Sustainable Staffordshire Exhibition

‘Sustainable Staffordshire’

What does this mean to you?

There And Back Again - Charlotte Render

"Sustainably to me means reusing, reducing and recycling what you have. I've been trying to limit what I buy from unethical businesses and spending more on small businesses with better ethical and environmental standards!"

Sunset Arch - Anon

“Just as the sunsets, time is running out if we want to make the sustainable changes to our world needed for a better future. We have until 2030 to make the changes we need, and that is very little time, represented by the sun being very low in the photo with darkness already creeping in, in the form of the arch.”

‘Church in the Trees’ - Anon

“In this image we have a woodland area very close to a village and a church. Here we have humanity and nature co-existing. In cities it is unlikely that you will find untouched nature so close to civilisation.”

Which Path Do We Take? - AW

"The photograph shows a wildflower meadow which is common land in the centre and highest point of the village. There are lots of wildflowers between the grasses and insects. You often see birds of prey hovering and mounds where there would have been moles and rabbit droppings. The paths are well trodden by dog walkers and it is a great location for sledging. This is a community green space."

Walking our dogs - Kate

"Green spaces are so important to be able to look after ourselves and our pets."

Sunshot Meadow - Anon

"This photo represents the green space of Staffordshire. Green space is needed for wild and natural plant and animal species to thrive. Increasingly throughout the world natural green spaces and habitats are being removed to be replaced by man made unsustainable environments. A strong extreme example of this is the impacts of Brazil on the Amazon Rainforest."

'Fire-Lit Clouds' - Anon

“This image contains red clouds in the sky. The red as a colour is often associated to heat and warmth. The clouds here can be seen as the snow and ice in the warmth. Whereas usually there would be white and solid, here the warm red is quickly overpowering them before the disappear into the night sky. This acts as a metaphor to climate change. What was blue cool sky for the majority of the day is quickly overpowered and turned to red before becoming black and dark.”

Pollinators - Anon

We need pollinators to survive.

Cloudy Sky in Staffordshire - Anon

"This photo contains the right type of white in the sky...Clouds. Clouds are white puffy and beautiful, but in less rural areas or in areas with fires, it is common to see smoke pouring out of houses, building or factories and into the sky. This photo represents white that should be visible in the sky on a day to day basis!"

Aurelian Wisps -  Anon

“Sustainability includes ensuring that we reduce pollution and air pollution. This image relates to sustainability as the sky is clean and clear even as it becomes dark. This clearness was increased due to the lockdowns and so we could see the Sky clearer than in a long time.”

Sustainable Staffordshire Exhibition Information

You are being invited to consider taking part in the research study of ‘The Geographies of Climate and Ecological Emergencies – Sustainable communities and youth for nature’s recovery in Staffordshire’. This project is being undertaken by Alana Wheat and supervised by Dr Deirdre McKay. Before you decide whether you wish to take part, it is important for you to understand why this research is being done and what it will involve. Please take time to read this information carefully and discuss it with friends and relatives if you wish. Do feel free to ask the researcher if there is anything that is unclear or if you would like more information. Please take time to consider whether you wish to participate.

Title of Project: The Geographies of Climate and Ecological Emergencies – Sustainable communities and youth for nature’s recovery in Staffordshire 

Name and contact details of Principal Investigator: Alana Wheat, w8h07@students.keele.ac.uk

How can I share your work with others?

Please share the website link (www.AlanaWheat.com) with others, it will be fantastic to get as many people engaged with the project as possible.

How will information collected be used?

The media collected will be used on the website to create a gallery and it may be used within the dissertation research project to help to add in further depth into the local area study which is part of the researcher’s MA Masters degree in Geographical and Environmental Research as part of program requirements.

Any personal details collected will only be accessed by the researcher and the dissertation supervisor. Unless given permission to publish on the website or dissertation. Once the dissertation is marked, it may be shared with other organisations as relevant.

The published data in the dissertation may potentially be used for further academic research writings to do with the project. Please be aware that published data on the website will remain publicly available due to the nature of the internet.

What will happen if I take part?

There will be submission form via Google Forms with a consent form and an upload question where you can upload media (e.g. video or photo) of what ‘Sustainable Staffordshire’ means to you. This can be a picture of a local public green space, or a landscape, or some rain… anything that comes to your imagination! Photos that you already have are preferred and please adhere to lockdown measures.

General images are perfect for this, for example, submitting a photo of a tree or some rain.

What are the benefits of taking part?

Although you may not personally derive direct or immediate benefits, you get the opportunity to share your media to a gallery on the website, once it has been approved by the researcher and manually uploaded to the website. The images will also add further depth to the data collected for the research project.

What are the risks of taking part?

There are no expected risks to your participation. However, if any problems were to arise during the research activity or if you find any problems on the website, please contact the researcher.

Please note, your name will be collected as part of the submission, but that the media will automatically be anonymous if published to the website unless stated otherwise in the consent form. However, participants may be recognised by members of the public through their functions despite anonymity, for example, through style of media, photography or artwork. If there are any identifying features in the media, for example, the ‘Keele University’ logo, this will be blurred out by the researcher or if unchangeable but identifiable, this will not be published.

The media is assessed by a case-by-case basis and if it is too identifiable (such as personal vehicles, places of work, addresses, etc), the researcher holds the right to not share the media on the website. If unsure the researcher will consult with their supervisor.

Images with identifying information such as vehicle plate numbers, house numbers, street names (etc) won’t be accepted and please think carefully about how you represent the location so that you don’t encourage over-use of green spaces or abuse of community initiatives.

Images should be from public land or land you/your group/your family own or manage only.  If complaints are made by owners, images may be removed.

If you submitted the media by mistake or wish for your data to be withdrawn, please email the researcher (w8h07@students.keele.ac.uk). The information that you submit will not be automatically published on the website, the researcher will have to manually upload it after checking that the media meets the guidelines.

Lockdown Measures

Please ensure that all lockdown measures and government guidelines are always followed during the COVID-19 pandemic. For current government updates; https://www.gov.uk/coronavirus

Please only upload images that you already have or can collect safely adhering to lockdown regulations, while in out and about and following social distancing guidelines (i.e. if you are out exercising or going to a shop for groceries as part of your normal lockdown routine). Please do not leave your home to only take part in this research project  .

The research project does not to encourage  outdoor exercise or journeys beyond local villages / towns / areas. The photo gallery will be published with permission as soon as possible to allow potential other participants to see what the gallery will look like before deciding whether to participate.

What if I want to withdraw my image?

I want to see the final gallery, what do I do?

If you would like to see the final gallery, please keep an eye on the website.

Who is funding and organising the research?

The research is self-funded by the researcher.

What if there is a problem?

If you have a concern about any aspect of this study, you may wish to speak to the researcher, Alana Wheat , who will do their best to answer your questions. Alternatively, if you do not wish to contact the researcher you may contact Dr Deirdre McKay - https://www.keele.ac.uk/gge/ourpeople/deirdremckay/.

If you remain unhappy about the research and/or wish to raise a complaint about any aspect of the way that you have been approached or treated during the course of the study please write to the University’s contact for complaints regarding research at the following address: Research Integrity Team Directorate of Research, Innovation and Engagement IC2 Building, Keele University ST5 5NE. E-mail: research.governance@keele.ac.uk