The Sydney Environment Institute is thrilled to announce the latest round of recipients for its Collaborative Grants Scheme, providing seed funding to three new projects in 2026.
Socioeconomic and ethnic inequalities in impact of temperature extremes on cardiovascular disease in Australia and the Netherlands
This project team including Associate Professor Fiona Stanaway (Faculty of Medicine and Health), Professor Geoff Morgan (Faculty of Medicine and Health), Mr Joseph Van Buskirk (Faculty of Medicine and Health), Dr Shamila Haddad (School of Architecture, Design and Planning) and Associate Professor Ying Zhang (Faculty of Medicine and Health) will examine inequities in the impact of climate change driven temperature extremes on hospitalisation and mortality for cardiovascular disease.
The project will look at inequities related to socioeconomic position, geographical location, ethnicity, migration status and visa class, and housing characteristics. This aim of this research is to identify key subgroups in the population, experiencing the greatest impacts of temperature extremes, and help communities adapt to increasing temperatures and build resilience against climate-related health risks.
Corals as Kin: Augmented Storytelling for Multispecies Justice
Led by Professor Maria Byrne (Faculty of Science), Professor Danielle Celermajer (Faculty of Arts and Social Science), Dr Shawna Foo (Faculty of Science), Dr Luke Hespanhol (School of Architecture, Design and Planning), Professor Eduardo Vellosso (Faculty of Engineering), Dr Brandon Syiem (Faculty of Engineering), and Professor Jakelin Troy (DVC-ISS) will explore the use of coral stress imagery, especially fluorescent shifts and bleaching trajectories, as ecological indicators, decision making evidence and ethical testimonies.
The project aims to transform how reef collapse is understood and governed by using archival and new imagery working with marine scientists, augmented reality (AR) experts and justice scholars, to co-interpret these signals into policy-ready visual evidence and immersive communication tools.
Health Outcomes of Home Energy Upgrades: Addressing Climate Inequalities in Australia
This project aims to improve the thermal conditions in housing, while safeguarding communities in Sydney during extreme weather events that may disrupt energy services. The team including Dr Shamila Haddad (School of Architecture, Design and Planning), Associate Professor Arianna Brambilla (School of Architecture, Design and Planning), Associate Professor Emma Heffernan (School of Architecture, Design and Planning), Professor Kees van Gool (Faculty of Medicine and Health) and Associate Professor Philip Haywood (Faculty of Medicine and Health), will create an online public platform to support inclusive climate action by modelling district energy use, identifying low-income and at-risk areas and populations, and guide targeted energy efficiency updates to reduce energy burden and improve health and housing equity in a climate changing world.
Multispecies indoor environments and planetary health: Where are the animals in hot weather and heat extremes?
Co-funded with the School of Architecture, Design and Planning, this project will explore the interconnections between heat stress for humans and companion animals, and the impact of thermal indoor environments in a climate changing world.
Dr Daniel Ryan (School of Architecture, Design and Planning), Dr Natasha Rooney (Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences), Professor Warrick Anderson (Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences), Dr Cicilia Muller (Faculty of Science), Dr Peta Mcarthur (Faculty of Science), Dr Nicolle Kirkwood (Faculty of Science), Dr Thomas Parkinson (School of Architecture, Design and Planning), and Associate Professor Michelle Campbell-Ward (Faculty of Science) will use a multispecies approach to develop multidisciplinary knowledge, and engage with communities on climate change impacts on the environments of companion animals.
From Apiaries to Academia: Tackling diverse environmental challenges through collaborative tree phenology research
Co-funded with the Faculty of Science, Dr Alison Peel (Faculty of Science), Dr Rohan Simkin (Faculty of Science), Dr Jianni Tien (Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences), and Dr Kenya Fernandes (Faculty of Science) will integrate intergenerational community knowledge on the timing and extent of flowering in native trees, to better understand seasonal flowering patterns.
The project will conduct a qualitative, deliberative and collaborative co-design workshop with key stakeholders (researchers, apiarists, government agencies, forestry representatives) to inform future research that can capture the diverse forms of knowledge that lay outside traditional scientific studies. This will help create knowledge to support biodiversity, community wellbeing, the apiary and timber industries, and mitigate viral emergence from bats.
Header image: Red-tailed black cockatoos by Stephen Mabbs on Unsplash