Net Zero Visions
Bringing together communities to creatively think about climate change
Net Zero Visions
The Net Zero Visions project saw communities across Devon use murals, online games, animation, and other media to visualise how they can effectively address some of our most pressing climate challenges and to celebrate work already underway.
The underlying methodology of using positive, place-based imagination and storytelling to build community and catalyse change is now being carried forward in other projects with a range of partners.
Net-Zero Visions for the Devon Climate Emergency Project Outcomes
Murals
The Net Zero Visions murals were completed by Dr Kate Crawfurd in the summer of 2022, in partnership with Devon Climate Emergency.
Sustainability Hub Mural
A positive vision for Plymouth and the University of Plymouth. Kate was assisted by Illustration graduate, Jessica Mallory.
Tiverton Pannier Market Mural
A positive vision for Tiverton, Kate was assisted by Jessica Mallory, Phoebe Tonkin, Sophie Mullins, Kate Burman and others.
Methodist Central Hall Mural
A positive vision for Plymouth. Kate was assisted by Illustration graduates Jessica Mallory and Eleanor Croker.
Public Commission Winner
Rosie Johnson - Outside
Rosie Johnson - Community Space
Rosie Johnson - Inside
won the Net Zero Visions Artists Call with the winning illustrations produced in collaboration with .
The Vision is titled Call of Nature: A Community Eco-hub for Exmouth. The Call of Nature hub will be a small but perfectly formed mini “expo” with loads of practical, working examples of changes people can make to live more sustainably, e.g. solar power, heat pump, insulation, ecology at home, composting, re-use and repair.
Poems
Fiona Benson lives in Devon and has been three times shortlisted for the T. S. Eliot Prize and is the winner of the Seamus Heaney First Collection Prize, the Geoffrey Faber Memorial Prize and Forward Prize for best collection.
As part of the process of writing these poems Fiona joined the Devon Wildlife Trust to visit beavers on the River Otter, explored a solar farm, and swam in Exeter’s prize-winning St Sidwells Point, the UK’s first Passivhaus swimming pool and leisure centre complex.
Fiona said: ‘I found writing these poems a really constructive way of engaging with climate change, causing me to refocus on the positive changes that can be made rather than the ruin that lies behind us. The project made me feel that it is possible for humans to pull back from the brink.”
As part of the process of writing these poems Fiona joined the Devon Wildlife Trust to visit beavers on the River Otter, explored a solar farm, and swam in Exeter’s prize-winning St Sidwells Point, the UK’s first Passivhaus swimming pool and leisure centre complex.
Fiona said: ‘I found writing these poems a really constructive way of engaging with climate change, causing me to refocus on the positive changes that can be made rather than the ruin that lies behind us. The project made me feel that it is possible for humans to pull back from the brink.”
Animation
The Net Zero Visions animation was created by the BAFTA and Emmy winning
Ashley Potter
and his team. Ashley has also won awards for his illustration work in publishing, design and editorial fields.
From the start the animation spans multiple places across Devon, in contrast to some of the other Visions which involved intensive work with communities centred on one locality.
Ashley took part in the opening workshops and distributed questionnaires to community groups in a range of locations, as a way of identifying Net Zero activities and other features distinctive to each place. He also drew and took photographs on various sites across the county. Feedback from diverse participants at a later workshop helped develop the project’s shape.
Net-Zero Visions Book
- a record of the Net Zero Visions murals, online games, animations, illustrations, and poetry
- essays by transition experts on key sectors of the Devon Carbon Plan
- insights into how the process of Net Zero Visioning can help individuals and communities build public understanding of the emergency, develop support for change, and encourage us to risk doing radically different things.
Copies of the book are also available for purchase through a range of retailers (such as Foyles, Waterstones and Amazon) while supplies last. Copies have also been distributed for free to libraries throughout Plymouth and Devon.
Once you’ve read the book please scan the QR code on the final page to tell us what you think!
Net-Zero Visions Game
The game is centred around three key topics. ‘Transport Turnaround’ is a rapid-fire reaction game to swap out gas-guzzling road vehicles for their greener counterparts. ‘Grow Your Own’ sees you test out your green-fingers in sowing, watering and harvesting fruit and veg in an allotment. ‘Borrow Don’t Buy’ puts you at the centre of a local community who have items to share with each other. A high-score table encourages players to keep coming back and to share the game.
Illustrations
The Net Zero Visions illustrations are the work of , a freelance illustrator and printmaker who grew up in Devon and has lived there his whole life. For the Net Zero Vision drawings Phil visited each of the locations repeatedly and also spoke to community organisations in each, taking on board their ideas and aspirations for a net zero future as it merges into activities that are already underway.
Net Zero Vision for Noss Mayo
Educational Resources
In partnership with Planet & People (CIC) and Devon County Council, David also worked on a set of Net Zero Visions resource booklets for schools for Key Stages 1-4, supported and informed by seven workshops. The are freely available to access.
Sustainable Earth Institute