Mapping the Islands

Using art-science collaboration to communicate climate change research in ways that engage with peoples’ values, this project will reveal opportunities for and barriers to environmentally sustainable practice. Adopting the social-environmental case study of climate change on the Great Barrier Reef, this project explores the efficacy of maps, drawings and story-telling for communicating how recent environmental changes are impacting the reef.

In 2017, this iconic Australian coastal landscape has undergone a second consecutive mass bleaching event. Driven by carbon emissions, this environmental issue represents a truly global challenge.

Media

• Can the arts and sciences save the Great Barrier Reef? The Stand, 19 June 2019

The Team

This project brings together a diverse range of disciplines including spatial analysis, human geography, creative arts and external partners.

• Dr Sarah Hamylton is a senior lecturer within the School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, in the Faculty of Science, Medicine and Health. She specialises in spatial analysis of coastal environments, including the application of GIS, GPS, Remote sensing and spatial statistics
• Dr Leah Gibbs is a Senior Lecturer in the School of Geography and Sustainable Communities, Faculty of the Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities. Her research focuses on cultures and politics of nature, and the creative possibilities enabled my interdisciplinary research.
• Dr Lucas Ihlein is a DECRA Research Fellow and senior lecturer, within the School of the Arts, English and Media, in the Faculty of the Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities. He uses a creative-practice based research methodology (including blogging, printmaking, public events, and scholarly publication) to explore complex environmental management issues with a particular focus on Australian agriculture.
• Kim Williams is a PhD candidate and sessional lecturer within the School of the Arts, English and Media, in the Faculty of the Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities. Her practice-based PhD research focuses on environmental projects using the methods of collaboration and socially engaged art.
• Prof Iain McCalman is a Professorial Research Fellow from the Sydney Environment Institute at the University of Sydney.