The Bristol-Bern Prize encourages researchers to situate public engagement in their work in environmental history. Readily accessible information has arguably never been more important than today, when environmental knowledge is increasingly contested in the public domain – even though understanding the past can help us build a more sustainable future.
This year, we received eight submissions for the prize, all of them interesting and innovative. The quality of applications was remarkably high, and it took two rounds of evaluation for the committee to reach its decision. After careful consideration, the committee decided to award the Bristol-Bern Prize in 2025 jointly to two projects.
Both the winning projects are brave, innovative and exciting. Moreover, each tackles challenging and complex issues, while finding a way to present these matters understandably and interestingly to the wider public.
In 2025, the ESEH Bristol-Bern Prize winners are:
- Ghost Tours: The Haunt of Environmental Degradation and Colonialism, submitted by Chanelle Adams
- The Climate Chronicles, submitted by Dagomar Degroot.
Ghost Tours seeks to uncover and confront the entangled legacies of colonialism and ecological crisis by transforming overlooked public spaces into immersive platforms for critical reflection, using art, archival research, and performance to illuminate the hidden histories that continue to shape our environments today. The Bristol-Bern Prize committee was particularly impressed by the emphasis on participatory and local collaboration, which helps connect the histories of local landscapes with the politics of colonialism and capitalism. The project’s variety of international performances is impressive, as is its range of open access materials. This project truly pushes the boundaries of contemporary environmental history.
The Climate Chronicles tells the story of our planet’s climate history in accessible and story-driven multimedia episodes. It aims to reach a broad audience, including those who might not normally engage with topics related to climate change. The Bristol-Bern committee was fascinated by the true passion and commitment Dagomar Degroot, who is also the narrator of the series, showed in each episode. Furthermore, the committee acknowledged the challenges that climate scientists and journalists reporting their research face today – especially in the United States. Consequently, the Climate Chronicles makes a significant contribution to the public understanding of our changing climate.
The 2025 Bristol-Bern Prize Committee
Samuel Grinsell (University College London, UK)
Heli Huhtamaa (Universität Bern, Switzerland)
Ed Brookes (University of Hull, UK)
Eunice Sueli Nodari (Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Brazil)