EXPLORE AT HOMEEXPLORE AT HOME

Can you help

sustain our wildlife?

Staffordshire Universityin association with Big Bang

People are failing to halt the loss of biodiversity on the planet and up to 1 in 7 species may be lost.

There are a number of factors associated with this including climate change, urbanisation, pollution, changes to water systems and routes and woodland management.

There are unprecedented challenges relating to climate change but also unique opportunities to commit to connecting the public with nature and issues of biodiversity and sustainable development.

Positive changes could be more wildlife friendly farming, managing habitats and creating new wildlife habitats along with connecting people with nature to improve their motivation and engagement.

Photo entry only - submit a photograph with a short caption of no more than 50 words. This photograph could be of the species you have focused on, a model you have created, campaign image or whatever will best convey a message of conservation and support for a species. The photo competition will be judged by experts in this area and additionally there will be a general public/peoples vote.

Photo and Video entry - in addition to the above the video part of the competition is judged in the same way as regional entries to the Big Bang competition and in addition to prizes awarded by Staffordshire University, You are invited to submit a 5 minute video to outline your project and there are criteria and hints and tips below to guide you on what to include in your video submission.

Competition:We have two ways you can enter this virtual competition

1. 2.

About the Competition:We want you to help tackle the problem and use Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics (STEAM) to propose solutions to this challenge.

You might start by finding out about a particular species that you can find in your garden or local area. You could research its habitat, if it may be endangered as a species perhaps because of changes to habitat, new predators or competitors. You could use this information to propose ways to help save this species by creating a habitat for it.

You could create an entire habitat or devise other ways to help sustain this species. You can choose any species for example hedgehogs, newts, bats, birds, bugs etc.

Here are some ideas to help tackle this problem, you could use one of these or develop your own ideas:

Create a habitat - you could look at bug hotels and other ideas as examples Create a game (board game or electronic) to highlight key issues in a 'fun' way

Develop a campaign to raise public awareness and encourage people to reconnect with nature Create a story, blog or video to highlight the issue and/or potential solutions

Research into the impact of human activity on a chosen species and provide a 'treatment' plan for survival of this chosen endangered species Design a creative practical solution or product to one of the problems which face the endangered plant or animal.

EXPLORE AT HOMEEXPLORE AT HOME

Staffordshire Universityin association with Big Bang

Staffordshire Universityin association with Big Bang

1. Project concept:

• What was the motivation behind your project and what were your aims?

2. Project process:

• How well did you plan and organise your work?

• What sort of experiments and research did you do?

• Were you innovative or creative in your approach?

3. Project outcome:

• How well did your project achieve its aims?

• Is your final product or report of a high quality?

• Does your project have a 'real-world' application?

4. Personal skills:

• How well did you deal with any problems or challenges?

• How well do you communicate your project?

• Does your enthusiasm shine through?

Competition Criteria

Hint - What research have you carried out, how realistic

are your plans, have you created a plan or a business

plan, costings etc. Is your idea unique or building or adding something to an

existing product - perhaps a modification to improve a habitat and help protect a

species

Hint - If you have created a habitat have you been able to test it or carry out any research (survey of number of species,

sightings over time). If your product is a game, blog, story or awareness campaign have

you published or played it, received feedback, number of

views etc.

Hint - There will be unique challenges to this years

competition as you will be working on this without school

or team support. Have you engaged other support - family,

asked questions of 'experts' online, communicated with teachers or peers online?

Entry by video may be challenging you could add any

challenges you have found with this and how you have

tried to overcome them. Try to communicate your passion and

interest in this project.

Hint - Why choose this particular species or approach to creating a habitat or raising

awareness - show your passion for the project what

were your aims?

Staffordshire Universityin association with Big Bang

State Of Nature Report 2019, https://nbn.org.uk/stateofnature2019/reports/ (there are reflections and comments on this from many other sites including World Wildlife Fund, Mammal Society, British Wildlife Trust, RSPB, National Trust, British Trust for Ornithology, Woodland Trust and many others)

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-49892209 www.stem.org.uk and search for extinction or endangered species https://www.iwill.org.uk/organisations/embed-social-action/iwill4nature https://www.countryfile.com/wildlife/10-of-the-most-endangered-animal-species-in-britain/ https://schoolgardening.rhs.org.uk/Resources/Project/Make-a-bug-hotel https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/advice/gardening-for-wildlife/creating-a-wildlife-friendly-garden/

You will need to submit your photo and video of your project by midday on Monday 15th June.

