Sharing science stories on local radio – Love & Science

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Discussions about zombie fungi, exoplanets, and vegetarian spiders; seamless segues; and Taylor Swift. All to be expected during a typical live Love & Science show on local Bristol radio station, BCfm Radio.

Love & Science was started by former UWE Bristol SciComm lecturer Malcolm Love, many years ago. Now, it’s run by Andrew Glester, current Lecturer in Science Communication at UWE Bristol, and a collective of science enthusiasts with a wide range of interests and backgrounds. Many of the episodes are aired live, with sparkling discussions about science stories that have been making headlines, and occasionally interviews with individuals working in science. Some episodes are also partly or completely pre-recorded, like a special episode I had the opportunity to create on the discovery of the shipwreck Endurance. This means anyone can get involved – living local to Bristol is not a requirement.

I got involved in Love & Science after completing the Science on Air and Screen module, and I’m so glad I did. It’s such a fantastic opportunity for any MSc Science Communication student to get involved in live radio and science communication. I found myself using so many of the skills and knowledge that I had learnt on the MSc, from across all the modules. BCfm is predominantly aimed at Bristol residents, but is also streamed on DAB and online, and people can listen in from all over the world, so it’s important to really think about the audience, and how to best communicate different science topics in an engaging and accessible way. Presenting the live shows involves using interview techniques and story crafting, and finding fun and novel angles. I also enjoyed looking out for local science stories, as well as the more national and global ones. Pre-recorded shows and segments enabled me to develop my editing skills, and to create pieces of radio that I’m proud of, and have been able to add to my portfolio. If you’re interested, there is also the opportunity to learn how to use the desk in the studio, which maybe isn’t for the faint-hearted, but feels brilliant once you’ve got the hang of it.

One of the great things about Love & Science is that it’s a safe space to learn and practice. Even making mistakes is to be expected – it’s all about how you handle them. Personally, I feel that getting involved with Love & Science should be viewed as an essential add-on to the MSc, especially for anyone with an interest in radio or podcasting. But even if radio or podcasting isn’t your main area of interest, it’s still perfect for developing skills in engaging audiences, communicating about complex science topics, or telling science stories. Plus you get to pick your favourite cheesy tunes to play on the radio. Who wouldn’t want that?

Rebecca Landon, MSc Science Communication student at UWE Bristol.

Learning Lab: Science Focus magazine

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I was sitting near the cascade steps in Bristol City Centre when I had a rare epiphany. A guest on a podcast I was listening to mentioned that she worked as a freelance science writer, and it sounded like the dream job. Two thirds of an MSc in Science Communication later, and there I was, only a hundred metres or so from that spot in the City Centre, entering the Our Media building that houses the offices of one of the most successful popular science magazines in the UK, Science Focus.

Over the course of my week-long work Learning Lab placement, I was able to shadow a few different members of staff. On my first day, I spent time with the Online Editor, learning how to put an article online, and how to set up the daily newsletter Instant Genius. She talked me through all things SEO which was absolutely fascinating, and I helped compile the weekly report, looking at which articles have been most popular over the previous week.

By the end of my first day I was completing an ‘Everything You Need to Know’ guide to NASA’s Artemis programme. It was different to the kinds of articles I’d written previously, as it’s a style of article that’s designed to be updated regularly, but it was a format I was familiar with, having been a regular reader of the website. It just goes to show how important it is to really get to know the work of a magazine, online or print, before trying to pitch to or write for them.

I got to practice more familiar skills from my Writing Science module on the Master’s course, by writing a news article about how people with the ‘Dark Triad’ personality traits use humour, and another about using human sweat to power wearable technology. After I’d finished writing, the Commissioning Editor spent time going through my work with me, which was invaluable. It showed me that the skills I had learnt as part of the module had already prepared me well for professional science writing, and that we can never stop learning. I also had the opportunity to offer suggestions for edits for pieces by regular contributors; it was encouraging when the editor agreed with me, and even more useful to understand his thinking when he disagreed.

Near the end of the week I met with the Editor, who listened to my ideas and gave me some valuable advice and insight into making a career out of science writing. Our conversation made me realise that it was an achievable goal for me and helped to focus me on my next steps.

I’d recommend the Learning Lab placements to any student on the MSc Science Communication at UWE Bristol. For those that aren’t sure exactly what they want to do, it would be a great opportunity to explore different options and get a feel for what roles are available. For me, it gave me the confidence that a career which had previously felt like a distant dream could be a reality, thanks to the skills and knowledge I had gained on the MSc.

Rebecca Landon, MSc Science Communication student at UWE Bristol.

