Information sheet

and parental
consent form
TreeLab: co-creating a
programme of equitable,
engaged, place-based urban
tree research
Dr Phil Wheeler
Environmental, Earth and Ecosystem Sciences/December 2023
Information sheet and
parental consent form
TreeLab: co-creating a programme of equitable,
engaged, place-based urban tree research*
We invite your child to take part in a research

study being led by Dr Philip (Phil) Wheeler who is

a Senior Lecturer in Ecology at The Open

University, as part of TreeLab. The study, as well

as your child’s rights as a participant, are

described below.

Before you decide whether participation in the research is appropriate given

your child's characteristics and experiences, it is important to explain why the

research is being done and what it will involve. Please take time to read the

following information carefully.

*
Definitions:
‘Co-creating’ means working with others in all stages of the development and design of an idea
or thing.
‘Equitable’ here means that we are aiming to be fair in the way that we consider ideas,
perspectives and priorities from across society.
‘Engaged research’ refers to any meaningful interaction between researchers and those outside
the research community, like members of the public, business, charities or governments.
‘Place-based’ refers to activities that are focused on, or have particular relevance to, a specified
location and the community or communities in that location.

pg. 2
Description
The purpose of the research is to explore the properties of urban trees in and

around Milton Keynes. Urban trees are critical elements of green infrastructure,

and their management is key to supporting sustainable, healthy and equitable

built environments. Scientific understanding of the benefits urban trees provide

is underpinned by data and models of their physical characteristics and growth.

Despite a long history of research in production forestry and natural forest

ecology, research on urban forests, their benefits and management is limited.

This project has been funded for six months (November 2023 to April 2024)

during which time we will:

a) Engage with your child and teachers at Denbigh School, and other interested

and affected parties from across Milton Keynes, to prioritise research

objectives for a larger research proposal that will explore urban trees in the

context of Milton Keynes.

b) Explore and agree with your child and teachers at Denbigh School, and

interested and affected parties, how we could undertake research into urban

trees, and with which groups, through a larger and longer-term research

project.

The study, called TreeLab, will be led by staff at the Open University, including Dr

Phil Wheeler, Dr Kadmiel Maseyk, Ms Janice Ansine and Professor Richard

Holliman, and members of Forest Research (Dr Kieron Doick and Dr Kate Hand).

We will only engage with your child in a school setting and with a teacher

present. Any Open University researcher will have undertaken a check through

the UK Government’s Disclosure and Barring Service within the past six months.

pg. 3
Benefits of participation
We are looking to engage with your child to develop a research proposal that

will be inclusive of a range of interested and affected parties across Milton

Keynes. This will offer a greater number of people an opportunity to be involved

in research that has the potential to improve the lives of citizens living in Milton

Keynes.

How will the data your child provides be used?

➢ Data will be stored on an Open University networked computer, server and

encrypted external hard drive.

➢ No personally identifying information will be recorded; quotes will be

anonymised.

➢ Audio recordings will be stored in an encrypted format on the digital

recording device. Once transcripts have been produced, the audio files will

be destroyed. Workshop outputs will be digitised; original contributions will be

destroyed.

➢ The earliest date for the destruction of the data is 31 July 2024. The latest

date for the destruction of the data is 30 September 2028.

➢ We will use your data in the production of a proposal to the public funder

NERC to seek funding for a larger, longer-term research project. A project

report is required by the funder, NERC. This will be a co-authored document,

subject to consent from the partners, i.e., as a participant in the co-creation

phase you will be asked if you would like your child to be acknowledged for

their contributions.

➢ We will explore co-author publications and presentations via the usual

academic routes (e.g., journals, seminars and conferences). Published

pg. 4
 outputs and data will be shared via the Open University’s Open Research

Online and Open Research Data Online platforms.

You and your child’s right to withdraw from the study

You and your child have the right to withdraw from the study at any time during

your participation by emailing Phil Wheeler (Philip.Wheeler@open.ac.uk).

