This is a project in partnership with the Northwest 2045 network of organisations in Sutherland, led by Assynt Development Trust, aiming to get people thinking about how we can make a transition to net zero carbon. We have used poetry to explore some less-well-known and sometimes invisible carbon sources and sinks that are important in our area: peatlands, marine diesel and seaweed. These are issues with significant carbon emissions and/or sequestration potential in our area, but all relatively under-discussed. They are also all mostly hidden and distinctively aromatic!

I carried out the project in my role at the University of the Highlands and Islands. It was funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council and it's one of several partnerships hosted at the Future Observatory at the Design Museum. 

The research began with a survey as a way to interact with local people, then it involved interviews with local and regional experts on peat and marine diesel, plus creative workshops, particularly involving young people, on peat and seaweed. Words and phrases from survey responses, interview transcripts and workshop data were used to write poems and other ‘poemish’ texts. During the course of the project, 72 people, including lots of local young people, have provided words. Read more in the project brief. 

A key issue that has arisen is a lack of hope about climate action and our aim thus became to try to generate hope, so we've done lots of fun, outdoor things, including making collective visual poetry about seaweed and travelling in an imaginary time machine at the beach.

The findings of the project are all expressed as poems, and you can find them and comment on them on this padlet. There is also a PDF of the poems, together with a summary of the conclusions. If video is easier, here is a recording of a presentation I gave for the University of the Arctic about the project, including several of the poems. A hard copy of the poems is held in Strathnaver museum. Feedback is very welcome. 

I am very happy to answer questions and share more about the project. Please don't hesitate to get in touch!