change. This could be fiction or non-fiction, focus on your own experiences or be about a character you’ve made up.

You don’t need previous experience as a writer, or extensive knowledge of climate change, to take part. We aren’t assessing whether these stories are ‘good’, but are more interested in seeing as many different stories from as many different people as possible.

You can spend as much or as little time writing your story as you want to. If you’re not sure where to start, we’ve pulled together some prompts which you may find helpful, but you don’t have to use these – if there’s another story you want to tell, write whatever feels important to you.

Creative writing workshops

Between January and June 2026, we will also be running workshops on creative writing and climate change.

These will take place in Glasgow (with an existing creative writing group with Lapidus Scotland) and in Edinburgh (in partnership with the Edinburgh Communities Climate Action Network (ECCAN)). Those who submit stories via this website will also be invited to express interest in joining a series of online workshops, which will run between April and June 2026.

Participating in this part of the research will involve attending six sessions focused on writing about climate change, as well as a short online interview before and after the series of workshops.

This research project is being carried out by PhD researcher Rhiannon Bull within the School of Geographical and Earth Sciences at the University of Glasgow.

Rhiannon is a writer of fiction and narrative non-fiction who has had shorter pieces published and been shortlisted for awards. Rhiannon also has previous experience facilitating creative writing workshops both within and outwith a research context.

You can contact Rhiannon on her university email r.bull.1@research.gla.ac.uk or find out more about her work here.

If you’d like to contribute your story of climate change towards the research project, take a look at the information on what we’re looking for and how to submit a story: