PhD Students

Sam Harrison

Sam completed an MA in Philosophy, at Queens' College, the University of Cambridge, in 2001, and after a lengthy stay in various mountain ranges across the world, including some first ascents in Greenland, returned to academia in 2004. He achieved a distinction in his MSc in Human Ecology, from the Centre for Human Ecology, then based in Edinburgh. At the same time he worked through several outdoor qualifications including ML, SPA and Alpine Ski Leader, and started working professionally in the outdoors.

Sam works in the hills with community groups and charitable trusts with his business Open Ground. He is also working with several organisations to develop holistic environmental education centres around Scotland. Open Ground is currently involved in an exciting project with the WWF: Sam is a participant researcher on a project engaging leaders from many different professions in a series of experiential workshops in the hills over winter and spring 2008/9. Through an action research approach, they will be looking at the process of changing values and behaviour towards sustainability.

Sam's PhD, running part time from September 2007, is looking into the role of 'place' in outdoor and environmental education. An under-researched theme highlighted by many ecological writers, a deeper role for 'place' in the way we work in the outdoors seems to have the potential to bring out the ecosystemic and cultural character of the land. This draws us into a reciprocal relationship which benefits both people and place. Sam will be testing this hypothesis through a case study approach, involving the participants in various projects in the process of 'place-making.'