{"id":1069,"date":"2025-11-12T10:57:49","date_gmt":"2025-11-12T10:57:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/per\/?p=1069"},"modified":"2025-11-12T13:43:09","modified_gmt":"2025-11-12T13:43:09","slug":"how-can-you-take-your-research-into-communities","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/per\/2025\/11\/12\/how-can-you-take-your-research-into-communities\/","title":{"rendered":"How Can You Take Your Research into Communities?\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Walking tours can be a novel way to communicate directly with communities, and invite audiences to discover research in a unique way. Whether you are looking to highlight the science behind local wildlife, or overlooked corners of our city streets, they can help encourage reflection on a range of topics.<\/strong> <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Walking tours are a longstanding component of the FUTURES Festival and beyond, with organisations like Agile Rabbit<\/a> collaborating with researchers across the region to bring research out of an academic setting. Attendees of our recent FUTURES celebrations commented on how this act of walking through research \u201chelped concentration\u201d, and that they \u201creally enjoyed learning more about the city I call home!\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The three examples below showcase how FUTURES 2025 used walking tours to share research from across the University, taking it to the streets of Exeter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sensing Exeter\u2019s Air Quality: A Bird\u2019s View <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

Combining art and science, this tour took air quality monitors to the streets, so participants could investigate air pollution around Exeter, while discovering recent bird artworks created by local artist, Steven McCracken<\/a>. The walk combined research from the Department of English and Creative Writing, and the Department of Public Health and Sport Sciences, and builds on work from the SmogOff<\/a> project, formed alongside non-profit group, Then Try This<\/a>. Many praised the tour\u2019s \u201ccollaboration between science and art\u201d, with one visitor describing the event as \u201can interesting opportunity to explore my city in a different way\u201d. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"
Photography credit – Vance Mak<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

Honey Bees, Hornets, and Deep Learning <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our second walking tour draws on the world of ecology, discussing how deep learning is being used in the UK to monitor the health of its pollinators and support healthy biodiversity. Dr Thomas O\u2019Shea Wheller took audiences around Exeter, showcasing the impact of the natural world even in the heart of the city, and encouraging them to play their part in supporting native pollinator populations. This tour was suitable for nature lovers of any age, and one participant commented that it was \u201cNice to go to something sciency that\u2019s at a high enough level to be engaging for adults\u201d!<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

Out in Nature <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Unlike the other walks featured here, the Out in Nature trail<\/a> took place not in the city centre, but at the University\u2019s own Streatham Campus. The trail forms part of the Queer Natures project<\/a>, and draws on the campus\u2019 rich history and connection to LGBTQ+ legacy and identity. While the FUTURES tour focussed on three key points of the trail, which was created in collaboration with students, researchers, visitors, and the grounds team, there are many more sites to explore. In fact, several participants were keen to try the rest of the trail for themselves, and commented on how this \u201cthinking crossed boundaries\u201d, and encouraged a new way of reflecting in nature.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

FUTURES<\/a> is a free festival of discovery which takes place across venues in Bath, Bristol, Cornwall, Devon, Exeter and Plymouth, funded by the UKRI.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

