The planet is changing. Are we preparing our students for it?

Climate change and biodiversity loss are no longer distant environmental concerns. They are increasingly shaping the conditions in which people live, work and learn – and, ultimately, their health and wellbeing. At ARU, we are beginning to ask important questions: what does this mean for our university community, and what role should education play in preparing our students for the future?

ARU is committed to developing planetary health as a key area across our curriculum, research and innovation strands over the next few years, and a range of exploratory activities have been developed to bring together interested staff, engage interdisciplinary researchers who are generating knowledge about the health and wellbeing challenges caused by climate change and biodiversity loss, and seeking to achieve net zero operations.

However, the key to this early understanding of the culture and ambitions for planetary health was to understand our students’ concerns and priorities in relation to their university participation.

Listening to the student voice

In February 2026, Gabrielle Pullum, an MSc Occupational Therapy student, joined the Planetary and Population Health Research Group as an intern. Gabrielle played a central role in designing, distributing and analysing the All-Student Planetary Health Survey. The survey was piloted with the Planetary Health steering group and ARU’s Student Sustainability Society before being shared across the University. It took around eight minutes to complete, and we have now received 104 responses.

For many students, Planetary Health is a new term. Yet the concept itself may be more familiar than the language suggests. Planetary Health is a solutions-oriented, transdisciplinary field and social movement concerned with understanding and addressing the effects of human disruption of Earth's natural systems on human health and all life on Earth.

Students see the connection

The survey suggests that our students are already thinking about these connections.

57% of students surveyed reported that they had felt anxious about planetary health issues at some point.

66% of students surveyed agreed it was important for students on all courses at ARU to learn about planetary health.

71% of respondents agreed that they are currently witnessing environmental change. 47% agreed that their collective actions help reduce their environmental footprint.

Students also told us that learning about Planetary Health could help them better understand:

• how environmental change affects health;
• how different people and communities are affected;
• how their own lifestyle choices can contribute to solutions.

Perhaps most interestingly and importantly, students were able to connect planetary health to issues much closer to everyday life. They identified links between environmental change and loneliness and social connection, food and water quality, war and famine, and specific climate-related shocks. This suggests that they do not see planetary health simply as an environmental issue, but already recognise it as something that intersects with health, society, inequality, communities and day-to-day activities.

From awareness to education

The challenge is that this capability is currently underused across the curriculum. Students may be able to make connections between planetary health and the wider world, but these connections are not yet consistently cultivated through their university education. That matters because our students will graduate into a world that is likely to be more environmentally uncertain and less stable, with challenges ranging from pandemics and extreme temperatures to changing patterns of food, water and environmental insecurity.

Education therefore has an important role to play, not simply in helping students understand these challenges, but equipping them to respond to them. For a university preparing people for professional life, the question is not only what are the risks? It is also: how do we prepare our students to think, work and innovate in a changing world?

Building the next phase together

This initial survey is deliberately a starting point rather than a definitive assessment of student opinion. With 104 responses, it provides an early indication of students’ concerns and priorities and, importantly, raises questions for further exploration.

The findings were presented in full at the ARU Planetary Health Conference, alongside the wider work taking place across the University. We are also beginning to consider how the survey can be developed and used for further student engagement.

The survey has given us an important first step: our students are thinking about these issues, they see the connections, and they want to understand them better. Many universities are now taking a strong and responsible position regarding key areas of planetary health risk, including responsible digital and AI rollout, sustainable scientific lab practices, and promoting student wellbeing in conjunction with ecological transition.

Now the opportunity is to listen – and turn that insight into action. Planetary health at ARU is beginning with a simple but important principle: a resilient university must understand the voices of the people who learn, work and live within it.

Prof Sally Fowler Davis, Professor in Allied Health, School of Allied Health and Social Care