Dr Verity Jones, Associate Professor in Education
I’m Dr Verity Jones. My focus is on social and environmental justice, working on issues that matter to people who don’t usually get their voices heard.
I work as part of a research group, who develop educational, engaging and empowering ways of getting people involved in doing and thinking sustainably. Art and creative practice is one way we do that. . The work I’m involved in with Sparks Bristol is a great example.
Sparking something sustainable
Sparks Bristol is a department store with a real difference. It’s a lively hub of sustainability, creativity and education. In the first six months of it being open, we had 250,000 visitors through the doors. And more than 1,200 children have already taken part in the research informed sustainability workshops. Through a creative approach we are having a big impact, engaging people in important topics, like climate change and the ecological emergency, food scarcity and migration.
We’ve just got our lease for Sparks extended into 2025 – and we have more exciting, creative projects planned with partners from across the city and beyond.
Shared stories
A lot of the work myself and my teams do explores novel ways of working with and communicating research to groups that might not usually have access to those kinds of findings.
For example, we’ve created a range of picture books for children. For example, we’ve taken high level, complex research findings about drought and water usage across the UK and communicated this in a way which is both familiar in form and easy to access – either by children themselves, or with their parents and teachers.
As well as extreme weather conditions, the teams I work with have supported children explore their lived experience of racism how it happens and what we can do to challenge and tackle it. . Our children’s book ‘If Racism Vanished for the Day’ is informed by this work and illustrated by some of the children who took part in the research – it’s being used by teachers, social workers and other groups that support young people across the UK.
We’re working with all sorts of people, including architects, artists, crafters and musicians to explore how their skills and knowledge can inform sustainable education ; I’m really excited about what we can do – what we must do.
Free e-books for children:
- If Racism Vanished for a Day by UWE Bristol – Issuu
- Learning to Live with Fog Monsters by UWE Bristol – Issuu
- DRY: the diary of a water superhero by UWE Bristol – Issuu
Contribution to the UN 2030 sustainable development goals
UWE Bristol is proud to align our research to the UN sustainable development goals. The above research aligns with the following goals:
