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In research about landscapes and the environment, scientific ontologies and epistemologies prevail, thus largely excluding contributions from marginalized groups, or creative expressions of what spaces mean to people. This article draws on qualitative place-based arts workshops, which used multimodal and multisensory methods with deaf children and disabled adults. The resulting co-created texts and artworks represent meaningful responses to specific local landscapes and their natural inhabitants. Considering literacies, power, and who can or cannot be an author, this article argues that such processes of creative co-production could be viewed as means of overcoming marginalization and enabling disabled people to engage with local landscapes. Inclusive literacy practices are presented as ways in to “authoring” marginalized groups’ responses to natural environments, with potentially transformative outcomes for the participants, decision-making processes, and the land itself.

In research about landscapes and the environment, scientific ontologies and epistemologies prevail, thus largely excluding contributions from marginalized groups, or creative expressions of what spaces mean to people. This article draws on qualitative place-based arts workshops, which used multimodal and multisensory methods with deaf children and disabled adults. The resulting co-created texts and artworks represent meaningful responses to specific local landscapes and their natural inhabitants. Considering literacies, power, and who can or cannot be an author, this article argues that such processes of creative co-production could be viewed as means of overcoming marginalization and enabling disabled people to engage with local landscapes. Inclusive literacy practices are presented as ways in to “authoring” marginalized groups’ responses to natural environments, with potentially transformative outcomes for the participants, decision-making processes, and the land itself.

In research about landscapes and the environment, scientific ontologies and epistemologies prevail, thus largely excluding contributions from marginalized groups, or creative expressions of what spaces mean to people. This article draws on qualitative place-based arts workshops, which used multimodal and multisensory methods with deaf children and disabled adults. The resulting co-created texts and artworks represent meaningful responses to specific local landscapes and their natural inhabitants. Considering literacies, power, and who can or cannot be an author, this article argues that such processes of creative co-production could be viewed as means of overcoming marginalization and enabling disabled people to engage with local landscapes. Inclusive literacy practices are presented as ways in to “authoring” marginalized groups’ responses to natural environments, with potentially transformative outcomes for the participants, decision-making processes, and the land itself.

Dominant approaches to participatory research with children and young people provide ‘training’ for young researchers. In this process there is a risk of schooling out of them their unique insights on how to do research with their peers. This paper proposes an approach to critical reflection which uses the notion of reflecting on the disturbing moments of punctum (Barthes, 1980) in research practice, and uses some of Aristotle’s conceptions of knowledge to help consider the learning that is useful and exchanged in the process of conducting research. We apply this approach to critical reflection to explore a large scale collaborative research study with children and young people in England. This process of reflection reveal that children and young people can teach academics about the need for transparency around facilitation of cocreated spaces of shared learning; the value and possibilities of young-researcher-led off-script peer interviewing; how to mirror young researchers’ wisdom about when to be in silent exchange in moments of interviewing; how to embrace surviving difficult shared experiences as an opportunity to talk about difficult things; how to voice sensitive stories without exposing vulnerabilities; and how to play with data in creative analysis. We argue that this approach to critical reflection can encourage a turn away from the dominant idea of academics delivering ‘training’ in participatory research with children and young people and towards a notion of ‘collaborative learning’ in which everyone’s competences are valued.

Dominant approaches to participatory research with children and young people provide ‘training’ for young researchers. In this process there is a risk of schooling out of them their unique insights on how to do research with their peers. This paper proposes an approach to critical reflection which uses the notion of reflecting on the disturbing moments of punctum (Barthes, 1980) in research practice, and uses some of Aristotle’s conceptions of knowledge to help consider the learning that is useful and exchanged in the process of conducting research. We apply this approach to critical reflection to explore a large scale collaborative research study with children and young people in England. This process of reflection reveal that children and young people can teach academics about the need for transparency around facilitation of cocreated spaces of shared learning; the value and possibilities of young-researcher-led off-script peer interviewing; how to mirror young researchers’ wisdom about when to be in silent exchange in moments of interviewing; how to embrace surviving difficult shared experiences as an opportunity to talk about difficult things; how to voice sensitive stories without exposing vulnerabilities; and how to play with data in creative analysis. We argue that this approach to critical reflection can encourage a turn away from the dominant idea of academics delivering ‘training’ in participatory research with children and young people and towards a notion of ‘collaborative learning’ in which everyone’s competences are valued.

