The Dr. Zena Daysh Scholarship Awarded to Prem Shinton

CHEC is pleased to announce that the 2026 Dr Zena Daysh Scholarship has been awarded to Prem Shinton, now in the third year of his doctoral studies in Nepal. His thesis, "Local Context and Educational Responses to Climate Change: A Case of Community Schooling in Nepal," builds on years of grassroots environmental work.

Prem Shinton

Prem's journey began as a youth volunteer with a village forest group protecting woodland, planting trees, and tackling small forest fires. He went on to join the United Mission to Nepal's "Care for the Environment and Climate Change" programme, progressing from fieldwork to a leadership role. Through a British Council global school partnership, he helped design and implement a local climate change curriculum, supporting school "ecoclubs" running no-plastics and tree-planting campaigns.

"As an indigenous community we have strong practices closely connected to nature and ecology," Prem explains. "We worship the land during planting and harvesting time and allocate a symbolic portion of the first-harvested crops back to the land."

His visits to community schools across Nepal gave him first-hand insight into how climate change is affecting education and young people — an experience that shaped his research focus.

"CHEC has defined human ecology as the way ecological systems and human societies interact," he says. "My study analyses interactions among climate change responses, young people, school education and local ecosystems, aiming to provide evidence for an adaptive, climate-smart and resilient future for young people."

Congratulations to Prem!

Prem Shinton presenting at a conference.