Let’s talk about drought: Students as research partners in creating resources for public engagement about climate change

Horswell, Michael; West, Harry; Quinn, Nevil

Abstract

In what is often considered a ‘wet’ country, conversations about drought are unusual in the UK. However, the intensity and frequency of dry events has increased, with significant droughts occurring within living memory. With climate predictions suggesting a continued increase, it is time to talk about drought. Researchers have struggled to find compelling public engagement mechanisms to enable droughty conversations. ArcGIS Story Maps were proposed as a way to create interactive and effective engagement resources. Due to limited GIS skills amongst researchers, final year geography students have co-created a series of droughty Story Maps as part of their assessment on a specialist GIS module. This collaboration benefits both groups. Student experience is enhanced through added levels of professionalization, and develop technical, transferable and dispositional skills. Staff benefit from the repackaging of their research in an engaging online interactive format. However, such partnerships are not without challenges. Expectations of both groups needs careful management, and there is added pressure on teaching staff to ensure that the objectives of the module, in terms of learning outcomes, and the researchers’ live projects, are met. This is exacerbated by the specialized nature of drought research, something not covered in depth in other modules. Challenges include students having to quickly acquire and assimilate new knowledge, and use large spatio-temporal datasets. We conclude that this partnership has been successful and productive for both staff and students, and reflect on barriers and opportunities for continuing and enhancing the co-creation of public-focused dissemination material for climate change research.

• Presentation Conference Type: Conference Paper (unpublished)
• Conference Name: Royal Geographical Society Annual International Conference
• Start Date: Aug 28, 2018
• End Date: Aug 31, 2018
• Acceptance Date: Mar 2, 2018
• Publication Date: Aug 30, 2018
• Publicly Available Date: Jun 7, 2019
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Keywords: drought, students, research partners. creating resources, public engagement, climate change
• Public URL: https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/862236
• Additional Information: Title of Conference or Conference Proceedings : Royal Geographical Society Annual International Conference