What happens to our science communication graduates? The Sequel Part 2

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In our last blog post we updated you on our 2023 Infographic data gathered from 55% (n=165) of graduates who completed the MSc Science Communication programme between 2003 and 2022. We also contacted a number of graduates requesting their participation in a case study. In this second blog post we capture some further points from these case studies.

One potential career area that’s often popular with students starting our programmes is the media, and we’ve met more than one budding ‘Sir David Attenborough’ over the years, but working in the media can take a variety of forms and 13% of our graduates now work in this field. One student who’s found their niche in the media is Dylan Casella, who is currently Head of Acquisitions and Co-Productions at Off the Fence, a factual production and distribution company in the TV and film industry. Dylan graduated from the MSc just over five years ago.

Dylan described his job role to us:

What that really means in simple terms is I find documentary series, specials and one offs for my company to take to the international market and help producers reach wider audiences with their stories. Whilst this can cover any factual genre or topic, our calling card is Natural History, Science and environmentally focused docs. As part of my role I also provide executive producer support for many of our producers to help add the finishing touches to their documentaries.

Sounds like a dream job doesn’t it? For Dylan, one of the MSc modules had been particularly important to his future career:

The Science on Air and On Screen module was a really fun and interesting exploration of storytelling through radio and film production. Moving into science and factual TV and radio production was my goal after the course, and that module provided the skills and the springboard for me to make the move into the industry.

But Dylan also emphasised that the programme offers a lot of versatility for future careers, both in and beyond the media:

The skills on this course are highly relevant and extremely valuable. They’re specialist skills, but they’re also highly transferable, learning how to effectively (and creatively) communicate complex information in accessible forms for wide audiences is an invaluable skill to have in many walks of life. Having the depth of understanding this course provides gives you the perfect foundation to start a career in science communication.

A further graduate, who is now spending a bit more time in front of the camera, is Sophie Pavelle who graduated in 2018. Sophie is employed part-time by the conservation NGO, Beaver Trust, as a Communications Coordinator, which she also balances with freelance science communication commissions, especially writing for newspapers, magazines and book publishers about British nature, conservation, and climate change. In 2022 her first book Forget Me Not was published. For Sophie, the MSc programme had played an important part in exploring her career options and was the key benefit she described when we asked her what she’d appreciated about studying at UWE Bristol:

Being encouraged to find my own path in science communication, and discover skillsets and passions I previously wasn’t aware of, at an institution close to home that had brilliant facilities, and accessible transport links, has been invaluable in developing my career.

Sophie also enjoyed ‘meeting an amazing, diverse and talented group of people, the intimacy and creativity of the teaching environment, helped by small classes and valuable contact time with the lecturers and staff’.

Dylan and Sophie both studied with us full-time but part-time study is also a very popular way to undertake our programme and for a quarter of our graduates this was how they had studied with us, often already working in associated fields or alongside caring responsibilities. Michael Ormond is one graduate who was already working in the medical technology sector, and is now based at a company called Stryker. He works within the Joint Replacement Division, which focuses on implants for orthopaedic surgery such as hip replacements and knee replacements in his role as a Science Communication Manager.

Michael already had a lot of experience before starting the course, describing his role as sitting between the research team (which is his background) and the marketing team. For Michael the programme offered something extra:

The MSc in Science Communication widened my understanding of the process of science communication. Since completing it I have developed a few maxims which I apply daily; Start with your audience is an example! It was great to hear from other sectors about the challenges they face; this has helped me think more holistically about how I do my job. It has also helped me recognise the science communication is all around us and not just on the tv or on YouTube! Once you develop an eye for it you see it everywhere.

As a part-time student UWE had held a particular appeal for Michael: ‘For me, the main benefit of the UWE MSc was the format. I have worked full time whilst studying and was able to take only a few days of each month to come and do the course’. The location and team at UWE also appealed: ‘the staff were all very knowledgeable and being in a creative place with access to established science communication businesses such as Films at 59 added something unique.’


Photo credit: The Rosalind Franklin Institute

With the MSc at UWE Bristol now running for two decades we’ve also been able to witness our graduates career progression, and 41% (n=68) of graduates now work in senior, strategic or managerial roles. Laura Holland who graduated from the programme around 10 years ago is now Director of Strategic Marketing and interim Chief Operating Officer at the Rosalind Franklin Institute, a government funded research institute in Oxfordshire. For Laura the combination of practice and theory had been key in the programme and something she has continued to apply in her working life:

There is a rich and deep academic grounding in science communication which can’t (shouldn’t) be separated from practice. Knowing why the field works helps you perform science communication more effectively. I still seek out science communication literature now when I’m stuck with practical problems – it offers a different perspective and paths to explore.