On the 12th October, Exeter Phoenix opened its doors to hundreds of local residents ready to let their imaginations run wild. With more than 20 stalls to explore, adults and children alike were invited to learn from academics across the University through engaging, hands-on activities.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2305,"featured_media":1071,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nHow Can You Take Your Research into Communities?\u00a0 - Public Engagement with Research (PER) at the University of Exeter<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/per\/2025\/11\/12\/how-can-you-take-your-research-into-communities\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How Can You Take Your Research into Communities?\u00a0 - Public Engagement with Research (PER) at the University of Exeter\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"On the 12th October, Exeter Phoenix opened its doors to hundreds of local residents ready to let their imaginations run wild. With more than 20 stalls to explore, adults and children alike were invited to learn from academics across the University through engaging, hands-on activities.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/per\/2025\/11\/12\/how-can-you-take-your-research-into-communities\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Public Engagement with Research (PER) at the University of Exeter\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-11-12T10:57:49+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-11-12T13:43:09+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/per\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/327\/2025\/10\/IMG-20251011-WA0009-1.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2048\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1536\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Catherine Hurcombe\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Catherine Hurcombe\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/per\/2025\/11\/12\/how-can-you-take-your-research-into-communities\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/per\/2025\/11\/12\/how-can-you-take-your-research-into-communities\/\",\"name\":\"How Can You Take Your Research into Communities?\u00a0 - Public Engagement with Research (PER) at the University of Exeter\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/per\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/per\/2025\/11\/12\/how-can-you-take-your-research-into-communities\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/per\/2025\/11\/12\/how-can-you-take-your-research-into-communities\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/per\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/327\/2025\/10\/IMG-20251011-WA0009-1.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-11-12T10:57:49+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-11-12T13:43:09+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/per\/#\/schema\/person\/ea977a7e4e9049adf0cb92b1f039e570\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/per\/2025\/11\/12\/how-can-you-take-your-research-into-communities\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/per\/2025\/11\/12\/how-can-you-take-your-research-into-communities\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/per\/2025\/11\/12\/how-can-you-take-your-research-into-communities\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/per\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/327\/2025\/10\/IMG-20251011-WA0009-1.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/per\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/327\/2025\/10\/IMG-20251011-WA0009-1.jpg\",\"width\":2048,\"height\":1536,\"caption\":\"Three people in front of a tree smiling at the camera\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/per\/2025\/11\/12\/how-can-you-take-your-research-into-communities\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/per\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"How Can You Take Your Research into Communities?\u00a0\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/per\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/per\/\",\"name\":\"Public Engagement with Research (PER) at the University of Exeter\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/per\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/per\/#\/schema\/person\/ea977a7e4e9049adf0cb92b1f039e570\",\"name\":\"Catherine Hurcombe\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/per\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/a475a21fdb3e80f287334528e4f5164f?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/a475a21fdb3e80f287334528e4f5164f?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Catherine Hurcombe\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/per\/author\/ch1187\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"How Can You Take Your Research into Communities?\u00a0 - Public Engagement with Research (PER) at the University of Exeter","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/per\/2025\/11\/12\/how-can-you-take-your-research-into-communities\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"How Can You Take Your Research into Communities?\u00a0 - Public Engagement with Research (PER) at the University of Exeter","og_description":"On the 12th October, Exeter Phoenix opened its doors to hundreds of local residents ready to let their imaginations run wild. With more than 20 stalls to explore, adults and children alike were invited to learn from academics across the University through engaging, hands-on activities.","og_url":"https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/per\/2025\/11\/12\/how-can-you-take-your-research-into-communities\/","og_site_name":"Public Engagement with Research (PER) at the University of Exeter","article_published_time":"2025-11-12T10:57:49+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-11-12T13:43:09+00:00","og_image":[{"width":2048,"height":1536,"url":"https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/per\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/327\/2025\/10\/IMG-20251011-WA0009-1.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Catherine Hurcombe","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Catherine Hurcombe","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/per\/2025\/11\/12\/how-can-you-take-your-research-into-communities\/","url":"https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/per\/2025\/11\/12\/how-can-you-take-your-research-into-communities\/","name":"How Can You Take Your Research into Communities?\u00a0 - Public Engagement with Research (PER) at the University of Exeter","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/per\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/per\/2025\/11\/12\/how-can-you-take-your-research-into-communities\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/per\/2025\/11\/12\/how-can-you-take-your-research-into-communities\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/per\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/327\/2025\/10\/IMG-20251011-WA0009-1.jpg","datePublished":"2025-11-12T10:57:49+00:00","dateModified":"2025-11-12T13:43:09+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/per\/#\/schema\/person\/ea977a7e4e9049adf0cb92b1f039e570"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/per\/2025\/11\/12\/how-can-you-take-your-research-into-communities\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/per\/2025\/11\/12\/how-can-you-take-your-research-into-communities\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/per\/2025\/11\/12\/how-can-you-take-your-research-into-communities\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/per\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/327\/2025\/10\/IMG-20251011-WA0009-1.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/per\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/327\/2025\/10\/IMG-20251011-WA0009-1.jpg","width":2048,"height":1536,"caption":"Three people in front of a tree smiling at the camera"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/per\/2025\/11\/12\/how-can-you-take-your-research-into-communities\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/per\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"How Can You Take Your Research into Communities?\u00a0"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/per\/#website","url":"https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/per\/","name":"Public Engagement with Research (PER) at the University of Exeter","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/per\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/per\/#\/schema\/person\/ea977a7e4e9049adf0cb92b1f039e570","name":"Catherine Hurcombe","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/per\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/a475a21fdb3e80f287334528e4f5164f?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/a475a21fdb3e80f287334528e4f5164f?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Catherine Hurcombe"},"url":"https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/per\/author\/ch1187\/"}]}},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/per\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/327\/2025\/10\/IMG-20251011-WA0009-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/per\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1069"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/per\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/per\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/per\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2305"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/per\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1069"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/per\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1069\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1129,"href":"https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/per\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1069\/revisions\/1129"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/per\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1071"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/per\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1069"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/per\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1069"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/per\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1069"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}