One vision, five work packages

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Work packages 1-3 are project-based and employ co-design methodologies, design demonstrators and circular economy modelling. These are interwoven with two strategic work packages that inform education, public engagement and policies for change.

A systems view through a human lens

Our work, viewed through the lens of Rathlin Island, is organised into five key work packages. These focus on eco-friendly waste management, community-driven behavioural change, and co-designed digital strategies for sustainable tourism and heritage. Our goal is to develop models that can be replicated and scaled across other island communities and beyond.

Co-designing a collaborative and collective approach

Our design approach is built on inclusivity, participation, and stakeholder mapping to ensure everyone is involved, learns together, and achieves meaningful, high impact results.

Product
Waste
Ecosystems

Work Package 1

Exploring waste plastics as a commodity through R-strategies to reduce virgin plastic use and emissions. Repairing and repurposing electronics to extend lifecycles and address WEEE management challenges.

Green
Digital
Transition

Work package 2

Using research, LiDAR, and immersive technologies to create accessible visitor experiences and bring oral histories to life. This contributes to achieving Net Zero goals by making tourism more sustainable and heritage preservation greener.

Organic
waste
ecosystems

Work package 3

Engaging community members, architects and designers to explore relationships between people, food, land, natural fibres, and water. Exploring how organic waste can be transformed into valuable products and low-carbon alternatives.

Designing
Sustainable
Futures
Education

Work package 4

Drawing on outcomes from WP1, WP2, and WP3 to create engaging learning materials and experiences that connect people of all ages with their environment, empowering them to help shape its future.

Green
Policies

Work package 5

Applying emergent design methods to design, evaluate and iterate policy, drawing on collaboration with industry and public sector bodies. This work involves actor mapping, co-designing recommendations, and testing solutions to identified challenges.