CULTIVATE

Equality, diversity and inclusivity affects us all. In environmental sciences, a large part of our students' studies or academics' jobs involves being outside, in often physically demanding environments. These environments are seen as not being for all, whether that is due to the steep mountain sides or the lack of people of colour in the images we see of the countryside.

Our project, CULTIVATE, wants to change how people see and interact with the environment. We want to work with everyone from schools up to universities, professionals and professional bodies in the environmental sector. The pandemic has seen a digital revolution in our classroom teaching, that has transformed how students have been enabled to engage with their studies and their environments using a variety of online, digital and virtual approaches.

CULTIVATE wants to grow a better environment for everyone in environmental sciences. By providing the digital tools and resources to embed inclusivity in our teaching and research, and creating a community for teachers and educators, researchers and students, and the general public to interact and share knowledge on their best approaches to making the environment a place where everyone can experience it.

We want to show that there are no barriers to studying the environment and sharing the digital tools to make that possible, and to transform how we teach, how students learn, and how the great outdoors is for everyone! To be able to do this, we are asking two very simple questions: 1. How can digital technology make field work inclusive?

2. What can we do to help environmental sciences educators include the principles of equality, diversity and inclusivity in their teaching?

CULTIVATE aims to bring together people from within and outside of education and environmental sciences to work on this project to build a community that works together to achieve the same goals of an opening up environmental places and spaces. We will share our outcomes via a website, a booklet, and through storytelling. This a project for the community by the community.

KEYWORDS: Communities; Learners; Teachers; Digital Tools; Environmental Science; Experiences; Stories.

STAKEHOLDERS: Pupils, Teachers, Students, Researchers, Academics. Learned Societies and professional networks (e.g. Black Geographers, RGS, GA, Geol Soc., Time for Geography, QRA, BSG, etc.).