Exploring new placed based technological opportunities for community science with the Marine Biological Association and Time and Tide Bell
Lead Research Organisation:
Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom
Department Name: Marine Biology
Abstract
The project is a partnership between the Marine Biological Association and the Time and Tide Bell community project. Working together at 3 specified locations we will co-create with the local community citizen science opportunities to inform change in the local environment. The project will explore the potential for community owned artworks to act as a focal point for long-term monitoring, study and observation of the natural environment. As a case study, community generated data will inform science questions about settlement of organisms on man-made structures, impacts of climate change and extreme weather events and arrival and spread of non-native species.
The project will work with local communities to develop and explore science questions and implement citizen science protocols including digital imagery to support long term investigation around each art installation and its wider environment. Each location will develop citizen science methodologies and data collection systems to inform science questions around change in the marine and coastal environment.
The project will work with local communities to develop and explore science questions and implement citizen science protocols including digital imagery to support long term investigation around each art installation and its wider environment. Each location will develop citizen science methodologies and data collection systems to inform science questions around change in the marine and coastal environment.
Technical Summary
The partnership project is designed to investigate the delivery of community based citizen science. It uses existing installation art as the focal point for the science community interaction. We are using the wider science of the PI to pull in the wider geographical and biological issues by uitising links to offshore development and monitoring change in the marine environment. The project will explore the potential for community owned artworks to act as a focal point for long-term monitoring, study and observation of the natural environment. As a case study, community generated data will inform science questions about settlement of organisms on man-made structures, impacts of climate change and extreme weather events and arrival and spread of non-native species.
The project will work with local communities to develop and explore science questions and implement citizen science protocols including digital imagery to support long term investigation around each art installation and its wider environment. Each location will develop citizen science methodologies and data collection systems to inform science questions around change in the marine and coastal environment.
The project will work with local communities to develop and explore science questions and implement citizen science protocols including digital imagery to support long term investigation around each art installation and its wider environment. Each location will develop citizen science methodologies and data collection systems to inform science questions around change in the marine and coastal environment.
Planned Impact
Who might benefit from this research?
The project is designed to test a number of interactions and options for community citizen science. The project is a partnership between a science organisation and a community partner. Benefits include:
- science exploration of citizen science use around marine structures
- community engagement explorations, working with place based groups
- provide community partner with activity and purpose around each art installation
- provide community partners with further monitoring opportunity
How might they benefit from this research?
The research project will provide a first exploration but also a blueprint for further interaction at other sites. This will benefit the science reach and provide community groups with direct access to science resources and methodologies.
The project is designed to test a number of interactions and options for community citizen science. The project is a partnership between a science organisation and a community partner. Benefits include:
- science exploration of citizen science use around marine structures
- community engagement explorations, working with place based groups
- provide community partner with activity and purpose around each art installation
- provide community partners with further monitoring opportunity
How might they benefit from this research?
The research project will provide a first exploration but also a blueprint for further interaction at other sites. This will benefit the science reach and provide community groups with direct access to science resources and methodologies.
People |
ORCID iD |
| George Graham (Principal Investigator) | |
| Jon Parr (Co-Investigator) |
| Description | The primary aim of the project was "to explore the potential for community owned artworks to act as a focal point for long-term monitoring, study and observation of the natural environment." The constraints put upon the project team and the communities involved by the Covid-19 pandemic meant that this was difficult to evaluate conclusively. However, indications from the community workshops and limited participation in the virtual BioBlitz event and training sessions, combined with participant feedback suggests that community art-works such as the Time and Tide Bells could be focal points for community-led science projects and collection of biodiversity data. During workshops, groups identified a number of priority areas and questions, which could form the basis of future projects, particularly a number of ideas, focusing on change over time directly influencing the bell, but also from the perspective of looking out from the installation itself. The primary objectives were more or less met and details are given below. Some change to the original plan was necessary due to the adverse circumstances the project team were faced with, however, some unexpected additional outcomes are listed below. 1. Collaboratively identify and develop local science questions at the three locations: The three interactive workshops undertaken in February and March produced a clear selection of questions relevant to the local community. These are described in section 4.2.2 with further details in the appendices of this report. The process of identifying these questions was structured and collaborative. Details of methods are outlined in appendices. 2. Provide analysis of potential for citizen science intervention: Due to the pressures of the Covid pandemic, it was difficult to reliably report on the potential for citizen science intervention to be successful in the areas. However, the positive responses and workshop outcomes from the initial stages coupled with the provision of useful species distribution data through I-Naturalist suggest that with sustained effort, this kind of work has the potential to engage communities in the collection for valuable scientific data. 3. Introduce citizen engagement activity around each bell: Citizen Science was successfully introduced to the 3 tide bells during the workshops. Subsequent development of the I-Naturalist projects has resulted in participation in citizen science activities at all sites. 