Dr Bethan Stagg
Postdoctoral Fellow
School of Education, University of Exeter
Dr Lindsay Hetherington
Associate Professor
Science Education, University of Exeter
We will test and develop a novel knowledge co-production approach with schools, families and organisations for increasing biodiversity and nature connectedness in an urban area of multiple disadvantage in Plymouth.
Families represent an important target for biodiversity renewal since childhood experiences and family values influence pro-nature behaviours across the life span more than any other factors. Families living in areas of multiple disadvantage are particularly important since they have the fewest opportunities to access nature.
There have been longstanding attempts by environmental organisations to address this issue, but progress has been limited. A key problem is that current initiatives tend to either focus on working exclusively with schools or targeting families outside of school. The focus on schools has limited impact on the families themselves, whilst a “family only” focus tends to only attract people that are already nature connected, thus widening the gap.
We draw on Asset Based Community Development (ABCD), a process for mapping and mobilising participants’ assets (e.g., knowledge, networks, skills, land, buildings) to address a specific social challenge.
The project objectives:
Knowledge co-production is at the heart of this project proposal and we will strive to be context-based, pluralistic, goal-oriented, and interactive (Norström et al. 2020).
We aim to be sensitive to the meanings, sense making, beliefs, priorities and aspirations of the social groups we engage with, and to support rather than hinder the agency and relational networks of our co-producers (Russell, 2020).
We are working closely with Zebra Collective, a worker co-operative based in the target community. Zebra Collective uses trauma-informed practice, an important consideration since communities in areas of multiple disadvantage are more likely to be traumatised from adverse childhood experiences and adverse environmental factors such as poverty, inequality, poor housing, discrimination and we aim to be mindful of the power dynamic that will operate from the disparities in social and cultural capital between project staff/consultants and neighbourhood residents. We have allocated a budget to address barriers to participation, for example, caregiving obligations and translation to other languages. We also believe that co-producers should be compensated for their time and have included a budget for gift vouchers for this purpose.
We held a series of sessions exploring invertebrates in the school grounds with children in Years 1 and 2 at St Peters C of E primary school and Marlborough Primary Academy. These were coupled with after-school ‘drop-in’ opportunities, for children to show off their biodiversity discoveries to their parents and other adult carers. Families were given interactive packs, with art materials and guidance for a wild-plant-themed craft activity and a scavenger hunt to do in the local neighbourhood. Everyone contributed their views on greenspaces on a giant map of the neighbourhood.
We have been continuing with our after-school sessions for families in March and April, with more in-depth opportunities for consultation and coproduction about nature in the neighbourhood. Families contributed their suggestions and opinions to our giant photo gallery of biodiversity improvements. Families explored plant identification with our mobile wildflower collection and extracted pigments from plants to use in art activities.
We are exploring the biodiversity of trees and hedges, to celebrate the recently planted hedge and mini forest at Marlborough Primary Academy. We will be organising family trips to Ham Woods, a large nature reserve to the North of the city, to learn about habitat creation and build aspirations for biodiversity renewal.
