Dr Katie Parsons

BEd, Education and Early Years

Pronouns: She/her
  • Research Fellow
  • Children's Geographer in Climate/Environmental Education and Adaptation
Publications
Google Scholar
Katie Parsons
  • Personal website

    • Academic Career 

    • 2023 – onwards: Research Fellow, Loughborough University. 
    • 2018 – 2023: Research Assistant (periodic & part-time), University of Hull. 
    • 2017 – 2023: PhD Researcher (part-time), University of Hull. 
    • 2013 – 2016: Undergraduate, University of Hull. 

    Professional Career 

    • 2021 – 2022 Volunteer Green Warrior Youth worker 
    • 2006 – 2009 Registered Children’s Home Manager 
    • 2002 – 2006 Assistant Manager of Children Homes 
    • 2002 – 2006 Family Advocate for Courts 
    • 2001 – 2002 Family Support Worker 
    • 1998 – 2001 Residential Social Worker 

    Other Roles 

    • 2021 – onwards Chair of Rutland Scouts Association 
    • 2020 – 2021 Trustee of Local Pre School-Education 
    • 2020 – onwards Climate Reality Leader 
    • 2013 – 2015 Childline School Service, NSPCC 
    • 2014 – 2015 Research Intern, Family Links 
    • 2018 – 2025 Family Research Advisor, National Children’s Bureau 
    • 2018 – 2022 Ethics committee member, The Deep Aquarium 

    Katie is a transdisciplinary Research Fellow in Children’s Geographies, specialising in climate adaptation, environmental education, and child-led methodologies. With 30 years’ experience working across the social care, youth, and education sectors, Katie brings a deeply embedded, practice-based perspective to her academic work. Her background and training in play therapy, creative and outdoor therapeutic approaches underpin her commitment to inclusive, child-centred, and participatory research.  

    Katie pioneers novel methodologies that integrate Creative Participatory Action Research (PAR), Action-Based Storytelling, and immersive technologies to amplify the voices of children, young people, and intergenerational communities in the context of climate crisis.  

     

    She works at the intersection of geography, public health, and environmental justice, using creative, community-led approaches to examine how children and families experience, understand, and respond to environmental hazards such as flooding, heatwaves, and coastal erosion. 

     

    Over the past several years, Katie has led and contributed to a number of innovative research projects both in the UK and internationally. These include Flood Stories, which uses immersive 360° virtual reality storytelling to support children in flood-prone communities to share their lived experiences; and INSECURE, a NERC-funded project exploring intergenerational perspectives on coastal erosion and resilience in East Yorkshire. Her international work includes collaborations in Vietnam, Thailand and Cambodia with ethnic minority and Indigenous communities, focusing on local knowledge, wellbeing, and adaptation. 

     

    Prior to her current role, Katie completed her PhD at the University of Hull, where her thesis explored the changing relationships between children, young people, and the natural environment during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. Her doctoral research laid the foundation for her ongoing work on the emotional, social, and developmental dimensions of environmental change in children's lives.  

     

    Katie is committed to research that is participatory, transformative, and rooted in justice. Her work challenges dominant narratives of vulnerability and instead emphasises the knowledge, agency, and resilience of children and communities at the frontline of climate disruption. 

    Katie plays an active role in shaping and supporting a positive, inclusive research culture at Loughborough through her contributions to the Research Staff Association (LURSA). As an executive board member of LURSA, Katie advocates for the needs and voices of early- and mid-career researchers, particularly those with non-traditional and practice-based academic pathways.  

    Drawing on her own interdisciplinary and community-rooted approach to research, she champions collaborative, creative, and impactful scholarship that bridges academia and society. Katie contributes to institutional conversations on researcher development, wellbeing, and inclusivity, and supports initiatives that foster peer mentoring, cross-disciplinary dialogue, and equitable career progression. Her work through LURSA reflects her wider commitment to research that is not only excellent but ethical, caring, and deeply connected to lived experience.

    During her time at the University of Hull, Katie contributed meaningfully to both undergraduate and professional learning as part of the School of Education. She taught on the Social Change and Social Justice module, where she brought a distinctive focus on environmental and intergenerational justice, embedding creative pedagogies and participatory methods into her sessions. Drawing on her extensive background in social care, youth work, and environmental education, she encouraged students to critically examine the intersections between climate, inequality, and social transformation.  

    Katie also led Forest School training sessions, using outdoor experiential learning to cultivate inclusive, child-centred educational approaches. These sessions equipped pre-service and in-service educators with the tools to foster curiosity, resilience, and connection to nature among learners of all ages. 

    In addition, Katie designed and delivered a pioneering Climate Change Essentials CPD programme aimed at educators, practitioners, and community professionals. This short, high-impact course was grounded in her doctoral research and integrated the latest climate science and adaptation research from leading global experts. The CPD took a transdisciplinary, playful, and action-oriented approach to professional learning, blending light-touch theory with immersive, interactive workshops. Participants engaged with themes including climate justice, the regulatory and policy landscape, and practical strategies for action, both personally and professionally. 

    Katie’s teaching is characterised by her ability to translate complex environmental challenges into accessible, hopeful, and empowering learning experiences. She is particularly passionate about fostering safe and imaginative spaces for learners to engage with urgent issues in ways that are grounded in care, creativity, and community action.

    • Rebeca Cruz - Project Title: ‘Intergenerational approach to understanding flood risk’ Funded via NERC-UKRI Flood CDT