On May 7, 2026, Associate Professor Michele Barnes took the stage at the Bank Hotel in Newtown for a Raising the Bar public talk, exploring one of the most overlooked dimensions of climate resilience: our connections with people and the natural world. Drawing on her research with coastal and resource-dependent communities across Australia and internationally, Michele made the case that when disaster strikes, resilience often comes down not to emergency plans, but to the strength and structure of our social and ecological networks — who we know, what information flows between us, and how resources move through communities in times of crisis.
Michele’s work maps how patterns of connection between people, organisations, and ecosystems shape our ability to respond to and recover from climate change, and why some people are well-positioned to adapt while others are left exposed. The talk offered a compelling and accessible window into this research for a public audience, sparking conversation about what it really means to build climate-resilient communities — and why the most powerful adaptation strategy might be simpler than we think.
Social Dynamics and Environmental Change 