Meet Isla

Hello!
Thank you so much for being here, and welcome to Letters to a Warmer World.

I’m Isla, I’m 24, and I’m passionate about doing my part to help address the climate crisis. I was born in the UK, moved to New York when I was four, and headed to Seattle at eighteen for university. I’ve since landed back in London, where I’m finishing an MSc in Business and Sustainability at UCL.

My background’s in political science and environmental studies, and most of my work has focused on the messy space where policy, communication, and sustainability meet. Right now, I’m researching how we talk about indoor air pollution, and whether raising awareness can shift behaviours among new and expectant parents. The project sits at the intersection of public health, behaviour change, and environmental equity, and it’s pushed me to think more deeply about what actually drives action — and where messaging often falls short.

At the centre of all this is a kind of narrative curiosity I’ve held since the beginning of my studies — about what actually gets people to care. How does the way we tell climate stories — in policy, media, or everyday conversation — shape what people do? How does the way we share information move someone from knowing to acting? And how do we get people to really hear us, not just listen?

This curiosity has shaped my academic path and the projects I’ve worked on—from environmental justice and disaster recovery to air pollution and sustainable business. It continues to inform how I think about leadership, communication, and how framing can help people imagine their way into action.

That’s what this blog is about. It’s part field journal, part reflection space. It is a place to track what I’m learning, noticing, and questioning as I move through the climate space, and as the climate space moves through everything else. You’ll find reflections on climate in media, behavioural insights and communication strategy, field notes from post-disaster regions in Japan, and thoughts on what it means to reframe a problem so people can meaningfully respond.

I believe the way we communicate the climate crisis, whether to policymakers, business leaders, or the person next door, matters deeply. I believe we need more creative, grounded, and emotionally intelligent ways of talking about what’s at stake. And I believe storytelling has a crucial role to play in shaping what people understand, feel, and imagine is possible.

This blog is for anyone: for those deeply involved with the climate crisis, and for those just trying to make sense of it all. For the hopeful, the unsure, the exhausted, the curious. You don’t have to have it all figured out. I certainly don’t.

Warmly,
Isla x