Professor Victoria Palmer awarded MRFF funding

The Melbourne Medical School congratulates Professor Victoria Palmer on securing funding through the Australian Government's Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF) as part of a national initiative to address the mental health impacts of climate change.

Pictured: Professor Victoria Palmer

Professor Palmer's project, Gathering the parts, making the whole: Lost but not Forgotten, participatory ecosystems to mitigate impacts of climate change on mental health, has been awarded $1.99 million. The research will investigate how participatory art, culture and storytelling initiatives can help protect culture and Country while supporting mental health and wellbeing in communities affected by climate change.

Working with 50 remote art and cultural centres across Western Australia and the Northern Territory, alongside a national story-sharing project, the team will explore how participatory ecosystems can help mitigate eco-grief and eco-anxiety, particularly among Indigenous communities and younger generations. The project will also co-design preventative approaches to support future generations facing the impacts of climate change.

The funding forms part of a $6 million MRFF investment in three new projects that aim to improve the mental health and wellbeing of people affected by climate change, with a particular focus on First Nations communities.

Congratulations to Professor Palmer and her collaborators on this significant achievement and their contribution to advancing climate and mental health research.