As Unit 3 is now underway, I have devised an action plan to move forwards through the final stages of my master’s project. This plan involves streamlining my interventions into the most impactful and inventive ways to achieve the aims of my research question.
Focusing My Interventions:
Events
Events are my predominant intervention to re-connect people to nature through visiting hospitality spaces. The events aim to connect people to a natural environment whilst visiting a typically unnatural space. Consequently, they can feel the health benefits of interacting with nature as well as building their connection to nature, which will improve their care for the natural world and hopefully increase their uptake in sustainable practices.
Chelsea College of Arts have confirmed I can host more events in their spaces, and their canteen spaces is re-opening at the end of September. Consequently, I am hosting my immersive event in the canteen on the 7th and 8th of October.
- Canteen Event 7/8th Oct
- Immersive event implementing the positives from the herb event alongside the innovative ideas founded in technobiophilia
- Ideas:
- Implementing live stream waterfall and soundscapes
- Incoprorate physical plants as they were well recived in herb event, as well as possibly scents as they were greatly enjoyed from the herbs
- Look to measure connection through body metrics
- Ideas:
- Immersive event implementing the positives from the herb event alongside the innovative ideas founded in technobiophilia
In developing this immersive event I am also going to explore the avenues of creating responsive immersive projections through Microsoft Kinect software, or utilising AR to bring in natural elements to the space. I will evaluate the most effective of these methods, if any are appropriate and work on implementing them into the event.
I also have the opportunity to test smaller scales of ideas I wish to implement in the canteen in Chelsea’s cafe space, wish will be a very advantageous space once I have got a more precise view of my ideas for the event.
ClubHouse/ Podcast
To look to connect people to nature through hospitality even further, I am going to take the highly interesting and original conversations from my panel discussions and from the panels into talks on clubhouse or a podcast. The talks will be aimed at hospitality professionals as well as biophilic/ natural experts to learn how nature can be incorporated into hospitality spaces.
I am deciding between clubhouse as it is aimed at professionals and is a newly emerging platform over the past year which can help reach my intended audience on a wider scale, in a new and engaging way. However, discussions on clubhouse can’t be recorded and you have to be available at the moment to talk part and listen to the discussion, which restricts who can view and learn from the conversations. Therefore, I am also looking at whether a podcast may be a more suitable format as discussions can be kept forever and relistening to. But, guiding users to find your podcast can be very difficult and so it may be tricky to reach my intended audience. I will explore both methods in greater depth and make a decision.
I will continue to run the Nature.In Instagram page in posting applications of nature in different hospitality spaces, as well as promoting the events for nature.in; but this is very much a sideline aim to accompany the key interventions.
The Instagram aims to connect people to nature through developing a type of online catalogue of hospitality venues that actively try to incorporate nature into their spaces; thus, encouraging people to visit them and develop their connections to nature.
Reflection
I’m very happy to have narrowed the focus of my work slightly and I will continue to narrow in more as I reflect further upon the outcomes of my previous interventions. I feel it is of great benefit to have done this for both the direction and clarity of my project, as well as for my personal focus to move away from constantly conjuring up new ideas. I am excited to deepen my focus on these interventions and create something that creates real change.