{"id":822,"date":"2019-07-16T12:21:50","date_gmt":"2019-07-16T11:21:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.ncl.ac.uk\/vitalnorth\/?p=822"},"modified":"2019-07-16T12:21:50","modified_gmt":"2019-07-16T11:21:50","slug":"making-ouseburn-better-sense-explorers-at-seven-stories","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.ncl.ac.uk\/vitalnorth\/making-ouseburn-better-sense-explorers-at-seven-stories\/","title":{"rendered":"Making Ouseburn better: Sense Explorers at Seven Stories"},"content":{"rendered":"

In this post, part of which was originally published on The Conversation<\/a> blog, Newcastle University<\/a> researcher Sean Peacock<\/a> talks about his research and the Sense Explorers<\/a> events he is leading at Seven Stories: The National Centre for Children\u2019s Books<\/a> from June to August 2019. Sean is an EPSRC<\/a>-funded PhD student in Digital Civics<\/a> in Open Lab,<\/a> part of the School of Computing<\/a> and his research interests centre on the ways in which technology can support children to participate in placemaking.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Air pollution has a particularly damaging effect<\/a> on children. They\u2019re still growing and breathe faster than adults do. They also live closer to the ground, where the most polluting gases from vehicles accumulate. Pollution from traffic has been linked to problems with brain development, stunted growth, respiratory conditions, cancers and 300,000 child deaths worldwide.<\/a><\/p>\n

Children themselves are far from oblivious to all this. The school climate strikes show that young people are forcing air pollution and the climate crisis to the top of the political agenda<\/a>. The strikes tell us that children demand a platform to challenge pollution in their environment. Unable to voice their concerns in school, they are forced to take radical action. What if instead there was a way to work with children in tackling air pollution and climate change?<\/p>\n

\"PhD
PhD researcher Sean Peacock leads a Sense Explorers workshop. Image: Seven Stories: The National Centre for Children’s Books, photography by Richard Kenworthy<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Through my research, I look for ways that we can give children the tools, the skills and the confidence to affect change in the cities they live in. With the help of teachers and my colleagues in Open Lab, we\u2019ve come up with Sense Explorers<\/a>, a toolkit of activities and resources to involve young people in transforming places and the environment.<\/p>\n

And this summer, I\u2019ll be delivering four free Sense Explorers workshops with Seven Stories<\/a>! As part of each workshop, we\u2019ll be exploring spaces around the Ouseburn. Using some digital tools we\u2019ll be collecting data about air pollution, and we\u2019ll also be asking young people to think about what their own five senses are telling them. Can they see or hear what may be causing pollution?<\/p>\n

\"Sense
Sense Explorers explore the Ouseburn Valley. Image: Seven Stories: The National Centre for Children’s Books, photography by Richard Kenworthy<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Then looking at this data, we\u2019ll be asking our Sense Explorers to think about what they would do to make the Ouseburn better. I can\u2019t wait to see what ideas they come up with!<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s a video about our Sense Explorers workshops at Seven Stories:<\/p>\n