162 acknowledgements ACKNOWLEDGMENTS As I stand at the threshold of this PhD dissertation conclusion and I reflect on the whole journey that led me to this moment, I am filled with enormous gratitude. Completing this PhD would not have been possible without the invaluable support and encouragement of many remarkable individuals. First and foremost, my heartfelt thanks goes to my dedicated supervisors, Linda Steg and Lise Jans. Your guidance, expertise and challenging yet insightful feedback have been the cornerstone of this academic journey. Our relationship was not always smooth, but I firmly believe that the ‘onenigheid’ and the rocky patches were immensely valuable for the development of my project and of myself, both as a researcher and as a human. Besides, I deeply appreciate your willingness to listen and try to understand my perspective, which allowed us to find common grounds. I am pleased to see how we have developed a much better and more mature relationship throughout this supervision journey. Thank you for criticizing me, for questioning me (all those “why?” comments!), for always pushing me to think harder, to be more precise. But especially, thank you for trusting me, my ideas and my capacities. I have definitely grown much. I extend my gratitude to my colleagues working at the Environmental Psychology department of the University of Groningen. In this regard, I was fortunate to share my PhD journey with multiple ‘cohorts’. During the early stages of my PhD I was introduced to the so-called ‘Green Gang’: Irene, Anne, Nadja, Elliott, Daniel, Steph, Nieke, Leonie, Lu. You supported me throughout the (extremely confusing) initial months, both with guidance and with much needed distraction (such as the nail painting/crochet evenings). You were there to support me while giving my first talk on the keynote stage at ICEP 2019 in Plymouth (the morning after the conference dinner, yikes!), and through the extremely challenging months of the pandemic. Your collaborative spirit and willingness to have fun have been very valuable in my initial academic experience. During the last stages of my PhD, instead, I was pleased to meet a whole new ‘wave’ of colleagues: Chieh-Yu, Xinran, Robert, Julia, Lisa, Lena, Brian, Isabel, Adrian, Charlie, Fernanda, Carla, Alynda, Alifa, Wytse, Therre. As the thesis submission approached, many of you witnessed the progressive raise of my stress and tiredness levels, as well as my tendency to lock myself in the office all day long, barely greeting people. Still, you managed to show me support and concern. I really appreciated how some of you sincerely asked me “how are you doing?” every time you bumped into me, even if you knew that my answer was typically a hasty “stressed/tired”. Also, I was very pleased to
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