Due to the distributions on the first day of the event and then also issues with the light and noise present in the canteen area the event was held, there was low participation in the event. Subsequently, there is only a small amount of evidence collated to analyse.
Analysis and Evaluation of Outcomes:
Conversations:
The majority of participant interactions were interesting conversations with people intrigued by the event. These conversations predominately led to exchanges of contact details to keep in touch and to look to collaborate on future work, which was very exciting and valuable.
Feedback from Conversations with Participants:
- Fine art student – 4D she was intrigued by the use of projections the event and took a video of it. She really liked the natural imagery from the peak district.
- Graphic designer – interesting thought for her how to include nature into her work and bring it into other practises of her life
- architecture – she was interested in utilising it in her work but less so something she is super passionate about- she would be more interested if a client wanted it then she could use the resources to find out more about natural design.
- Materials and deisgn MA student – looking how different materials can be utilised to replicate nature
- performance arts student – using the rave scene as a method of communication for integrating cultures loves the projections of nature and thinking of it in that way – wants to look to collaborate to utilise similar projections of nature in her work – but she is less focused on sustainability
- Industrial designer student- wants to get in touch about collaborations, loved thinking how to fuse ideas of nature and humans together in the city space, really enjoyed watching the projections as she ate. She also recommends i look into the artist – Moon Ribas who exhibits how earthquakes impact humans through movement and dancing.
- narrative environments student- really interested in my project, she looks at how to communicate stories in a new way and environment. Her friend on her course is really interested in bringing nature and forests to people after covid with people still staying in she wants them to get outside and so she is going to pass my email onto her friend to look at working together in the future! She also really enjoyed the wind noise as she felt it made her really feel like she was in the space.
What I learned:
- People enjoyed the video content and found the natural imagery engaging and relaxing
- The video was thought-provoking in making people think about nature and when spoken to how they could include nature in their work. Perhaps to get the point of how to include nature in their work across to more people I could have displayed a poster by the video showcasing that very question.
Paper Sheets and Google Forms Questions:
However, despite offering QR codes to google forms of questions and displaying questions on large sheets of paper for people to write thoughts around, there was very little uptake in these activities. I had only 3 participants write feedback on the sheets and lots of this was one-word answers such as ‘peaceful’ and ‘relaxing’.
Perhaps I should have handed out bookmarks with the google forms QR code on the tables before people sat down so that they could answer the questions as they watched the video. Good thought if I do an event in similar circumstances in the future.
Feedback from Google forms:
What I learned:
- The video helped people to feel the benefits of integrating with nature – peaceful, comfertable, calm and relaxed
- The video provided insporation to include nature in work/ projects – thinking of developing pattern inspired by nature
- People said they wished to visit other natural events and that it provided a small escape from the busy world of city life london.
These key takeaways suggest the event was a success in achieving its aims of showcasing the benefits of nature and how to include nature in city spaces in innovative and engaging ways, also in provoking ideas to include nature in professional work and building the Nature In community. However, the limited participants in the event do limit the success of these outcomes.
Online Nature In Communities:
I also promoted my online community groups on both LinkedIn and Facebook. I am still awaiting people to join the groups from the QR codes that I have handed out, and I am aware that leaving people to do this of their own accord means there is unlikely to be an uptake in the activity. The participants which I exchanged contact details (5 of them) I will contact to again promote them to join the group for conversion and collaboration on bringing nature into city spaces through their work.
Interestingly when conversing with the narratives environment student she was surprised the communities were online and not held in a physical space for conversation and collaboration. This was an angle I hadn’t really considered before as I had thought more to host panel discussion events or talks in person, not the community conversations themselves. The idea of hosting physical community meetings is something I will definitely look to explore more in the future.
Also, some people said they didn’t use linked in or Facebook only Instagram and so maybe I will look to expand the community on that platform too.
What I have learned/ Evaluation:
- I gained connections with students off a vast variety of courses from industrial materials to narrative environments and preformance arts. It was really useful to hear the different perspectives on bringing nature into spaces and how everyone approches the topic differently but that it is a concpet the enagges people from a variety of fields.
- Seeing the appeal of bringing nature into city spaces attract such a variety of people solidifield my decision to step away from limiting my work to hospiality businesses. The adjusted scope of my project helped to engage all of these individuals and can allow for future collaborations with them in the community to bring nature into cities through their work.
- I furthered my skills in thinking on my feet. When uptake in the event was low, but I saw people watching the video from their seats I began to go round and hand out QR codes to individuals to try and gain their feedback and to heighten engagement in the event. I do however think that I should have done this sooner, as at the stage that I began doing this, the peak lunchtime slot was over.
- The use of the video was enjoyed by many and provided the relaxing benefits of interacting with nature, it also served well in provoking thoughts around nature and even including nature in people’s professions.
- I would look to utilise the video again in other events or situations
- To consider hosting the community in perosn as well as online and on instagram as another platform alongside LinkedIn and Facebook
Reflection:
Looking to develop other events, I feel I need to focus upon inviting an audience rather than relying on engaging people already occupied in spaces, as this can be very hard to involve people as they don’t wish to spare their time. In order to establish such an audience, I feel it is appropriate to focus on building the communities online over the coming weeks with a view to hosting iterations of the event interventions in the future. Once a community begins to become established then the core community can invite their contacts and create a buzz around the vent so then passersby might be intrigued to get involved alongside the invited crowd.
However, there are positives to take from this event in that the projections provided the benefits of interacting with nature, as well as inspiring people to think of nature in their work; and the majority of participants stated they would be interested to visit future natural events.