Dominant approaches to participatory research with children and young people provide ‘training’ for young researchers. In this process there is a risk of schooling out of them their unique insights on how to do research with their peers. This paper proposes an approach to critical reflection which uses the notion of reflecting on the disturbing moments of punctum (Barthes, 1980) in research practice, and uses some of Aristotle’s conceptions of knowledge to help consider the learning that is useful and exchanged in the process of conducting research. We apply this approach to critical reflection to explore a large scale collaborative research study with children and young people in England. This process of reflection reveal that children and young people can teach academics about the need for transparency around facilitation of cocreated spaces of shared learning; the value and possibilities of young-researcher-led off-script peer interviewing; how to mirror young researchers’ wisdom about when to be in silent exchange in moments of interviewing; how to embrace surviving difficult shared experiences as an opportunity to talk about difficult things; how to voice sensitive stories without exposing vulnerabilities; and how to play with data in creative analysis. We argue that this approach to critical reflection can encourage a turn away from the dominant idea of academics delivering ‘training’ in participatory research with children and young people and towards a notion of ‘collaborative learning’ in which everyone’s competences are valued.

When outdoor arts-based research activities were put on hold due to the pandemic in 2020–2021, a shift to online workshops became a serious consideration. But this shift required some substantial rethinking. The original plans for our UKRI project entitled Connecting disadvantaged young people with landscape through arts involved groups of children and young people in outdoor settings working with artists to co-create sculptures, artwork, music, poems, and stories. Our aim was to bring children and young people into areas of nature relatively close to their homes, which they may not have previously visited, and to help them connect with the landscape through these various artistic practices. The workshops we had intended to conduct would have been in groups, outdoors in areas of nature, with physical contact between participants. The pandemic, which prevented normal activities from continuing, highlighted the limited realities of many young people’s lives, further diminishing the activities available to them. This realization meant that we should not pause our research but find new ways of continuing it. So, we paired up with a charity that worked with children in need and their families. Through the charity, we could access some children whom the charity workers thought would benefit from art-based activities. The artist, who had been commissioned originally to do outdoor arts workshops, was willing to try a new approach using the online platforms that the charity already used to communicate with the children. There were challenges and highlights, providing some insight into fundamental similarities and differences between face-to-face and online research with children.

When outdoor arts-based research activities were put on hold due to the pandemic in 2020–2021, a shift to online workshops became a serious consideration. But this shift required some substantial rethinking. The original plans for our UKRI project entitled Connecting disadvantaged young people with landscape through arts involved groups of children and young people in outdoor settings working with artists to co-create sculptures, artwork, music, poems, and stories. Our aim was to bring children and young people into areas of nature relatively close to their homes, which they may not have previously visited, and to help them connect with the landscape through these various artistic practices. The workshops we had intended to conduct would have been in groups, outdoors in areas of nature, with physical contact between participants. The pandemic, which prevented normal activities from continuing, highlighted the limited realities of many young people’s lives, further diminishing the activities available to them. This realization meant that we should not pause our research but find new ways of continuing it. So, we paired up with a charity that worked with children in need and their families. Through the charity, we could access some children whom the charity workers thought would benefit from art-based activities. The artist, who had been commissioned originally to do outdoor arts workshops, was willing to try a new approach using the online platforms that the charity already used to communicate with the children. There were challenges and highlights, providing some insight into fundamental similarities and differences between face-to-face and online research with children.

This study focussed on identifying the key concerns and information needs of young people with Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis (AIS) and their parents and examined what resources might help improve young people’s ‘participativeness’ and health literacy during clinic consultations. A qualitative participatory design underpinned the study. Workshops involving multiple methods were used to engage with young people with AIS and their parents, who were recruited through a regional children’s hospital. The study design was informed by patient and public consultation with eight young people and two parents. 10 young people (aged 14–16 years) and 11 of their parents participated in the study. Young people and their parents reported uncertainty and anxiety before coming to clinic and faced issues participating in the consultation, being involved in decision-making and understanding the information and language. These challenges resulted in unmet information needs. Young people’s health literacy relating to an AIS diagnosis and treatment is facilitated by them being prepared and informed before coming to clinic and be actively supported to be involved during the consultation. We collaboratively developed the ‘Coming to Spinal Clinic’ resource to help young people with AIS and parents prepare for and get the most out of their visit.

When outdoor arts-based research activities were put on hold due to the pandemic in 2020–2021, a shift to online workshops became a serious consideration. But this shift required some substantial rethinking. The original plans for our UKRI project entitled Connecting disadvantaged young people with landscape through arts involved groups of children and young people in outdoor settings working with artists to co-create sculptures, artwork, music, poems, and stories. Our aim was to bring children and young people into areas of nature relatively close to their homes, which they may not have previously visited, and to help them connect with the landscape through these various artistic practices. The workshops we had intended to conduct would have been in groups, outdoors in areas of nature, with physical contact between participants. The pandemic, which prevented normal activities from continuing, highlighted the limited realities of many young people’s lives, further diminishing the activities available to them. This realization meant that we should not pause our research but find new ways of continuing it. So, we paired up with a charity that worked with children in need and their families. Through the charity, we could access some children whom the charity workers thought would benefit from art-based activities. The artist, who had been commissioned originally to do outdoor arts workshops, was willing to try a new approach using the online platforms that the charity already used to communicate with the children. There were challenges and highlights, providing some insight into fundamental similarities and differences between face-to-face and online research with children.

