Getting Creative Over Climate Change

Air pollution is now the biggest environmental threat to human health in the UK (Igini, 2022).
York Air Map makes air quality information accessible and empowering for cyclists and the wider community. This innovative map-based project has evolved from a collaboration between conceptual artist Clare Nattress and atmospheric scientist Dr. Daniel Bryant in 2022 after Clare spent three months collecting air pollution data on her bicycle, with Dan analysing the results. Collectively they wish to provide an accessible platform that highlights ambient air pollution from ground level and reveals recurring pollution hotspots.

Engaging young people in decision-making is crucial, yet there's often a gap between rhetoric and action. Recognizing this, the EYPIC project, which I co-lead, delves into understanding the hurdles and facilitators for youth participation in consultations. Our toolkit, co-developed with young people and experts, emphasizes diverse needs, the importance of consultation location and timing, and the use of both digital and in-person methods. We argue that involving and empowering young people in consultations not only tailors services to their needs but also ensures sustainability, enhances project visibility, and improves policy by incorporating their unique perspectives. Join me as we explore practical strategies to bridge the gap and make youth engagement a meaningful reality.

This talk will explore the nature culture divide, and how this must be broken down to deal with issues such as climate change. It will explore how this has historically positioned humanity and the things we have built, culture, separate from that arising naturally, nature. How we must break down this binary to create a world where we consider our impact and effect on the world as a natural thing which exists as part of the world around it, not separate from it, and the consequences of this shift in perspective.

Kaiju (literally, ‘strange beasts’ in Japanese) are cinema’s biggest monsters, and they help us understand our biggest fears. Born of mid-twentieth century nuclear nightmares, they have become portable metaphors for global anxieties, from media sensationalism to climate change. The stuff of trashy cult movies, kaiju bridge intercultural understanding and shared fascinations with humanity’s fragility and mortality. As Godzilla turns 70 this year, this talk will show how kaiju have taught us to embrace our impending annihilation as they stomp all over our ailing world.