STEM Faculty

Alice Fraser-Mcdonald

Lecturer In Sustainability And The Smart Environment

Professional biography
Alice is a Lecturer in Sustainability and the Smart Environment at The Open University. She has completed a PhD in environment and waste management, with a particular focus on greenhouse gas emissions from tree stem and soil surfaces on closed landfill sites. She has a MSc in Earth Science (Open University) and a BSc in Conservation Biology and Geography (University of Exeter). Alice is also an Associate Lecturer on U116 (Environment: Journeys through a changing world).

She is the Scholarship Lead for the School of Engineering and Innovation. Alice has completed a Postgraduate Certificate in Academic Practice and achieved Fellowship of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA). She is also leading two scholarship projects:
An investigation into the progression of OU STEM students from taught courses to postgraduate research
Investigating the value of online ‘quiet’ tutorials for Level 1 Interdisciplinary Environment students

Alice is also involved in organising Soapbox Science in Milton Keynes. She is a Postgraduate Research Tutor in the School of Engineering and Innovation.

Research interests
Alice's general research interests include waste management and sustainability, environmental impacts of waste management, and biogeochemical cycling. Her current research focuses on the role of trees in the exchange of greenhouse gases from closed landfill sites to the atmosphere. She is also interested in the sustainable remediation of landfill sites with nature-based solutions. She is involved with the 'Living Roof Live Lab' project investigating the ecological and urban benefits of green roofing technologies.

Current PhD students:
Meng-Chin Tsai - Urban Greening Strategies: Practices and Measures for Neighbourhood Heat Resilience
Fatemeh Khodaparastan - Exploring Biochar Production in Applied Smouldering Systems
Paul Griffiths - Green Roof Function and Ecosystem Service Delivery in a UK Context
Ann Zata - Evaluating the success of landfill remediation through biodiversity outcomes and stakeholder dynamics

Teaching Interests
Alice is involved in leading and supporting the presentation and production of various environment and sustainability modules, including:
U116 - Environment: journeys through a changing world
T330 - Environmental management: pathways to sustainability

Latest publications

Displaying 10 of 15 publications

Fraser-McDonald, A., Jordan, S., Sharp, D. and Sides, T., 2026, ‘Progression from remote learning to postgraduate research: what are the barriers? New Directions in the Teaching of Natural Sciences, 21(1),’, https://oro.open.ac.uk/111947/.
Fraser-McDonald, A., Jordan, S., Sharp, D. and Sides, T., 2026, ‘Progression of OU STEM students from taught courses to postgraduate research – motivations and barriers’, in The 15th eSTEeM Annual Conference 2026: Stepping Back and Stepping Up – 15 Years of eSTEeM, 29-30 Apr 2026, The Open University, Milton Keynes, UK., https://oro.open.ac.uk/109930/.
Fraser-McDonald, A., Jordan, S., Sharp, D. and Sides, T., 2026, ‘Progression from remote taught programmes to Postgraduate Research: exploring motivations and barriers’, in Widening Participation in Postgraduate Research Workshop, 31 Mar - 1 Apr 2026, Durham University, Durham, UK., https://oro.open.ac.uk/109568/.
Fraser-McDonald, A., Jordan, S., Sharp, D. and Sides, T., 2026, ‘Exploring factors influencing progression from taught study to postgraduate research at the OU’, in The 14th eSTEeM Annual Conference 2025: Innovations in Impact, 30 Apr - 1 May 2025, [Online]., https://oro.open.ac.uk/105388/.
Tsai, M., Mabon, L., Moncaster, A. and Fraser-McDonald, A., 2026, ‘Policymaking and developments towards governance in green infrastructure design: the case of Taipei city’, Journal of Environmental Policy & Planning, 28(1), pp. 58–76., https://oro.open.ac.uk/104986/.
Fraser-McDonald, A., Jordan, S., Sharp, D. and Sides, T., 2025, ‘An investigation into the progression of OU STEM students from taught courses to postgraduate research’, in The 14th eSTEeM Annual Conference 2025: Innovations in Impact, 30 Apr - 1 May 2025, [Online]., https://oro.open.ac.uk/109931/.
Fraser-McDonald, A., Jordan, S., Sharp, D. and Sides, T., 2025, ‘Progression from taught courses to postgraduate research: barriers and enablers’, in Variety in Chemistry Education/Physics Higher Education Conference, 28-29 Aug 2025, Liverpool, UK., https://oro.open.ac.uk/108743/.
Fraser-McDonald, A., Jordan, S., Sharp, D. and Sides, T., 2025, ‘Progression from remote learning to postgraduate research: what are the barriers? In: Horizons in STEM Higher Education Conference: Making Connections, Innovating and Sharing Pedagogy, 25-26 Jun 2025, Birmingham, UK’, https://oro.open.ac.uk/105390/.
Fraser-McDonald, A., Boardman, C., Gladding, T., Burnley, S. and Gauci, V., 2024, ‘Nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions from a forested closed landfill site’, in EGU General Assembly 2024, 14-19 Apr 2024, Vienna., https://oro.open.ac.uk/96964/.
Fraser-McDonald, A., 2023, ‘Landfill site trees: Potential source or sink of greenhouse gases? [Thesis]’, https://oro.open.ac.uk/90577/.

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