This study focussed on identifying the key concerns and information needs of young people with Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis (AIS) and their parents and examined what resources might help improve young people’s ‘participativeness’ and health literacy during clinic consultations. A qualitative participatory design underpinned the study. Workshops involving multiple methods were used to engage with young people with AIS and their parents, who were recruited through a regional children’s hospital. The study design was informed by patient and public consultation with eight young people and two parents. 10 young people (aged 14–16 years) and 11 of their parents participated in the study. Young people and their parents reported uncertainty and anxiety before coming to clinic and faced issues participating in the consultation, being involved in decision-making and understanding the information and language. These challenges resulted in unmet information needs. Young people’s health literacy relating to an AIS diagnosis and treatment is facilitated by them being prepared and informed before coming to clinic and be actively supported to be involved during the consultation. We collaboratively developed the ‘Coming to Spinal Clinic’ resource to help young people with AIS and parents prepare for and get the most out of their visit.

When outdoor arts-based research activities were put on hold due to the pandemic in 2020–2021, a shift to online workshops became a serious consideration. But this shift required some substantial rethinking. The original plans for our UKRI project entitled Connecting disadvantaged young people with landscape through arts involved groups of children and young people in outdoor settings working with artists to co-create sculptures, artwork, music, poems, and stories. Our aim was to bring children and young people into areas of nature relatively close to their homes, which they may not have previously visited, and to help them connect with the landscape through these various artistic practices. The workshops we had intended to conduct would have been in groups, outdoors in areas of nature, with physical contact between participants. The pandemic, which prevented normal activities from continuing, highlighted the limited realities of many young people’s lives, further diminishing the activities available to them. This realization meant that we should not pause our research but find new ways of continuing it. So, we paired up with a charity that worked with children in need and their families. Through the charity, we could access some children whom the charity workers thought would benefit from art-based activities. The artist, who had been commissioned originally to do outdoor arts workshops, was willing to try a new approach using the online platforms that the charity already used to communicate with the children. There were challenges and highlights, providing some insight into fundamental similarities and differences between face-to-face and online research with children.

This study focussed on identifying the key concerns and information needs of young people with Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis (AIS) and their parents and examined what resources might help improve young people’s ‘participativeness’ and health literacy during clinic consultations. A qualitative participatory design underpinned the study. Workshops involving multiple methods were used to engage with young people with AIS and their parents, who were recruited through a regional children’s hospital. The study design was informed by patient and public consultation with eight young people and two parents. 10 young people (aged 14–16 years) and 11 of their parents participated in the study. Young people and their parents reported uncertainty and anxiety before coming to clinic and faced issues participating in the consultation, being involved in decision-making and understanding the information and language. These challenges resulted in unmet information needs. Young people’s health literacy relating to an AIS diagnosis and treatment is facilitated by them being prepared and informed before coming to clinic and be actively supported to be involved during the consultation. We collaboratively developed the ‘Coming to Spinal Clinic’ resource to help young people with AIS and parents prepare for and get the most out of their visit.

Working in a participatory research project with young people who are disabled, care-experienced or otherwise disadvantaged, collaborative fiction writing was a core method of hearing and amplifying their voices. We discuss how meanings were made in this iterative process of capturing resonances in the different stages of the research, resulting in the creation of stories filtered through many different participants. Through individual and joint reflections on the complex processes of constructing the 48 short stories, we demonstrate how collective storytelling can address criticisms of fictional research outputs as (in)valid social science, and argue instead that the resulting stories can be considered rigorous and faithful research findings. We suggest that these research outputs preserve and proliferate the meanings of marginalised young people, and challenge the absence or distortion of existing narratives about their lives as experienced by themselves.

Working in a participatory research project with young people who are disabled, care-experienced or otherwise disadvantaged, collaborative fiction writing was a core method of hearing and amplifying their voices. We discuss how meanings were made in this iterative process of capturing resonances in the different stages of the research, resulting in the creation of stories filtered through many different participants. Through individual and joint reflections on the complex processes of constructing the 48 short stories, we demonstrate how collective storytelling can address criticisms of fictional research outputs as (in)valid social science, and argue instead that the resulting stories can be considered rigorous and faithful research findings. We suggest that these research outputs preserve and proliferate the meanings of marginalised young people, and challenge the absence or distortion of existing narratives about their lives as experienced by themselves.