Community Research Project

Train to be a community researcher and help us find out more about the ways in which our local environment matters to people and how, in the midst of climate change, we can nurture positive relationships with it.

What's it all about?

Here at Green Hive we support our community in taking positive local action to address global environmental challenges. 

In this research project, we want to reflect on our work by finding out more about the ways in which our local environment matters to people; what local environmental changes people are worried about; and how our work can or does support people to nurture their relationship with our shared environment.

Green Hive is being supported by the British Science Association Highlands and Islands Community Climate Change Grant to work with Dr Louise Senior, an independent researcher, to carry out this project. She will be supporting volunteer community researchers to design and carry out the research and to share their findings.

What's involved:

There are four key steps in research: making a plan; carrying out data collection; analysing the data; and sharing the findings. We hope you will be involved in all four steps, though perhaps you’d prefer just to be involved in a few aspects. It’s really up to you.

If you decide to volunteer as a community researcher you will need to take part in two training sessions which will take place on Monday 25th July and Wednesday 27th July 2022 from 10am until 4pm in Nairn.

The training sessions will cover:

• research skills, including interviewing and facilitating focus groups;
• ethics and consent in research;
• using technology to record research interviews and focus groups;
• planning our research project.

The sessions will be very interactive so be prepared to have a go at interviewing and being interviewed!

At the end of the training sessions, we will make a research plan together to carry out over the summer. You can be involved in data collection – either carrying out interviews or facilitating focus groups with research participants; you can help document and analyse the data we collect, and you can contribute to sharing our findings – maybe you like writing reports or giving talks or making films or posters. It’s up to you, our community researchers, to decide the details.

How much time do I need to commit?

Everybody who wants to volunteer as a community researcher will need to participate in the two training days on 18th and 25th June. After that, it all depends on how you, our volunteers, design the research and what role or roles you want to take on as a community researcher. As a guide, we anticipate that you might spend twelve hours a month during July and August on the project, but it could be more or less depending on how you want to be involved.

Do I need to have experience as a researcher?

No, not at all! You will be working with our independent researcher, Dr Louise Senior, who will support you as much or as little as you need. Whether you’re interested in the local environment, climate change, the research process or just want to try something different or make yourself useful over the summer, we would be delighted to have your help.

I’m not sure; how can I find out more?

You can email us at Green Hive at nre@greenhive.co.uk or you can email our lead researcher, Louise Senior louisesenior1@outlook.com

Don’t forget to include your phone number if you’d like us to ring you back for a chat.