4. Collect and publish data - including, but not limited to: information about settlement and colonization of bell structures; records of non-native species; records of nearby strandline and water-based observations: More than 100 biological records, including non-native species and species of conservation importance have been collected in the I-Naturalist platform through the duration of the project. These are freely available online and are being used to advise on species distribution and range as well as to advise the production of interpretation resources to develop further public engagement activities and additional citizen science activity in the regions. 5. Ensure a legacy of citizen science exploration embedded within the Time and Tide Bells programme: The I-Naturalist Projects have been developed and will remain active into the future. A small number of participants from each site have said that they will continue to upload their species records and visit the sites regularly to collect records. The process has also inspired and informed a number of additional citizen science projects, which the Time and Tide Bell team are developing with schools and community groups around the UK. The concept of citizen science is now part of their outreach programme and will be considered in future developments and installations. |
| Exploitation Route | Active discussion on how to take the project forward and develop. The interest of the community groups included physical change in their area e.g. erosion; pollution not just marine biology. Time and Tide were looking at whether community groups might take forward other ideas. The inaturalist records and web site remains open for new recording and is monitored by the MBA |
| Sectors | Communities and Social Services/Policy,Education,Environment |
| URL | https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/life-around-the-time-tide-bell-appledore |
| Description | The project produced three inaturalist pages that are open to community engagement. These have been taken up locally and are being used to record species found in those areas. The project brought together local interest groups and using a local focal point has generated interest in the art installation (the bell) and the nature of change in the marine environment. The project has links to local engagement and health and well being. |
| First Year Of Impact | 2020 |
| Sector | Education,Environment |
| Impact Types | Societal |
| Description | Community Bioblitz around the bells; held online and for a week |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Following initial workshops and a huge amount of support from the communities at each site in February and March 2020, the UK began to see increasing restrictions dur to the Covid-19 pandemic. This led to the cancellation of any face-to-face events and prevented travel to the bell sites to run the planned events, training and data collection activities. Key staff involved were furloughed or made redundant and the project was on hiatus between March and September. The team applied for an extension to the project hoping that the situation would ease, permitting the work to continue as planned albeit at a later date. However this was unfortunately not the case a with Morecambe and Mablethorpe facing high-level restrictions even to this day. The project team therefore working to the best of their ability had to adapt the delivery of the project to fit an online platform. Workshops and training were undertaken online using Zoom and a BioBlitz event was coordinated centrally using the I-Naturalist platform. It is very important to note that a large amount of the initial enthusiasm and momentum developed in the early stages of the project was lost during the pandemic and many of those initially involved dropped out for a number reasons, many directly related to the results of the pandemic. As a result, activities from September onward were not as well attended as initial activities. Using the I-Naturalist platform, an umbrella project was created to bring together and display data from all Time and Tide Bell sites in one place and to create a central portal to access individual site project pages. It is hoped that project pages for other sites in the future can be incorporated into this umbrella project. Separate project pages were also developed for each site, providing a space for communities to explore species data from their local area and to view statistics on local recording effort. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | Community workshop, Appledore |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Three workshops were held at Time and Tide Bell locations in England. Potential participants were engaged through a variety of community networks, regional press and online through social media and events listings. An Eventbrite listing was created to collate bookings and collect basic information about participants, including their interests and backgrounds. Each event was held at a convenient and accessible location as close as practically possible to the Time and Tide Bell installations, to enable a visit as part of each workshop. Workshops were approximately one day long and held in the following locations: • Appledore: 26/02/20| Venue: Blue Lights Hall | Participants: 18 • Morecambe: 03/03/20 | Venue: The Platform| Participants: 22 • Mablethorpe; 04/03/20 | Venue: The Ferryboat Inn | Participants: 20 The purpose of undertaking the workshops was to work with local community representatives to identify the priority subjects and questions in each region and to co-develop potential projects for each site |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | Community workshop, Mablethorpe, Licolnshire |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Three workshops were held at Time and Tide Bell locations in England. Potential participants were engaged through a variety of community networks, regional press and online through social media and events listings. An Eventbrite listing was created to collate bookings and collect basic information about participants, including their interests and backgrounds. Each event was held at a convenient and accessible location as close as practically possible to the Time and Tide Bell installations, to e |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | Community workshop, Morecambe Bay |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Three workshops were held at Time and Tide Bell locations in England. Potential participants were engaged through a variety of community networks, regional press and online through social media and events listings. An Eventbrite listing was created to collate bookings and collect basic information about participants, including their interests and backgrounds. Each event was held at a convenient and accessible location as close as practically possible to the Time and Tide Bell installations, to enable a visit as part of each workshop. Workshops were approximately one day long and held in the following locations: • Appledore: 26/02/20| Venue: Blue Lights Hall | Participants: 18 • Morecambe: 03/03/20 | Venue: The Platform| Participants: 22 • Mablethorpe; 04/03/20 | Venue: The Ferryboat Inn | Participants: 20 The purpose of undertaking the workshops was to work with local community representatives to identify the priority subjects and questions in each region and to co-develop potential projects for each site |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |