Dr. Steve Andrews

Steve Andrews completed his PhD in Environmental Education & Ecopsychology from Curtin University and a BS in Conservation and Resource Studies from UC Berkeley. He is passionate about how we can foster a sense of connection to nature through direct experience combined with the use of art and technology in a positive way for education, connection and positive mental health.

 

Steve believes that developing relationships with nature is imperative for mental health as well as for positive environmental behaviour change. By combining direct experience with immersive cutting edge technologies to engage with learners, we broaden the reach of environmental education.

 

In his PhD, Entitled Underwater Photoelicitation: A New Marine Experiential Education Technique, Steve asked the question: How do we use technology combined with experiential learning to help foster connection with the ocean and to empower pro-environmental behaviour change?

 

Coming from his passion for underwater photography, he developed and implemented a program for high schools and community groups that assessed participants cognitive, affective (emotional) and behavioural change (towards the ocean) through a mixed methods methodology after they snorkelled and took underwater photographs.  He focused on exploring and fostering the experiential and emotional connections to nature.

 

He has been teaching field ecology courses (terrestrial and marine) at the University of Queensland at the Moreton Bay Research Station on Stradbroke Island for the past 4 ½ years to high school and undergraduate science camps.  He loves getting the kids outdoors, out of city and connecting them to the unique environment of Minjerribah.  The shifts he sees in their attitudes from the time they arrive to the time they leave is something very special.

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You will find Steve in the forest recording the natural soundscape or in the ocean riding waves and photographing the magic of the sea. 

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