A group of academics and students working towards an embodied understanding of the climate crisis have been named one of the recipients of the Education for Sustainability Projects Fund 2025-26.
'Ecovocative Objects: things that teach the environmental crisis'' is the latest project led by Dr Alex Hadwen-Bennett at the School of Education, Communication and Society. The project is one of 12 projects that has been awarded funding from the Education for Sustainability Projects Fund this year.
Each chapter will tell the story of an individual object or creation which has been designed using STEM skills and principles to illustrate and communicate an aspect of the environmental crisis.
In addition to showcasing STEM content, the object will embody a theory of teaching and learning, such as embodied cognition, or constructionism. Significantly, the objects will comprise an evocative collection that will prompt readers' engagement with an array of environmental issues. By the end of the project, the team will have produced an accessible co-authored volume and a visually intriguing exhibition.
In planning this exciting project, the team were inspired by the approach taken by colleagues in the development of the Heartwood books, in particular their approach to co-authorship with students, staff and alumni.
Project lead, Alex Hadwen-Bennett commented:
I'm delighted that we have been awarded funding to collaborate with STEM Education MA students, staff and alumni to bring this exciting project to life. It's wonderful to be able to share our environmental and social justice centred approach to making pedagogies with a wider audience across King's and beyond.
In both their teaching and associated research on the value of 'making' as an equitable pedagogical approach to STEM engagement, the team have long sought to challenge the narrative that portrays the 'maker' movement as one focused on production and consumption.
Instead, they hope to present an alternative perspective which emphasis on the role of repairing, reusing and recycling. The also celebrate and seek to respect the cultural processes involved in making and highlight the local applications of products as a way to help learners gain meaningful connection with the STEM concepts underpinning the made objects.
The book and accompanying exhibition will be launched at the STEM Education MA conference in June 2026. The team are also excited to be working with alumni who are leading the STEM Education regional school hubs to organise a tour of the exhibition to take place in the 2026/27 academic year. Along with the funding from King's Education for Sustainability, additional funding for the project's deliverables is being generously provided by Wipro.
The project team is made up of:
Dr Alex Hadwen-Bennett: Editor and Curator
Heather King: Editor
Xinyun He: Editorial assistant
Kathryn Peake: Curatorial assistant