You and your child have the right to ask for your data to be removed after your

participation in the study by emailing Phil Wheeler (Philip.Wheeler@open.ac.uk)

up until 1 April 2024.

The alternative contact, should you wish to discuss any aspect of this project

and/or your child’s participation is Marie Williams (Marie.Williams@open.ac.uk).

How do I agree to my child taking part?

If you are willing for your child to participate in this study, please complete the

consent form, sign and return the consent form by email to

Philip.Wheeler@open.ac.uk.

pg. 5
Parental consent form
Please highlight your choice by clicking inside
the appropriate box.

Taking part in the study

I have read and understood the information YES NO

about the following study: TreeLab, or it has been ☐ ☐
read to me. I have been able to ask questions
about my child’s participation and my questions
have been answered to my satisfaction.

I consent voluntarily for my child to be a YES NO

participant in this study and understand that they ☐ ☐
can refuse to answer questions they are not
comfortable with and can withdraw from the
study at any time by contacting Phil Wheeler
(Philip.Wheeler@open.ac.uk) up until 1 April 2024,
without having to give a reason.

I understand that taking part in the study involves YES NO

participation where my child will contribute to ☐ ☐
discussions and decision making about: research
priorities; capacity building; and governance.

pg. 6
I agree to photos being taken during the YES NO
workshops for the purposes of recording decision ☐ ☐
making and decisions about the project, and for
publicity.
YES NO
I agree to the workshops being audio-recorded. ☐ ☐

I agree to my child’s contributions to the YES NO

workshop being recorded in the form of my ☐ ☐
written and/or drawn contributions.

pg. 7
Use of the information in the study

I understand that information my child YES ☐ NO ☐

provides will be used for the purposes of
writing a full grant proposal to the public
funder NERC, and in research
communications (reports, papers, blog
posts, etc.).

I understand that personal information YES ☐ NO ☐

collected about my child, such as their
name, will not be shared beyond the
study team unless I (and they) give my
written permission for this to happen (e.g.,
if I choose for my child to be named in the
grant proposal or research
communications).

I understand that my child’s data will be YES ☐ NO ☐

stored on a password protected OU
computer, server and encrypted external
hard drive up to a maximum of 30
September 2028 when it will be
destroyed.

I agree to my child being quoted YES ☐ NO ☐

anonymously in research reports,
publications and blog posts.

pg. 8
Future use and reuse of the information by others

I give permission for audio recordings and YES ☐ NO ☐

written/drawn contributions that my child provides
during the workshops to be deposited in a
specialist data centre (https://ordo.open.ac.uk)
after it has been anonymised, so it can be used for
future research and learning. This would involve
de-identified (anonymised) transcripts and/or
written/drawn contributions.

I would like to receive a copy of the summary of YES ☐ NO ☐

the findings of this study.

Please insert your email address in the space

below if you answer ‘yes’

Email address ………………………………………………………………..

Signatures

Name of Parent/Guardian Date

child Signature _________
_____________ _________________

(electronic signatures
may be accepted

For participants unable to sign their name, please mark the box instead of

signing ☐

pg. 9
Data Protection
The Open University is the Data Controller for any personal data that your child
provides.

The lawful reason for processing this data will be that conducting academic
research is part of The Open University’s public task. (The consent we request
from you on behalf of your child relates to ethical considerations.)

We share the information you and your child has given to us with a public
funder called NERC in order to request funding from them to conduct a larger,
longer-term research project.

The lawful reason for these transfers is that it is part of our public task to
conduct academic research. NERC will only be given personal data in order to
carry out a specific activity, and we have contractual arrangements to
safeguard their use of you and your child’s personal data.

Your child has a number of rights as a data subject:

• To request a copy of the personal data we have about them.

• To rectify any personal data which is inaccurate or incomplete.

• To restrict the processing of your child’s data.

• To receive a copy of your child’s data in an easily transferrable format (if

relevant).

• To erase your child’s data.

• To object to us processing your child’s data.

If you are concerned about the way we have processed your child’s personal
information, you can contact the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO).
Please visit the ICO’s website for further details.

pg. 10