Whilst Jo Silva, who also graduated some time ago is now Head of Communications for a medical department of the University of Oxford. For Jo, the connection of the programme to her career had been integral from the outset of her career as she explained with one example of a benefit she’d felt from studying with us:

A straightforward [benefit] was that I got my first job through my supervisor, before I’d even finished my MSc. That was neat! Many years later and looking back, what I realise is that the course prepared me incredibly well for the real world of work in science communication. It was very practical and relevant and I still use things I’ve learned then day-to-day.

We were delighted to catch up with our graduates in developing these case studies and the infographic. We are extremely proud of the contributions they are now making to science communication internationally, as well as the opportunities they have pursued in other career areas, the friendships they’ve formed and the stories they still have to tell. As we celebrate our 20th Anniversary in 2024, we’d like to say thank you to those who shared their experiences with us, as well as to all graduates of our science communication programmes at UWE Bristol. We can see you have learnt a lot, and we have also learnt from you.

Professor Clare Wilkinson, Science Communication Unit Co-Director & Dr Amanda Webber, MSc Science Communication Programme Leader.

What happens to our science communication graduates? The Sequel Part 1

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In 2016 we published an infographic that explored the career paths of our students after they completed their MSc. In 2024 we will be celebrating 20 years of our MSc science communication at UWE Bristol and we thought it would be timely to catch up with our graduates’ careers now and we’re even more impressed. You can view our updated infographic below.

To gather the data for the infographic we took a couple of routes.

Just over 300 students have graduated from our UWE science communication postgraduate programmes since 2003 and whilst we aren’t in contact with all of them, a significant number have kept in touch with us via a dedicated LinkedIn group that we use to share news and job opportunities. Following ethics approval from UWE Bristol (HAS.23.03.088) we drew together information on our graduates if they were a member of that group and included their postgraduate programme amongst their public LinkedIn profile. We also offered an opt out period for graduates who would prefer not to be included in the infographic. This resulted in data from 55% (n=165) of graduates who completed the programme between 2003 and 2022.

We also contacted a number of graduates requesting their participation in a case study. Here, and in a second blog post which we will be sharing soon, we capture some of the key points from the infographic and case studies.

77% (n=128) of our graduates now work in science communication directly and one clear example of this is Dr Amy Seakins, who after also completing a PhD, is now Deputy Head of Public Engagement at Imperial College London. Amy supports staff and students to engage the public with their research and work – her team runs training sessions, seed funding, awards, and networks all about engaging with public audiences. Amy is also,

‘passionate about evaluation, a lot of my work involves looking at the impact of public engagement and understanding the benefits for everyone involved’.

For Amy, some of the key aspects of her current role were underpinned by the teaching she experienced at UWE. When we asked her about a ‘take away’ from the programme she said:

‘I was amazed at the breadth of different roles in the science communication sector – the course really opened my eyes to the variety in the field. On a more academic note, understanding why two-way dialogue is so important over a ‘deficit model’ way of thinking has underpinned everything I have done since.’

Amy also highlighted that she’d most enjoyed one aspect of the programme:

‘The people. (That’s probably not a surprise from someone who works in engagement!) The staff are brilliant and so generous with their expertise. The fellow students and their varied backgrounds and interests – you really get to know your cohort and develop a great mini network for beyond the course. Plus the guest speakers and others you meet along the way.’ 

19% of our graduates now work in fields related to science communication, like science teaching, for the NHS, as civil servants or in the (non-science charity sector) but sometimes the boundaries between science communication and other types of roles can be quite blurred. One interesting example here is Andy Robinson-Noades. Andy graduated from our programme nearly 10 years ago, and now works as a Senior Concept Manager at LEGO Education in Denmark. Within this role, Andy is working on the development of FIRST LEGO League, an international STEM learning program for 4–16-year-olds that is delivered in over 110 countries. Andy said his tip for future students looking to develop a career in science communication would be to try things out:

‘The best tip would be to try out every opportunity you can, even if you don’t think it will be for you. These experiences will introduce you to new people, perceptions and techniques that you may not have been aware of but will, in my experience, pave the direction to your career.’

Andy also related this to aspects that he enjoyed in the MSc programme, saying

‘it was the perfect blend of theory and practical. We had the opportunity to learn the core of the subject, giving us the foundations to go and apply it into our own initiatives.’

