Experiencing Ecosystems and Entanglement

Summary

Through this teaching activity, students learn to broaden their views, from focusing on humans (which is the This teaching activity aims to help students grasp the complex topics of Ecosystems and Entanglement within more-than-human-centred design. First, the students visit a specific context to inspire the identification of more-than-human actors. Thereafter, they explore the interrelations between all actors and visualize the dynamic ecosystem web in an embodied experience using yarn to connect the relationships between actors. Then, the students consider, express and experience a given design case’s positive and negative impact on the ecosystem and its actors. This exercise concludes with a reflection on the dynamic and interconnected nature of the more-than-human ecosystem and the student’s own positionality in more-than-human-centred design.

Elements of this activity could be used as a follow-up to teaching activities involving attempts to understand more-than-human actors.

Motivation

In order to understand two core concepts in more-than-human-centred design, Ecosystems and Entanglement, this teaching activity helps students to experience these topics through the added value of tangible and embodied methods. These methods are particularly effective in making abstract concepts more accessible.

Through the activity, students gain a comprehensive understanding of what ecosystems are and how design impacts the entire ecosystem, not just human users, promoting a holistic view of design. This approach guides students effectively to shift the focus from the traditional human-centred perspective to a more-than-human-centred perspective.

The activity supports students in thinking concretely about abstract concepts. It enhances awareness of interconnectedness, enabling students to recognize the broader implications of a design and encouraging responsible, sustainable practices. Additionally, it fosters reflection on designers’ human role and their positionality by prompting students to consider the needs of and impacts on more-than-human actors.

Learning outcomes

After the teaching activity students should be able to:

• Identify the impact of a design on actors in an ecosystem
• Describe the connection between the interconnected and dynamic nature of the more-than-human ecosystem and the concept of entanglement.
• Construct a dynamic web of the ecosystem, identifying relationships
• Reflect on their role and responsibilities as designers within the more-than-human world

Teacher guidance

Preparations
Gather all materials for the on-site activity:

• Instruction sheet(s)
• Safety pins (2/student)
• (T-shirt) yarn (± 200m/25 participants)
• (fabric) scissors
• Pens
• A4 sheet protectors (1/student)
• Empty A7-sized sticker as actor nametag/empty nametag pin + paper impact worksheets (printed) (25, reuse unused ones)
• Weights (e.g., filled bottles) (3/student)
• Drawstring backpack (one for each student)
• Simple carabiner hooks (± 6-8cm length) (1/student)
• Shareable fruit (e.g., apple, tangerine, banana) (1/student)
  
  

• Assess the availability of a natural environment that represents the context of the product to be redesigned.
• Consider how various locations, with their unique local materials, can offer varied activity experiences.
• Plan for weather conditions, especially for on-site activities, to ensure a smooth execution.
• Consider possibilities of using natural materials in and from the context as substitutes for the material list provided in this teaching pattern, and/or how to reuse or recycle others.
• Reflect on how the type of materials used in the activity can influence the types of discussions and reflections.
• Evaluate the group’s knowledge level on ecosystems and more-than-human design to determine the necessary amount of pre-introduction. Adjust the provided PowerPoint slides accordingly.
• Remember that seasonality is important, as environmental circumstances can significantly change the observed ecosystem, leading to different outcomes. Therefore, the time of year will affect the activity.
• Positive rewards (pieces of fruit) are defined for representing positive impacts caused by the design. However, you may consider substitutes like the following:
  • Something found on-site (e.g., feathers, leaves, pinecone)
  • Backpack decoration (e.g., ribbon, button)

Step 1: Lecture, Group size: All, Time: 45 min

1. The teacher introduces students to the topic, the upcoming activities, and expectations. The teacher gives example activities and shows some introductory material about ecosystems, entanglement, and more-than-human design. 
2. Select an example design case as a group by voting or selecting it as a teacher. Shortly introduce this.