The video should be 5 mins in length and submitted by WeTransfer (see guide to creating and submitting your video).

The photo should be jpg. and submitted by email or WeTransfer (see guide to taking and uploading your photograph)

Judging

To the winners and prizes will be announced on the 17th June 2020 at 3pm.

To send across your entries please use the bigbang@bydesign-group.co.uk email address with the subject Explore at Home competition and included your name and attached consent form.

There is online support for this project with an introduction to the competition from a wildlife expert and a guide to taking the best photograph and submitting your videoResearch and resources:

See the video here

Staffordshire Universityin association with Big Bang

Guide to taking and

uploading photos

Guide to Videoing

your entry

UPLOADING YOUR PHOTO

All you need to do is email your photo or

send it via WeTransfer to the

bigbang@bydesign-group.co.uk email.

UPLOADING YOUR VIDEO

All you need to do is send your video via

WeTransfer to the

bigbang@bydesign-group.co.uk email.

Have you made a model, poster

or visual aid as part of your entry?

Make sure your photo:

Captures your idea

The detail is clear and visible

You have labels for any significant areas

Not made a model, what should your

photo be off?

Think about:

Something that tells the story of your project

Maybe the animal you focused on

Your garden or the areas that inspired you

A campaign sign that you have made.

Don’t worry if your video isn’t perfect, we are

looking for a well put together idea and not an

all singing and dancing video with edits and

graphics.

You can film it on your phone, computer, tablet

or camera as long as it can be sent in a

mp3 file format we are happy.

Before you start

Test your audio and video camera

Think about your background – is it tidy?

Are you going to be in the video or talking

over the video as your explain a model?

Write a script of the key points you want to

get across in the video.

1

2

3

1

2

3

4

Staffordshire Universityin association with Big Bang

Part one: participants information

First name

Last name

Gender Male Female Other Prefer not to say

Home Postcode *This information is collected to help us to monitor the profile of participants and to analyse experiences and the impact of the project on different groups of children

School Name

School Post Code

Year group

Part two: Parent/carer information

Name of Parent/Carer

Parent/Carer contact number

Parent/Carer email address

Part three: Project information

Project title

The project is a TEAM INDIVIDUAL

Project summary

Photo title

Photo caption

How are you sending your photo Email WeTransfer

Are you sending a video by we-transfer Yes No

Part 4: Consent

Learn By Design policies are available here.

Staffordshire University policies are available here.

I give permission for my child to take part in the Explore at Home competition at Staffordshire University in association with Big Bang and for the information I have provided, to be held and processed by Learn By Design. For the purpose of this event and competition only. We will not sell or share your information for marketing purposes.

Yes No

I give permission for Learn By Design to anonymise the information I have provided and share this among the following parties: Staffordshire University - Engineering UK - My child's school - Volunteer Judges For the purpose of this event and competition only. We will not sell or share your information for marketing purposes.

Yes No

I give permission for any photos I have provided as part of this competition to be used for promotional/publicity purposes by: Learn by Design - Staffordshire University - Engineering UK - My child's school For the purpose of this event and competition only. We will not sell or share your information for marketing purposes.

Yes No

I/We the Parent(s) or Carer(s) have read and understand the important information on this form and give Yes No permission for my/our child to take part in the Explore At Home Competition and for the use and sharing of our data to make this possible.

NB: If you tick 'NO' to the above your child will not be able to take a part.

Signed ............................................................................................................. Date .....................................................................................

Explore At Home Online Entry and Consent Form

By Design Group Ltd, 49 Kepler, Lichfield Road Ind. Est., Tamworth, Staffordshire, B79 7XE. Tel: 01827 316297 Fax: 01827 723889 Web: www.bydesign-group.co.uk

Design Group Ltd – LBDOEF1 - Online Entry and Consent Form – May 2020