Our graduates work in a breadth of fields from universities and research institutes, to industry, science communication associations and funders, with some graduates also developing freelance careers. 17% of graduates that are working directly in science communication are now working in charity-based settings, and one example here was Sarah Venugopal, who is now Head of Impact at Great Ormond Street Hospital Children’s Charity (GOSH Charity). Sarah leads the team that evaluates the impact of projects that GOSH Charity has funded and helps to communicate that impact to the public. We asked Sarah for a tip for future science communicators, and she highlighted that flexibility has helped her:

‘Be open to lots of opportunities for science communication, even if it feels like a non-traditional route or form. After the course, I joined a graduate scheme in market research and learned a lot about qualitative research methods. I did a more “traditional” science communication role after this, and found I did more science communication on my graduate scheme than I thought! This set me up well for my future science communication roles.’

For Sarah, exploring opportunities was something that had started during her time in Bristol:

‘Bristol is a wonderful city – big enough for there to be lots to do and yet still maintain a community feeling.  Studying in Bristol provided me with great opportunities to gain experience in Science Communication alongside the course – I was able to volunteer at @Bristol (now called We The Curious) in my free time. There are lots of science communications opportunities in and around Bristol: my first paid job in science communication after the course was an evaluation of a student film festival in Exeter.’

Bristol is a very active city for science communication, and 28% (n=47) of our graduates have stayed based in the city after their studies but we also have a large network of graduates around the globe. Dr Wilasinee Triyarat who completed her MSc and PhD at UWE is one example, as she is now the Director of Research and Academic Services Division at the National Center for Public Awareness of Science, National Science Museum, Thailand. In this role she has developed a science communication curriculum for university students to recognise the importance of science communication and the role of science communicators, and she is currently working on research to promote good health for older people through museums to support Thailand’s transition to an aging society. Wilasinee also enjoyed her time in Bristol:

‘Sharing ideas and experiences between classmates was an important part of the MSc that allowed me to explore new ideas. In addition, I made new friends from different backgrounds. We are still in contact and support each other’s science communication careers. The benefit of learning with experts from various backgrounds was my most enjoyable moment. It gave me new perspectives and ideas that have supported my career.’

International students are an important part of our programme, and we’ve been delighted to welcome many over the years, who have shared with us examples, stories and insights from their own societies and cultures. We also welcome students to our programme from an array of disciplinary backgrounds, and this means that a number of our graduates are now involved in communication roles that communicate a wide range of different types of research. Paloma Salgado Tonga, has also returned to a museum setting but is now Director of Experience Design at the Interactive Museum of Economics in Mexico. There she leads the research, content development, graphic and museographic design teams to develop permanent and temporary exhibitions for the museum, both in the national and international arena. Paloma’s top take away from the programme had been that the ‘tools you need and develop for a creative and innovative science communication can come from unexpected places and be applied in many different fields’. This also formed the basis of the advice she would provide for future students looking to develop their careers:

‘Search for new projects, in different disciplines (design museums, tv, podcasts, pop ups, art museums, etc.) and experiment using their mechanisms, tools, and ways to innovate in science communication. The way we communicate and open conversations with other people changes very quickly and is a complex human endeavour. Dare to experiment, dare to use art, design, different spaces, literature, poetry, anything that helps you build a bond between science and the public. Neutrality is overrated. Dare to be creative.’

In the next instalment of these blog posts, which will be published next week, we’ll be looking at some of the other career areas our students are now working in, the different ways you can combine study and working, and how our students progressed to more strategic areas of their careers.

Professor Clare Wilkinson, Science Communication Unit Co-Director & Dr Amanda Webber, MSc Science Communication Programme Leader.


Introducing COALESCE – the project creating a European Competence Centre for Science Communication

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We live in an era when more and more of the science we watch and read appears online and there have been growing problems with misinformation and the polarisation of views. It is also a relatively small proportion of the public, in some countries, who engage with science and are involved with discussions and debates about the trajectory of science.

At the same time, the boom in the availability of opportunities to communicate science online, through the likes of social media, blogs and podcasts, has democratised who gets to communicate about the science of everything from vaccines to nuclear energy. But how do we define what is ‘good quality’ science communication? It’s not a straightforward question to answer.

A new project funded by the European Commission, COALESCE, is looking to address these challenges and questions. A consortium of 13 partners across Europe, including the Science Communication Unit (SCU), have come together to develop a European Competence Centre for Science Communication and a SciComm Academy for capacity building and training. Within the project we’ll synthesise and bring together the insights from Horizon2020 SwafS (Science with and for Society) projects and other sci com research to offer advice, expertise, resources and tools enabling new, innovative, science communication techniques to be adopted. Anyone who communicates science – from journalists, to public engagement experts, bloggers and vloggers – will have access to these resources.

