Ask a Tree: Decarbonisation, Sustainability, and Inclusion through the Arts

In the face of the ever-pressing global challenge of climate change, the need for innovative and collaborative solutions has never been more urgent. The 2022 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report underscores the significance of incorporating the perspectives of youth, indigenous knowledge, gender equity, local wisdom, and urban-rural dynamics in the pursuit of effective climate change adaptation.

Responding to this call, our Open Societal Challenges (OSC) project will be seeking to weave together the threads of sustainability, inclusion, and creativity by engaging people in four countries with their local trees, through the arts. The project will consist of four distinct case studies, engaging the vibrant voices of young people in the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Italy, and Romania. By drawing from the collective wisdom of grassroots communities, the vision of youth, and the rigor of scientific inquiry, this initiative embarks on an ambitious journey to conduct a multi-sited ethnographic exploration of climate change adaptation.

Over the past two decades, a burgeoning network of grassroots activists has taken root, aiming to catalyze local action and cultivate resilient, sustainable, and inclusive urban communities. Movements like Italy's "Città Slow" and the UK's "Transition Towns" have grown into internationally acclaimed forces for change. Such local green transition networks, driven by principles of sustainability and inclusion, have germinated across cities and nations, heralding a more environmentally aware citizenship and a drive towards decarbonization and justice.

Central to the project's ambition is the pursuit of a deeper understanding of the cultural dynamics underlying the shift towards decarbonization and sustainability in multicultural European cities. Stretching across Western, Eastern, and Southern Europe, the project will look for and follow what looks like a green tapestry of interconnectedness. By convening diverse stakeholders - ranging from local transition networks to young individuals - in a series of collaborative workshops, this initiative sets the stage for a dialogue between humans and nature. At its core this dialogue takes the form of reflective encounters between people and trees, whilst observing that trees hold both cultural significance and a vital role in absorbing carbon – indeed that we live in a  symbiotic relationship with trees.

The project will unfold in three distinctive stages, each contributing to a comprehensive narrative of change. In the initial stage, stakeholders collaborate to craft a tangible artifact - an educational leaflet titled "Trees, Roots, and Carbon." This leaflet, grounded in the act of encountering local trees, serves as a conduit for exploring themes of sustainability and carbon literacy. In the second phase of the project, the leaflet will be put to work, seeking to engage the energy and creativity of young minds aged 12 to 18, as well as their families, to explore central parks in Cluj (Romania), Nijmegen (The Netherlands), Milan (Italy), and Milton Keynes (UK). Participants will also be invited to take part in reflective, introspective, artistic activities that will seek to engage them with themes of cultural and natural heritage, inclusion, diversity, and belonging.

The project's third and final stage will draw on how these different publics engaged with the leaflet and reflected on the artistic activities they took part in, in order to create an interdisciplinary educational and informational resource pack. This resource pack will be available both digitally and in print and will be tailored for audiences spanning educational institutions, Further Education colleges, and community-based organizations. It will aim to engage people more deeply with the climate crisis through information and reflection about carbon literacy that goes beyond numbers and facts, and which can help transform passive observers into active stewards of change. The pack will aim to empower individuals to acquire essential insights into carbon literacy and sustainability Accessible through a multilingual open-source platform the resource pack will be widely available, given the project's commitment to open collaboration and the democratization of knowledge.

Beyond these original aims and outcomes, the project nurtures seeds of a broader transformation. It aspires to catalyze the creation of a European consortium - a nexus for innovation in culture, education, and technology. The consortium will be able to develop novel, specialized digital outputs that can help reshape our relationship with our environment, by deepening our bond with nature. Collaborating with The Open University's Living Lab project, the initiative will already explore the potential of smartphone apps, sensors, photogrammetry, augmented reality, and gamification to amplify our connection with trees and nature. These digital avenues serve as pathways to nurture carbon literacy, amplify civic engagement, and sow the seeds of inclusion in the diverse tapestry of multi-ethnic communities living in European cities.

In the age of analytics, impact is both measurable and invaluable! We will use feedback forms and website analytics to take stock of the engagement with our resource pack and we hope societal transformation generated by this initiative. We also hope that the impact of our project will go beyond metrics. Societal challenges can only be addressed by communities and we therefore hope that our project will contribute to communities, becoming catalysts for local, national and international policy change that can lead to decarbonization and sustainability. Finally, our project hopes to contribute to the ongoing work of green networks by helping communities develop a renewed sense of belonging - a shared purpose that binds individuals across cultural, geographical, and generational divides. Ultimately we wish to harness the transformative potential of engaging with nature through the arts - one tree at a time.