| EPSRC Reference: |
EP/I003924/1 |
| Title: |
The Carbon Game: Engaging Young People in a Low Carbon Manufacturing Future |
| Principal Investigator: |
Greenough, Professor R |
| Other Investigators: |
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| Researcher Co-Investigators: |
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| Project Partners: |
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| Department: |
Institute of Energy and Sustainable Dev |
| Organisation: |
De Montfort University |
| Scheme: |
Partnerships- Public Engage |
| Starts: |
01 July 2010 |
Ends: |
30 April 2011 |
Value (£): |
19,992
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| EPSRC Research Topic Classifications: |
| Energy Efficiency |
Waste Minimisation |
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| EPSRC Industrial Sector Classifications: |
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| Related Grants: |
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| Panel History: |
| Panel Date | Panel Name | Outcome |
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17 May 2010
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PPE Starter Grants Call 2
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Announced
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Summary on Grant Application Form |
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This project aims to develop an understanding of low-carbon manufacturing in a group of young people that will add to their enthusiasm for living sustainably to inform the next generation of scientists and engineers for a low-carbon UK economy.The project will work with up to a thousand young people who will attend a week long Woodcraft Folk youth festival in August 2010, called Venturer Camp 2010. The theme of the festival is 'Futures - Fashioning a New World' and the project will address the science and engineering behind the various technologies used at the event. Engagement will take the form of helping develop a game for the event to model a 'carbon economy' and highlighting the role of manufacturing in the transition to a low-carbon society. Academics will engage with the young people when they are devising, developing and delivering the festival. The experience gained will inform plans for similar youth engagement activities at future events.Planning and running the festival will be the responsibility of the Woodcraft Folk with assistance from academics via the engagement project. The Woodcraft Folk steering committee will establish carbon budgets for the festival which will either be on an individual or collective basis. The thousand people will be camping in groups (villages) of about one hundred people. Carbon budgets will therefore be set for individuals or villages. The young people will need to travel to the festival, eat and take part in activities throughout the week (cinema, music stage, cafe, information tents, showers, etc). The electrical power will be provided by renewable energy (solar photovoltaic and wind). During the festival, all the activities will be monitored as part of the carbon game (i.e. carbon footprint, number of people attending, electrical consumption etc). Electrical power generated, imported and exported for each power generator area will be recorded and used to present the operation of the electric power grid. Hot water will be provided partly by solar thermal and partly by biomass. The festival could then be said to be model a future society, meeting basic needs of food and shelter, whilst also addressing leisure and work/education related activities.In recent years it has been difficult to interest young people in manufacturing as a career. To environmentally aware young people, their strongest perception of industry may be as a major cause of climate change rather than an essential part of our sustainable future. The project will introduce manufacturing concepts as an integral part of the activities of a youth festival and there will be manufacturing experts available to enter into a dialogue with young people at the festival. There will be a practical focus on the role of manufacturing in the transition to a low-carbon society.The Factory of the Future at Sheffield's AMRC has been designed to be a carbon-neutral factory building, and is powered by two wind turbines and a ground source heat pump. With the help of AMRC staff, ideas will be developed for communicating low-carbon manufacturing concepts in a manner that is appropriate to a youth festival. Prof Shao and Dr Greenough will communicate ideas generated by a TSB project (THERM) which aims to create a software tool to help design low-carbon factories. The project researcher will work with the steering committee as they devise the carbon budgeting scheme, the rules of the game and the provision of food, power and hot water at the festival site. The researcher will work with the AMRC and others to develop ways to communicate low-carbon manufacturing concepts to young people. Lastly, the researcher and investigators will engage with the festival goers.This is a unique opportunity to work with young people in an enjoyable environment in which they will learn about greener living and develop a greater understanding of the role of manufacturing engineering in the UK's transition to a low-carbon society.
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Key Findings |
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This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk
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Potential use in non-academic contexts |
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This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk
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Impacts |
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| Description |
This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk |
| Summary |
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| Date Materialised |
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Sectors submitted by the Researcher |
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This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk
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| Project URL: |
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| Further Information: |
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| Organisation Website: |
http://www.dmu.ac.uk |