The Competence Centre and Academy, which will be online, will also amplify the work of the existing science communication networks out there that are already doing fantastic work and help to share their insights into good science communication practice. Co-creation will be used to create materials within COALESCE to enable mutual learning and ensure the resources meet the needs of those who will use them. As part of the project, national and regional hubs will be created across Europe that will act as physical venues, bringing communities of practice together and ensuring that the Competence Centre’s materials and resources are relevant to and visible within national and regional contexts.

The project is led by Erasmus University Rotterdam and Science For Change, a social enterprise based in Barcelona. Several members of the Science Communication Unit (SCU) are part of the team: Andy Ridgway, Emma Weitkamp, Clare Wilkinson and Emma Brisdion. The SCU will play a key role in raising the profile of the Competence Centre and Academy and making sure science communication practitioners are aware of the resources and tools the project creates. SCU team members are also involved in other aspects of COALESCE, including the work to create training materials and the creation of an impact and evaluation tool for science communication.

COALESCE team at the project kick-off meeting in Rotterdam, April 2023.

Speaking at the project’s kick-off meeting in April 2023, Jason Pridmore, from Erasmus University Rotterdam and the COALESCE Project Coordinator, said:

“The word ‘coalesce’ is about coming together and the COALESCE project is about the coming together of many different science communication research projects to produce a new project, that will focus on creating a Competence Centre for Science Communication for all of Europe. For me, that means making sure that we are effective at our science communication and that we are engaged with our public stakeholders and policymakers, that we are training people, engaging people in citizen science and that we are proliferating across different media landscapes.”

A number of COALESCE colleagues attended the Public Communication of Science and Technology Conference (PCST 2023) in Rotterdam in April to raise the profile of the project – but most importantly to start valuable conversations with researchers, practitioners and networks that will help shape the project’s work.

In the coming year, a website, podcasts, videos and infographics will be created to share insights and resources. To find out more and get involved now, you can join the conversation and help shape the Centre and Academy by connecting with COALESCE on Twitter (@ScicommEU) and on LinkedIn (COALESCE SciComm).

The COALESCE project partners are: Science for Change (Spain) Erasmus University Rotterdam (Netherlands), Venice International University (Italy), Trinity College Dublin (Ireland), Lappeenranta-Lahti University of Technology (Finland), Formicablu (Italy) University Of Valencia (Spain), Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (Netherlands), Science Communication Unit, University of the West Of England (UK), Stickydot (Belgium), The Spanish Foundation For Science And Technology (Spain), SISSA Medialab (Italy) and Tallinn University (Estonia). COALESCE is funded by the European Union.

The COALESCE team brings together those involved with Horizon 2020 SWAFS-19 projects: NEWSERA, TRESCA, QUEST, GlobalSCAPE, ParCos, ENJOI, CONCISE and RETHINK.

The SCU’s involvement in COALESCE is funded by UKRI within the Horizon Europe guarantee scheme.

Emma Brisdion and Andy Ridgway, Science Communication Unit, UWE Bristol

Homes under the microscope: pilot phase

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Like most people I spend a lot of time in my home; on average we spend 80% of our time in our homes, much more than they spend in any other environment.  This makes our homes very important for our health but, despite this importance, relatively little is known about air pollution in the home.  This is partly due to the huge range of different homes (I mean, what is a “typical home”?) and partly because it is rather obtrusive for researchers to collect data in homes where people are living!  Citizen science offers a powerful solution to this problem; by empowering people to take measurements within their own homes, citizen science research projects can not only offer participants a new insight into their home environment, but also allow the collection of data across a wide range of home environments.

Homes under the Microscope is one such citizen science project in which participants measured the concentration of airborne microfibre pollution in their homes.  Airborne microfibres are produced when we use the textiles in our homes, they are just tiny fragments of material that have broken off from e.g. carpets, curtains or clothes and passed in the air around us.  Now that many of the textiles in our homes contain plastic, many of the microfibres in our homes are also microplastics, but very little is known either about the amount of microfibres or what they are made of.  

The pilot phase of the project recently ran in Bristol; participants were each given 8 sample collection dishes that they placed in 4 rooms in their houses (2 dishes per room) for two weeks.  These dishes are just petri dishes with a sticky section at the bottom of the dish, any microfibres that land on the sticky section stay attached, so after two weeks we can count the number of fibres deposited.  

