Social Lives
Authors: GoGreenRoutes Academy Cluster Members – Maria Fernandez de Osso Fuentes, PhD Researcher in the School of Business; Maynooth University, Cassandra Murphy, PhD Researcher in the Psychology Department of Maynooth University, Assisting Living and Learning Institute (ALL); and Alan Scarry, PhD Researcher in the Department of Biological Sciences, University of Limerick. All authors are funded by the H2020 project GoGreenRoutes.
The GoGreenRoutes Academy
Maynooth University, and ALL Institute project GoGreenRoutes (GGR) has a unique component referred to as an ‘Academy Cluster.’ Scientific Coordinator Professor Tadhg Macintyre established the academy at the start of the GGR project, and it has thrived over the past three years. Currently, Cassie Murphy, Maria Fernandez de Osso Fuentes, and Alan Scarry, all PhD Researchers within the project, oversee the GGR academy. The Academy is a meeting forum for PhD Researchers and other Early Career Researchers to discuss progress and gaps in their individual learning. It was developed to give the researchers an opportunity to acquire new knowledge and develop new abilities from a range of outstanding speakers in a variety of sectors. The researchers themselves then took on the role of teachers, imparting their knowledge to any incoming academy members. Since the academy’s inception, each member has been given two distinct skill profiles: one for skills they seek to learn, the other for skills they wish to teach. Then, at this forum, each academy member has the chance to speak and acquire new abilities. Based on a method implemented by Professor John Gallagher, who works on the GGR project, researchers are urged to evaluate their own development. By assessing their own skills and identifying knowledge or education gaps that can be filled for professional advancement and personal growth, the researchers are also able to monitor the progress of their own research projects through participation in academy activities.
The Near Nature Conference
The latest GGR academy related activity has been the Near Nature conference, nick-named the ‘Spring School’ as it is part of several in-person training events for GGR early-career researchers and more. The purpose of the Spring School was to foster connections for urban health and wellbeing. The primary focus of the event aimed to train young researchers in several methods and tested tools, but alongside this it aimed to inspire the researchers of the future through stimulating keynotes, conversations and continuing to build on the community spirit GGR has created during the run of the project. The 3-day event, which took place in early February, focused on training the young researchers of the future. This entailed learning from one of our fellow PhD colleagues, Evelise Pereira Barboza, whose 2021 publication in Lancet Planet Health outlined the importance of exposure to greenspace in cities for preventing premature deaths of citizens.
During the week we heard from a variety of voices including that of Jack Chambers TD, French Ambassador to Ireland H.E. Vincent Guérend, Maynooth University’s own Vice President for Research, Prof. Ronan Farrel, and Director of Internationalisation, Claire Doran, and UNESCO Chair Dr Catherine Carty. Dr Carty spoke of the role of sports and outdoors in achieving sustainable development goals and the importance of getting people active and outside for a healthier world; a statement that resonated as many elements of the event took place outdoors putting the training we received into practice. Dr Carty encouraged the room to go beyond research and policy and bring the results and frameworks that are currently being created in the project to practical level and to the cities stating: “We’ve made impact on a policy level, let’s do it on a practical level.”
The second day started with Dr Daniela Pauknerva from Prague University of Economics and Business, who discussed the importance of sustainable leaders in order to transform communities and our global reality. To quote Dr Pauknerva: “If you’re not sustainable yourself as a leader, you will not convince others. You cannot preach water and drink wine … global leaders should be humble, but need confidence to get the message through and the purpose behind it to match.” Which emphasises that the role of managers in the need to shift towards a more sustainable and environmentally friendly reality is key and so the change needs to happen from top levels.
The GoGreenRoutes Gender, Inclusion and Diversity panel also presented the essential role of including such a panel in an international project, the value of creating inclusive spaces for the different interventions that will happen in the six cultivating cities – Umea, Tallinn, Burgas, Versailles, Lahti, and Limerick -, and finally data collection methods. To wrap up the second day we focused on methods training, including environmental quality data, information on local biodiversity, exercise, and overall health (referred to as 360 health in GGR). Once presented to the wider consortium, groups of researchers went into the field to learn and train in the different methods and tools presented. This gave them the opportunity to ask questions and practice before traveling to the six cities to collect data.
On the third day several internal meetings and panels were also held, where working groups discussed next steps, challenges and first results on achieving greener and more equitable spaces to benefit citizens’ health and wellbeing. Researchers, experts, and city partners in our six cultivating cities worked together to construct knowledge on the importance of nature-based solutions for wellbeing and sustainability, from community engagement activities to technological innovation.
The event was a fantastic scenario for knowledge exchange, reflections on topics such as gender and identity in research, while maintaining a connection with colleagues and friends working together to bring nature-based solutions in cities. We look forward to traveling to our six cultivating cities and putting our new skills into practice, contributing to healthy cities and sustainable lives.
Funding Acknowledgement: The GoGreenRoutes Project is supported by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 869764.