Blog: Footprints

BIAZA Corporate Member Ray Hole on a project to immerse generations of children in the natural world...

Behaviour Change: a primary strategy in wildlife conservation, requiring awareness building across all social structures – but particularly in the young where lifelong beliefs and values are initially established.

We call this Behaviour Nurturing. It is recognised that raising awareness successfully involves creating emotional connections, which are then reinforced through transformational experiences. Therefore, Behaviour Nurturing the young has profound implications.

Footprints™ is one of BIAZA Corporate Member ray hole architects’ primary “awareness building” tools. Through our initiative to install artwork-based representations of the IUCN Red List, located in all 21,000+ primary schools across the UK, we aim to engage some 5,500,000 children between 5 and 11 years of age – all of whom will eventually grow into more “ecologically aware” citizens and form part of an active electorate.

Footprints™ is aimed at expressing the Red List in a tangible, educational and experiential way through the performing of a simple graphic art installation ceremony in every primary school in the UK.

Each ceremony comprises a short introductory presentation relating to the plight of endangered species - followed by a “footprinting” event in the playground - ideally located on the playground surface – but could alternatively be on a wall or other surface.

A range of “footprints” selected by the students, from species with varying degrees of endangerment are represented through a unique stencil of that species “footprint”, allotted to a student/class by any method of selection; lottery, alphabetical order, self-choosing, etc. and this process provides another level of anticipation and emotional attachment.

At the ceremony itself - each participating student stencils their adopted endangered species “footprint” graphic onto the playground surface.

Collectively, the artwork creates an array of footprints in a colourfully sequenced display - segueing from “black to green”.

Importantly, the artwork installation is carried out by the school children themselves.

A year after creating the initial Footprints endangered species ground art installation - the following senior year group revisits to refresh the original stencilled representations.

The children enquire into the current status of each species again through the IUCN Red List - and adapts the “colour code” accordingly.

But its these fun and engaging events that bring attention, awareness and knowledge, not only for the children actively participating, but also the rest of a participant’s class, school, staff, parents, governors and local community.

Imaginative Heads of School (such as Andrew Simpson at ACE Primary School in West Sussex) are incorporating the Footprints session into other parts of the school curriculum (Geography, Maths/Statistics, etc.) - but the central focus has been to bring awareness of the natural world.

Subsequent lessons would then allow the range of species represented to expand, and to announce the improvement (hopefully) or decline (a sad reality) of each representative species – including the most emotional category of all; extinction.

Obviously, a decline in any species status emphasises the reality of that species’ vulnerability – but conversely an improvement is a reason for celebration – either emotion generated is potentially transformative.

A further extension of where Footprints can be installed is demonstrated by Gibraltar’s Alameda Botanic Gardens and Wildlife Centre who played host to a Footprints™ installation ceremony at its Habits for Habitats Campaign event.

This provided the local children, parents, teachers and other citizens with the opportunity to learn about the many endangered species around the Planet – but also those that live on the famous Rock itself (ie. Barbary Macaque – the only monkey in Europe).

The event proved to be very successful in both awareness building and fundraising to support the Park's valuable conservation work.

This event was made all the more special and poignant by the attendance and participation of His Excellency Governor of Gibraltar (Edward Davis) and The Honourable Minister for the Environment (John Cortes) - who both actively engaged with the Footprints™ artwork installation by applying their signatures next to each of their own chosen endangered species footprint.

Our aim is for each participating Primary School to liaise with a BIAZA Member who could provide a Footprints™ tool kit and education pack.

Long term however, this ritual of creating and refreshing the Footprints – the 5,500,000 students become eligible to vote – and could influence UK and Global Policy to enact the critical rebalancing measures required to mitigate and ultimately Reverse the Red.

All blogs reflect the views of their author and are not necessarily a reflection of BIAZA's positions