Joycelyn’s doctoral research at the University of Cambridge investigated the justice implications of conservation technologies. Her work responds to the increasing power and implementation of digital technologies and machine learning techniques in conservation research.

Her work highlights the exclusionary, colonial and uneven power dynamics that underpin the design and deployment of these emerging technologies, which risk harming marginalised communities.

Working with a marginalised forest community in Ghana and combining ethnographic, participatory design, biodiversity monitoring and machine learning methods, her research investigates the sociotechnical implications and design opportunities that emerge from participatory ecoacoustic research with marginalised communities, and develops methods for the justice-oriented design and deployment of conservation technologies.

Explore Joycelyn’s research

Joycelyn is a versatile and passionate storyteller, whose work spans published books, essays, TV, film and documentary, narration, speaking and facilitation. She develops curated narratives for a variety of audiences, from the classroom to the boardroom and the stage, across landscapes in the city and the country, and from local to global contexts. Joycelyn has provided tailored, diverse and nuanced storytelling and education for a variety of organisations and institutions, including The Barbican, The Wellcome Collection, Emergence Magazine, Atmos Magazine, Greenpeace, Friends of the Earth, The Environmental Funders Network, Partners for a New Economy, The Design Council, and The Serpentine.

Joycelyn is a trusted board member, trustee and ambassador of the following organisations: Action For Conservation, the Cambridge Conservation Initiative, ZeroHour’s Climate and Nature Bill, Earth Minutes, Cool Earth, and Akyn.

Joycelyn was 2022’s winner of the Emerging Designer London Design Medal, and was featured in British Vogue’s December 2023 ‘Forces for Change’ Issue. Most recently, she has been listed as one of Pique Action and Harvard Chan C-CHANGE's 2024 Climate Creators to Watch and as one of Country and Town House’s Future Icons Power People 2024.

In 2020, Joycelyn founded ClimateInColour, an award-winning education platform and community for the climate curious, making climate conversations more accessible, diverse and hopeful. The platform built a community of over 60,000 people through online media, campaigns, resources, courses and reading groups, as well as a range of in-person events and workshops. The project was archived in 2024.