Two UK alumni based in Australia have received funding through the British Council's Alumni UK Grant Programme 2026–27 for projects tackling climate change.
Open to international alumni of UK education, the programme offers grants of up to £5,000 for ideas that create real impact. Reflecting Australia's Presidency of COP31 Negotiations, the 2026–27 Australian grants focused exclusively on Climate Action and Sustainability.
The recipients are Georgia Monaghan of ECOMIND, who will deliver a wellbeing space for young delegates at COP31, and Dr Theresa Cole of Adelaide University, whose research uses ancient Antarctic seabird deposits to trace tens of thousands of years of ecosystem change.
Youth Wellbeing Corner: Climate Mental Health & Wellbeing Support at COP31
Georgia Monaghan, ECOMIND
UN climate talks can be intense and draining, especially for young people. ECOMIND, Australia's first youth climate mental health and wellbeing charity, will run a dedicated Wellbeing Corner in the Children and Youth Pavilion at COP31 in Antalya in November 2026.
The Corner will offer peer support, mental health first aid and counselling triage, a buddy system pairing first-time delegates with experienced ones, and daily creative, connection and mindfulness workshops. Before COP, peer supporters and delegates will complete the ECOMIND Certificate training, with debrief sessions to follow afterwards.
The project aims to reduce burnout among young climate leaders, helping them sustain their advocacy for the long term. It is also intended to show why wellbeing support should be a standard feature of future COPs.
What Antarctic seabird deposits reveal about ecosystem change
Dr Theresa Cole, Adelaide University
Snow petrels are Antarctic seabirds that return to the same colonies for generations. Their stomach oil deposits, known as mumiyo, build up in layers, creating a natural record of the past. A pilot study showed for the first time that mumiyo can preserve ancient DNA.
This project will analyse 68 dated samples from Dronning Maud Land, in Antarctica's Weddell Sea region, some up to around 50,000 years old. It aims to reveal how coastal ecosystems and food webs have shifted over millennia, helping scientists distinguish natural variation from human-driven change. The work brings together researchers from Australia, the UK, Germany and China. The findings are intended to inform conservation, including the proposed Weddell Sea Marine Protected Area.
Both projects will run until early 2027.
The grants form part of the British Council's activity in the lead-up to and during COP31, and build on its ongoing climate work connecting people in Australia and the UK through culture, education and science.