Exploring Eco-Grief, Transformative Learning, and Action in Environmental Observers

This research aimed to contribute to understanding emotional reactions to ecological change in “environmental observers,” who purposely observe the environment and environmental information as part of their work or role in society (e.g., citizen scientists, environmental professionals, Indigenous knowledge keepers). People in such roles are vulnerable to experiencing negative emotions, which could, in turn, affect their decision to keep engaging in their work and (or) other pro-environmental behaviours. We used the term “eco-grief” to discuss such emotions and applied a phenomenological approach to understand how environmental observers’ learning adjacent to ecological loss impacted their emotions, decisions, and actions. We worked with Mezirow’s transformative learning as a theoretical framework, which characterizes learning through critical self-reflection and re-evaluations in perspective and connects it to decision-making and action (i.e., transformation). We categorized such learning within Mezirow’s instrumental and communicative domains and attached them to the different forms of action reported by the observers. Finally, we considered how engaging in action potentially transforms emotions. Instrumental and communicative domains proved to relate to different emotional responses and forms of action, providing insight for developing programs and support for observers.