Digital technologies are creating new opportunities to address environmental challenges and foster new ways of engaging people with nature.
Dr Richard Cook and Dr Imogen Mansfield will present their recent research and examine how emerging technologies can support environmental understanding, action and communication through two interdisciplinary research projects at the University of Gloucestershire. The first project, Fast-Litter, investigates the growing problem of discarded on-the-go food and drink packaging in rural and peri-urban landscapes. Working with local authorities, retail partners and community groups, the project uses artificial intelligence (AI) and digital technologies to better understand and tackle this emerging environmental issue. The second project, Thinguistics, combines Internet of Things (IoT) technologies and AI to transform live environmental data from sensors attached to trees into conversational synthetic voices, creating a novel way for people to connect with nature. Together, these projects demonstrate how digital technologies can be used both to address the human-driven impacts on the environment and to foster deeper connections between people and the natural world.
Dr Richard Cook is a Senior Lecturer in Cyber Security in the School of Business, Computing and Social Sciences at the University of Gloucestershire. His interdisciplinary research combines sociological perspectives with expertise in digital technologies, exploring how emerging technologies can address environmental challenges and foster new ways of engaging with the natural world. He leads the Fast-Litter and Thinguistics projects and has previously researched topics including cycling cultures, graffiti, schools and large language AI models.
Dr Imogen Mansfield is a Research Assistant working on the Fast-Litter and Thinguistics projects. She recently completed her PhD at the University of Birmingham, where she led a four-year field study investigating plastic litter in bird nests. During her doctorate, she gained policy experience at WRAP and industry experience at NovaMechanics in Cyprus, contributing to the development of an AI-driven plastic identification app. Her research interests include environmental monitoring, citizen science and the application of digital technologies to support environmental research, with a commitment to accessible and open science.
