Research image of the month - Planting seeds of community

This month’s research image of the month (September 2025) captures Dr Katerina Alexiou’s research, which brings communities, local organisations, and practitioners together to share resources, build partnerships, and co-design projects or ventures that strengthen places and improve people’s lives.

In Katerina’s own words…

“I am delighted that our image, ‘Our Gurnos Tree’, has been selected as The Open University's (OU) Research Image of the Month for September.

The image shows a young person reaching up to add a message to a tree sculpture. Each leaf on the tree represents local voices — thoughts, hopes, and pride in the place they call home. This tree was created as part of the Cross-Pollination project, a collaborative research project with our strategic partner, The Glass-House Community Led Design, and with a larger group of local partners and networks across the UK. The project, funded by AHRC's (Arts and Humanities Research Council) Place Programme, explored creative ways to bring communities, local organisations, and practitioners together to imagine and shape better futures.

At its heart, the research is about co-design and collaboration. Through the Cross-Pollination approach, we aim to support people to pool resources, share knowledge, and build partnerships across sectors, enabling joint initiatives and actions to emerge that benefit both people and places.

In Merthyr Tydfil, South Wales, we worked with the OU in Wales and community groups, housing providers, councillors, artists, and schools, to design an open day called ‘Our Gurnos’, named after the community in Merthyr Tydfil. The event showcased local organisations but also created space for residents to express their feelings about their community. The tree sculpture, built by a local resident and artist Adam Griffiths, became the centrepiece; a mobile artwork that has since travelled to schools, giving others the opportunity to engage and add their voices.

I have been part of more than 17 projects that bring communities and academics together over the last decade, often focused on themes of place, heritage, and collaboration. The Cross-Pollination method itself grew out of earlier projects where we saw the transformative effect of creative collaboration. Over time, we developed this into a structured approach, producing a practical resource pack, case studies, and training materials so others can apply and utilise it.

I chose this image because it captures so much of what our research is about. You see a young person actively engaging, not just as a participant but as someone shaping the story of their community. You see pride in place written into the leaves. And you see the joy and sense of belonging that comes from contributing to something, a community, larger than oneself. These are not easily measurable outcomes, but they represent the true, and sometimes intangible, impact of this kind of work.

For me, this image demonstrates how research can impact the world by strengthening communities, nurturing confidence, and inspiring hope. It aligns beautifully with the Open University’s mission to be open to people, places, and ideas — meeting communities where they are, recognising their value, and supporting them to grow.

Being selected as Research Image of the Month is personally meaningful. It signals recognition not only of our work, but of the communities and partners who made the project possible. At the OU, we celebrate the diversity of research — from discoveries in outer space to images of children adding leaves to a tree. Each makes its own contribution to knowledge and to society. I am proud that Our Gurnos Tree stands among them as a symbol of connection, creativity, and community pride.