One of the biggest findings in the study is that the concentration of microfibres varies a lot between rooms – bedrooms had the highest number of microfibres, closely followed by bathrooms.  Whereas kitchens and hallways had much lower numbers.   Samples collected were analysed in a laboratory to understand what the fibres were made of, from the samples tested so far 41% were found to be microplastic (most commonly polyester) and 55% were natural (most commonly cellulose).  One of the purposes of the pilot was to shape the design of the main project, feedback from the pilot showed that the very simple microfibre collection method worked (which was a relief!) and that two weeks was plenty of time to collect a range of microfibre concentrations. Finally the participants took the time to give extensive feedback on the instructions and methodology, which allowed us to refine them and to make them clearer so more people can participate in the next phase. 

“We all really enjoyed it, and it has taught us more about our home!”

pilot participant

Text by: Kirsty Pringle, HOMEs project 

Homes Under the Microscope is a multidisciplinary project that brings scientists, participants and the textile industry together to develop a new way to measure microplastics in the home. It is a collaboration between the Science Communication Unit and the Air Quality Management Resource Centre at the University of West England, the University of Leeds and the University of Edinburgh.

Driving policy around the COVID-19 pandemic

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Policy briefs exploring the impact of COVID-19 on people and the planet have been published by researchers from UWE Bristol’s Science Communication Unit.

During the global pandemic, children’s lives were changed by both the presence of the virus and measures put in place to control it e.g., closure of schools and play spaces, move to online learning, and social distancing. The Voices in a Pandemic project (VIP-CLEAR) highlighted the importance of capturing children’s voices, which are often missed, about the impacts of these mitigations on their lives.

The interdisciplinary research team from UWE Bristol (which included 3 members of the Science Communication Unit) used arts-based methods to capture the experiences of children in six schools in socially disadvantaged areas of Bristol.  The first of these activities asked them to ‘map their world’ as the country emerged from the third national lockdown. This process gave children the time and space to reflect on this period of their lives. Their drawings showed how diverse their experiences were; some children enjoyed spending time with their family, but others found it difficult being separated from key support networks, and friends and family members. It was particularly hard for those who were dealing with existing challenges around space, food, money and resources. It is likely that children will experience further social shocks (e.g., pandemics, climate change) and the mapping policy brief outlines ways in which schools, community services, local government and public health teams can support children to cope with these intangible threats.  A primary book and teacher’s notes have also been co-created by the project artist in collaboration with the academic researcher team.   ‘Learning to Live with Fog Monsters’ is available digitally and in hardcopy, and aims to engage children with these complex topics.

The Future Brief COVID-19 and the environment: links, impacts and lessons learned, meanwhile, brings together research that highlights how the risk of zoonotic disease and pandemics is increased through human activities such as industrialised agriculture and land-use change. The policy brief, produced by Science for Environment Policy (based in the Science Communication Unit) for the EU Directorate-General of the Environment, also highlights how climate change and the wildlife trade are increasing the risk of emerging infectious diseases that may jump from animals to humans.

The brief emphasises the importance of the One Health Approach, which recognises that environment, wildlife and human health are interdependent. Since the risk of zoonotic disease increases where humans encroach on wildlife habitat, global hotspots of high risk have been identified by researchers working in this field. Minimising the risk is another task; this will rely on actions that improve the sustainability of farming, land use and our interactions with wildlife.

The brief also offers an overview of findings on the environmental impacts of the pandemic – from changing air quality as the world locked down, to increased volumes of single-use plastic and PPE littering beaches. Mass action can change behaviour to be kinder to the environment – can we harness the shock wave of COVID to inspire a green recovery? The brief was produced before the war in Ukraine, which has of course had huge effects on the energy landscape in the EU, but the message stands that addressing climate change and environmental degradation should not be overshadowed by economics but be integral to a sustainable future.

Although national and world events in 2022 have turned our attention away from the pandemic and its effects, the VIP-CLEAR project and the Future Brief show that it is crucial we reflect on the events of the last three years, to learn lessons, to understand and support those affected, and look to a resilient future.

Amanda D Webber and Caroline Weaver

Homes under the Microscope: A citizen-led project to investigate airborne microplastics in the home

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By Dr Margarida Sardo 

Homes Under the Microscope (HOMEs) is a multidisciplinary project that brings scientists, participants and the textile industry together to develop a new way to measure microplastics in the home. It is a collaboration between the University of West England, the University of Leeds and the University of Edinburgh. The researchers involved have a wide range of backgrounds including environmental research, laboratory analysis of microplastics and social science researchers who work to evaluate research projects. Led by Dr Ben Williams (Air Quality Management Resource Centre, UWE Bristol), HOMEs has the involvement of two Science Communication Unit members, Dr Margarida Sardo and Sophie Laggan.

