iCRAG is delighted to announce that our public engagement programme ‘Purls of Wisdom’ has been awarded an EGU Public Engagement Grant. ‘Purls of Wisdom’ is a fibre-crafting initiative to raise awareness of Earth’s changing climate using real climate information and participants creativity.
EGU Public Engagement Grants are awarded to celebrate and recognise excellent science communication in the Earth, planetary and space sciences. They are awarded to EGU members interested in developing an outreach project that aims to raise awareness of geosciences outside the scientific community. For the first time, the Public Engagement Grants were awarded to three projects, of which Purls of Wisdom was one.
The programme, led by iCRAG’s Education and Public Engagement team, will work with local fibre-crafting communities to create climate crafts which visualise Ireland’s local climate data. We are all aware of climate change as a global issue, Purls of Wisdom aims to encourage participants to consider this issue on a local scale by using local climate data sourced from Met Eireann. In using their own creativity to visualise this data, Purls of Wisdom will enhance participants knowledge of local climate change and become empowered to make informed decisions about their own climate futures.
As well as considering local climate information, participants are encouraged to use locally sourced yarns to create their climate crafts. Sustainability is a key consideration of Purls of Wisdom, which aims to raise awareness of the carbon footprint benefits of using Irish wool from Irish sheep, dyed and spun naturally in Irelands. Unlike some mass-produced yarns sourced from plastics, natural woollen fibres will biodegrade and are much better for the environment.
Public Engagement Funding will support participation of local fibre crafting groups (e.g. knitting/crotchetting group) in the Purls of Wisdom programme, but anyone is encouraged to get involved! Check out the Purls of Wisdom website for more information including links to our social media platforms.