Hutchinson, Daniel, Owen-McVey, Aaliyah, Lewis, Jamie  ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1065-6017, Rogerson, Tansy, Williams, Dawn, Lannon, Simon ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4677-7184 and Evans, Robert ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7034-5122
2025.
EcoMaps and young minds: Charting the environmental imagination.
Presented at: WISERD Annual Conference 2025,
Aberystwyth, Wales,
30 June - 01 July 2025.
Participation and partnership in a time of precarity and polarisation - Abstract Booklet.
Aberystwyth University:
Wales Institute of Social and Economic Research and Data,
p. 41.
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Abstract
This paper discusses an AHRC-funded project titled Green Transitions Ecosystem. Over the past two years, we have worked closely with community mappers based in Anglesey to co-develop innovative pedagogical materials aimed at empowering young people to map and critically engage with their local environments. Together, we have created a series of adaptable lesson plans and accompanying resources under the titles: (i) North Wind and Sun, (ii) Habitat Hunters, and (iii) Green Future Heroes. These lesson templates are intentionally designed as living documents—flexible and responsive to the particular needs of individual schools and local contexts. The project adopts an iterative model, allowing for multiple visits to the same school. During these sessions, young people begin by exploring their surroundings through creative, hands-on mapping activities, gradually progressing towards more digital and data-informed approaches. Central to this work is the idea of nurturing what we term the 'environmental imagination'—encouraging young participants to speculate on possible futures and create locally grounded ecomaps that reflect their visions and concerns. This paper details the structure, development, and delivery of the project, and critically examines the role of community mappers as boundary figures—individuals who act as connectors between the academic teams and the young people themselves. Their involvement has proven crucial in fostering trust, contextual understanding, and sustained engagement with young people to produce these ecomaps.
| Item Type: | Conference or Workshop Item (Paper) |
|---|---|
| Status: | Published |
| Schools: | Schools > Social Sciences (Includes Criminology and Education) Schools > Architecture |
| Subjects: | H Social Sciences > H Social Sciences (General) N Fine Arts > NA Architecture |
| Publisher: | Wales Institute of Social and Economic Research and Data |
| Funders: | AHRC |
| Date of Acceptance: | June 2025 |
| Last Modified: | 09 Oct 2025 15:15 |
| URI: | https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/181546 |
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