About two thirds of the clothes we wear contain plastic, most commonly polyester, nylon or acrylic. These materials are cheap and extremely versatile. Plastics can help make fabrics stretchy and more breathable as well as making them long-lasting and durable. Other textiles also contain plastics – sofas, curtains and carpets often have plastics added to make them more hard wearing. When we use the textiles in our home, friction causes tiny fibres to break off and be released into the air.  These small fragments are called microplastics. There have been very few studies about the amount of microplastics in the home, but what research has been done shows that every home sampled so far contains some airborne microplastics.

In this study researchers want to count how many airborne microplastic particles there are in a wide range of different houses. They also want to examine what they are made of, which will help us understand where they come from.

Citizen scientists will place passive samplers in their homes, using low-cost microscopes to see and take pictures of their samples. They will then use machine vision approaches to characterise their own samples by size/shape/colour etc., at home.

The research team will also undertake confirmatory analyses so citizens can see what types of plastic (if any) are present in their samples, allowing the team to build an understanding of airborne microplastic generation at home.

HOMEs is funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC), through the UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) Citizen Science Collaboration Grant (Reference BB/V012584/1).

You can read the press release here.

What we can learn from Easton – 3 indicators of community climate action

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by Mic Palmer

A Youth Climate Café that took place in St Marks Church in Easton in April 2022 invited young people across Bristol to come and share in climate discussions and activities.  It was organised by UWE Bristol researchers, community members and charitable groups in Easton.

Audience engagement activities on the day included an immersive climate dome, seed pot making, presentations, conversations, an air pollution workshop and walk, and a fast fashion dance. The creative input was supported by Baggator Nexus, St Mark’s Baptist Church, Peace of Art, Easton Community Members, CCC-Catapult Youth Action partner group, Quartet Community Foundation, the UWE Community fund as well as the UWE Bristol Enterprise, Knowledge Exchange and Public Engagement fund. 

Apart from providing a much-needed opportunity for young people to hear, see and talk about climate change and what to do about it, three key insights emerged from the event that seem to indicate when community climate engagement works at its best – when it sees the local connection, listens to people disproportionally affected by climate change and builds a resilient community ready for action.

St Marks Road, Easton, Bristol. photograph by Josh Hart

See the local connection

The first plus of the climate café event was that it brought the focus back to local issues – the impact that can be directly felt. Air quality is an important issue for the Easton community. A talk and guided walk pointed out the problems in this area and how a community has come together to learn and influence change. Through a citizen science project, Easton residents are getting involved in air quality sensing, gathering data and interpreting what it means. They are making connections between the presence of particulate matter in the air with health issues experienced by friends and family.

To help bridge the digital gap between residents in Easton – one of the most deprived areas in Bristol- and air quality scientists, STEM ambassadors and UWE Bristol have been collaborating with BMCS and Baggator to use data on Air Pollution and Traffic data from Saaf Hava (‘clean air’). Stuart Phelps (Baggator) presented how this all connected at the Climate Café:

Saaf Hava is a Citizen Sensing project. Twenty sites across Easton will measure Air Pollution, Temperature, Humidity; with room for expansion. These twenty sites will make up over 1.6 square kilometres and may perhaps be the most comprehensive Citizen Sensing network in the UK. Telraam traffic counters have been added to this via UWE Bristol’s WE COUNT programme and introduced via STEM Ambassadors at Baggator.

Telraam site showing St Marks Road traffic data

According to Maryan Abdirahman, Baggator’s Data Analyst & User Researcher, gathering air quality data in Easton’s streets and communicating results to the people who live there is proving to be useful climate action. It has already led to greater awareness, change of habits and a better-informed lobbying of political decision-makers in Bristol.

Maryan Abdirahman

Communicate with everyone

A second insight that makes Easton community climate actions impactful is involving people not currently featuring prominently in public climate debates. Saaf Hava, the Citizen Sensing project mentioned before, is a joint initiative between RADE and the Council of Bristol Mosques and as such gives a voice to unheard BAME and working-class people in environmental debates.

Indeed, a little known fact is that some Easton mosques have been engaging with climate change in a deep and meaningful way.

Page 3 of the Muslim’s Guide the Climate Change, by Easton Jamia Masjid


The Easton climate café (hosted in St Marks Baptist church!) invited different audiences to contribute their views to an event and take note of each other, young Muslim women, families, older citizens, small business owners. Workshops held in preparation to the event connected young people living in Easton with university students and university researchers were facilitated by ‘Peace of Art’, a group of Muslim women creating Street Art.

