Lora Aziz is an artist, cultural ecologist, and researcher working at the intersection of art, ecology, and social research to strengthen community resilience and environmental care. Her work uses walking, storytelling, and plant knowledge to connect people with the landscapes they inhabit, translating ecological insight into creative, participatory, and socially just climate action. Lora has led projects such as Blue Steps Along the Saffron Trail in Essex and Thirst: In Search of Freshwater, developed for the COP27 Creative Climate Commission and exhibited at the Wellcome Collection.
She holds a Visiting Research Fellowship at the University of Essex, where her research explores how cultural ecology and civic imagination can inform climate literacy and belonging. She has also trained in Creative Climate Adaptations at Black Mountains College. Her practice bridges local and international contexts, including intercultural collaborations in Egypt, Sinai, Lebanon, and the UK, and she co-chairs the World Trails Network Arts & Culture Group, connecting global place-based cultural initiatives.
Lora’s work is guided by principles of care, reciprocity, and justice, embedding co-creation, listening, and non-extractive approaches into every project. She focuses on creating frameworks where art and ecology act as shared civic tools, helping communities participate meaningfully in shaping sustainable, equitable, and climate-resilient futures.
Through the Practice-Builders’ Network, Lora hopes to share her experience in culturally rooted, participatory ecological projects and co-creation methodologies while learning from peers working across health, equity, civic engagement, and climate innovation. She seeks to develop tools for evidencing impact without losing relational or poetic dimensions, and to explore systems-level influence that embeds care, creativity, and justice into environmental and social practice.