Maura van der Ark is a MSc student with an interest in the complexity of the polycrisis, climate disasters and disaster risk management, as well as transformations of social-ecological systems.

Van der Ark joined the Master’s programme at the SRC to strengthen her understanding of socio-ecological systems in a rapidly changing world. She hopes to explore new ways of researching and thinking about the complexity of the polycrisis. Van der Ark is also interested in climate disaster risk and resilience, particularly within marginalized communities, and its intersection with sustainability transformations.

Prior to being at the SRC, van der Ark achieved a BA of Liberal Arts and Sciences with a specific focus in Anthropology at the University College Utrecht in the Netherlands. She completed her bachelor thesis on the response of Cape Town to the Day Zero drought and its implications for preparing for future climate disasters, focusing on environmental justice and water governance.

Van der Ark has worked as a facilitator with intergenerational and international groups on dealing with uncertainty, climate anxiety, and community resilience, inspired by Joanna Macy’s the Work that Reconnects. She has also worked as a facilitator in schools using action-oriented experiential learning to educate on identity, diversity and social responsibility.