Introduction

The Green shoots project which is part of the Middlesbrough Environmental City is currently trying
to engage members of the public taking care of the environment they live in. Their target audience is
people with BAME backgrounds, asylum seekers, refugees and young people. The purpose of the
podcast is to assist the company to make people aware of a water vole which is commonly mistaken
with a rat and to provide knowledge on other natural habitats. Research will be conducted followed
by solutions. The company’s issue at the moment is a lack of engagement from the public as many
individuals think helping the environment is not trendy.

Question 1: how to educate on water vole.

The water vole was found in the area in the 1970’s and are currently endangered species. There are
a number of ways which members of the public can learn about the water vole. Firstly online quizzes
can be used which would hold a number of questions for an individual to answer leading to a review
of the answers to see where they went wrong. Questions could include fun facts about the species
and the history of them. Which may be useful as this may persuade individuals to show compassion
towards the water vole. Research has shown that online quizzes have had a huge impact on
students’ learning as the knowledge gained was portrayed in their exams and assessments (Dobson,
2008). It’s said that not only are online quizzes a very effective way for people to learn new material
but people can participate in their own time. Because the target audience for this company is adults,
mostly working during the day, they may find it hard to take part in organised group quizzes
throughout the day. Instead they can do it alone at their own discretion. It’s also important for the
company to provide an incentive for the individual to take part in online quizzes as it may be difficult
for adults to have the motivation to take part in educational quizzes without anything in return.
According to Michael Smith (2008) the number of people taking part in online surveys for money is
increasing. Although this may be expensive, it is a very effective way to draw a larger audience to
take part. It’s also said people were interested to take part multiple times for a continuous payout. It
must be said that there are drawbacks to this method. According to Justin Gardner (2012), this
method would assume everyone has access to a reliable internet connection and possess expensive
goods such as a laptop or iPad to access the material. In this case, it would be sufficient the company
knows the internet provider for the area and to make sure every household has access to at least
one electronic device that can gain access to the internet. Also the company could offer vouchers to
use at stores or restaurants instead of cash. Another method the company may adopt to help
educate members of the public about the water vole is organised group walks around the area
during the best season which most are visible. It’s been proven that people engage and learn whilst
experiencing local nature (Natural England, 2014). Because it’s practical, people have the
opportunity to explore and discover with other member of the group. There a number of benefits to
physical activity in spending time outdoors such as opportunities for personal development and
sense of purpose for adults. As well as aiding mental health and reducing stress. However the
limitation to this method is adverse weather conditions because numbers of attendees would drop if
for example rain occurred. But with sufficient planning, this can be avoided by checking the weather
beforehand.
References

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Gardner, J. (2012). The Inverted Agricultural Economics Classroom: A New Way to Teach, A New Way
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