Webinar – Sensory Sea

Last month Dr Louisa Evans (Univeristy of Exeter) and Ecogeographer delivered a webinar to the MARSOCSCI network titled: Co-producing an understanding of the needs and priorities of coastal communities – here you can view the full event and we will soon be following up with some resources from the day such as answers to questions and a wonderful exchange of sea based objects.

The GCRF project Coral Communities co-developed and piloted a sensory visual mixed-method that combined gift exchange, image and object elicitation, walking interviews and model coastscape creation together with elements of participatory video with coastal communities in Mauritius, and on Fundo Island, Zanzibar. This process took place in order to co-produce an understanding of the impacts of coral reef decline and to provide the communities with an opportunity to voice their concerns for their future in their own words.

Outputs were shared with other communities both in person and through social media. The method proved effective in quickly gaining insights into the challenges faced by these communities and overcoming language barriers. It offered participants the opportunity to reflect and learn from their experiences and created a platform for them to express their concerns. The challenge now is to turn these insights into effective actions that can support these communities to build resilience to their changing environment.