Andalusia Academy creative work

Get ready to take climate action

Climate change is rooted in actions taken by the more affluent inhabitants of this planet, and the most disadvantaged groups are often far more affected by its negative impacts. Paradoxically, climate engagement tends to increase with education and income. To arrive at a more balanced debate and move things forward, a greater representation of disadvantaged and lower-income voices in climate debates seems crucial. We need to understand how race, ethnicity, class and gender issues can interact to influence/prevent climate change engagement. Perhaps the engagement formats we tend to use prevent access for many, and so we hear far less from people far earlier or far more affected by climate change.

Self-reflection is important but might open the doors to time-consuming bickering, for example  “middle-class climate warrior” has now turned from a description to an insult. Many activists know that the class divide threatens to derail what can only be achieved together, and Triston Cross writes “the more climate activism is codified as middle class and bourgeoisie, the more its composition inevitably will be. It’s self-fulfilling”. Clearly, new ways of engagement need to be explored, and perhaps the actions taken by Easton groups indicate how things can be done differently.

Media coverage often ignores what takes place quietly in our communities. Under-represented groups may already have explored and implemented working solutions, quietly. ‘Green’ practices, passed on from generation to generation, may have originated in necessity, not idealism: living through hard times, periods of shortages, mending and making do, using as little resources as possible. Perhaps we can still learn a lot from each other.

Regarding climate change, most of us understand the urgency to act. The pressures of rising living costs in the UK are getting more real every day. But how we go about taking action seems as important as the fact that we do take action. This means to address social and political exclusion. Climate activism needs to be inclusive and from this perspective, Easton is a perfect place to start.

Dr Mic Palmer is Senior Lecturer in Digital Media at UWE Bristol


Further Reading:

See Easton’s air quality data mapped here.

Find traffic data here and here.

Shining a light on green job pathways for the next generation

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Today marks the launch of a new year-long programme that aims to inspire and motivate young people in the West of England to pursue green career pathways. Known as Inspire Sustainability, it is one of three West of England Combined Authority (WECA)-funded initiatives as part of the Green Futures Fund, that, if successful, could be replicated and scaled to meet the region’s Climate Emergency Plan and Net Zero ambition.

This announcement builds on recent WECA support of other green skills initiatives in local schools, with West of England Mayor Dan Norris awarding the first green jobs grant for three schools to develop a special environmental careers programme -read more here.

Inspire Sustainability: in a nutshell

Developed in collaboration with UWE-Bristol’s Science Communication UnitCabot Learning FederationAvon Schools Eco Network and STEM Ambassadors West of England, the programme was developed as part of the initiative for Digital Engineering Technology and Innovation (DETI) Inspire programme. Inspire Sustainability will expand the region’s existing hub of sustainability skills education and training to highlight the region’s leading green skills and expertise in the labour market. Working in partnership, the consortium will deliver three areas of work to three pilot schools; Hans Price Academy in North Somerset, Bristol Brunel Academy in Bristol, and Digitech in South Gloucestershire.  The project includes:

  1. All-school engagement: tailored lessons, talks and careers events with diverse role models, culminating in a whole-school Sustainability Summit.
  2. Eco Council engagement: Eco Action Plan co-development to support the schools achieve Eco School status
  3. Teacher engagement: training so that teachers have the confidence to engage young people on these topics and support them to imagine a future where they can see themselves playing an active role in shaping development.

Once piloted, the outcomes will be shared widely to primary and secondary schools as well as to educational professionals and academics through the consortium’s networks.

West of England Mayor Dan Norris with Year 10 pupils from Orchard School at the Youth Engineering for Environmental Sustainability Summit in October 2021

Building on what works

The Inspire Sustainability approach builds on tried and tested methods explored in DETI Inspire, which has engaged over 7,000 children and young people in the West of England on engineering for sustainability.

Consortium member UWE-Bristol’s Science Communication Unit has a track record of working with and training diverse stakeholders to reach sustainability goals. In 2021, the Unit launched its Climate Action Hub to highlight the existing work of students and academics in this space, as well as to offer support and training to further amplify climate action. Currently it is delivering climate communications training to young people and supporting them to act on things that matter to them. The Youth Climate Communications toolkit will be used to develop the teacher engagement portion of Inspire Sustainability.

Meanwhile, the STEM Ambassador programme will be key to recruiting diverse green role models while Avon Schools Eco Network will use their expertise to support the schools to develop their action plans.

If you are interested to know more about any of this work, please contact project manager Sophie Laggan.

This post was first published on the Engineering Our Future blog on 30 June 2022.

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