How Did Your Engineering Project Begin?

For us it all started at Yarmouth Primary School, a coastal school in the Isle of Wight World Biosphere Reserve. Our Vertipool project really got going when we invited the school children there to join us on a journey of discovery where we could all start to understand the future problem of coastal squeeze caused by sea level rise and the impact it could have on the lives of the people who live in coastal towns and cities across the world. We enlisted musician/singer/songwriter Spike Oatley and artist Ian Whitmore and together with the children and teaching staff we began to unravel the story of climate change. Together we sung about coastal squeeze, we danced a ‘rising sea level dance’, we made an animation showing how Vertipools work by creating homes for seashore wildlife, and finally together we made a Vertipool.

This is a classic example of our ‘Shaping Better Places’ delivery framework in full flow. It was joint funded by the brilliant Solent Forum, the superb APE UK and ourselves. Funding bids where administered by Natural Enterprise.

The Vertipool intertidal habitat creation project has gone on to connect with environmental agencies and universities across the world, funny to think that it all started here with a unique collaboration made up of scientists, artists and children.

Artecology CoCreate's delivery framework, using our "Shaping Better Places" approach, is deeply rooted in fostering community resilience in the face of critical environmental challenges such as biodiversity collapse, the climate crisis, and related environmental tipping points. Our initiatives prioritise engaging communities, including children and young adults, to create connections, raise awareness, inspire action and build community resilience. We believe our pioneering early work with children eleven years ago on the innovative Vertipool project may have had a profound impact. We hop these young participants have grown into aware young adults who possess a heightened understanding of global environmental issues. We hope that their involvement with Artecology has not only increased their awareness but also inspired them to take proactive steps toward addressing the challenges. By instilling a sense of environmental responsibility and hands-on empowerment in the younger generation, Artecology aims to cultivate resilient communities that is actively engaged in shaping a sustainable and thriving future for themselves on a fast changing planet.