Step 2: Exercise, Group size: All, Time: 45 min 

1. Consider the (potential) outdoor context of the design case. Visit this place to execute the activity.
2. Let all students look individually for the actors in the context’s ecosystem. Make sure they respect the more-than-humans encountered during this activity.
3. Let students individually create a list of more-than-human actors that are part of this ecosystem.
4. Choose 3 students to lead the next activity.
5. Concluding Step 2
   • The students who will lead the activity can quickly prepare by looking up the design case (materials & lifecycle). Consider the following websites as inspiration: Waarzitwatin.nl, Idematapp.com, so they don’t participate in actor listing (B).
   • Make a selection of the defined actors collaboratively. The group must end up with a number of actors equal to the number of students (minus the 3 students chosen for the next activity) participating in the activity. As a teacher, try to include different types of actors. Make sure you represent both abiotic (e.g., sun) and biotic factors. The latter should consist of different trophic structure layers: primary producers (plants), consumers (e.g., animals, bacteria), detrivores (e.g., worms), and decomposers (fungi).
   • In case having defined more actors than students, search for actors that may be ambassadors of others. For example, ‘bird’ could be an ambassador of ‘crow’, ‘dove’ and ‘sparrow’.
   • In case having defined fewer actors than students, encourage the students to ideate on additional actors. Allow them to make use of mobile apps like e.g., Plantnet, ObsIdentify or Merlin to distinguish specific species.
6. Assign each defined actor to a student or let them choose, except for the students leading activity 3. The students create an actor nametag by writing its name on a sticker paper and wearing it. 

Step 3: Exercise, Group size: All, Time: 90 min

1. Create weights to be distributed during the activity by filling water bottles, searching for stones on-site, or finding other significantly weighted materials on-site.
2. Pin one layer of the A4 sheet protector to the backpack using two safety pins, making sure the sheet can still be opened (see instruction sheet). Let each student wear an empty backpack. Connect the shoulder straps in front with a carabiner hook. If the bag feels too tight, connect the shoulder straps in front with a small string of yarn, and attach the carabiner hook to this yarn instead of directly to the shoulder straps.
3. Spread the students with a 1m distance between each other.
4. Consider the interrelations between all defined actors as a group. How are they related to one another? All students should contribute to advocating for their perceived connections while remaining in position. Reveal the more-than-human ecosystem web and its relationships by having the three leading students connect the actors with yarn strings.
   
   Create strings of a length resembling the distance between two actors, making sure the string is under slight tension (!). Do this by creating a loop knot in both ends of the string (see instruction sheet) and attaching the loop to the carabiner hooks. Consider the following relationships, but try to find more:
   • Habitat
   • Nutrients
   • Fertilization
   • Food, etc.
5. While remaining in position, consider as a group how (aspects of) the design impacts the more-than-human actors and their relationships positively or negatively for the entire product life span:
   • …during the production process
   • …during the product life cycle
   • …during the afterlife
     
     The leading students mention one possible impact at a time. For each impact, have students twist back and forth if they believe the actor they represent is impacted. They increase the intensity of the motion, the more they believe the actor they represent is impacted. Feel and observe the tension in the web.
6. Define as a group where the most tension is experienced in the ecosystem and identify the key encounter(s) of the impact amongst all actors. Stop twisting once the actor(s) is/are defined.
7. Have the three leading students write down each positive or negative impact on the provided impact-worksheet by answering all questions together as a group while remaining in position. In case there are multiple actors impacted most, create a separate worksheet for each actor. Slide the impact worksheet into the sheet protector attached to the actor’s backpack. What is the intensity of the impact? Indicate the intensity by adding (in case of negative impact) or removing (in case of positive impact) 1-3 weights to the designated actor’s backpack (1= low intensity, 3=large intensity). Is there a positive impact but does the actor not yet have weights to be removed, provide a piece of fruit to the actor to be saved for after the activity. Fruits may be considered a positive exchange in an ecosystem (nutrients). 
8. After having ideated all potential impacts of the design on the MTH actors, determine which actors are impacted most severely by negative impacts. Encourage students to express verbally how bad the weight is they are experiencing (complaining). 
9. When finished, clean up the activity by gathering all materials used and try to store them for reuse. Materials borrowed from the site should be returned to their original place. Make sure no materials are left behind in the ecosystem.

Step 4: Exercise, Group size: All, Time: 30 min

Reflect on the main learnings in class. What will the students take from this activity to their own projects? Here are some questions or themes to guide the reflection:

Interconnectedness & dynamic nature of MTH ecosystem

• Given the dynamic and complex nature of the MTH ecosystem, a single mapping will never capture the full picture. How can you consider this complexity in your future projects?
• How has your understanding of the more-than-human ecosystem and its entanglement evolved because of this activity?
• How has your perspective on the types of relationships within the ecosystem, including both harmony and friction, changed after the activity?
• Why is it important to engage in continuous empathizing, both human-centred and more-than-human-centred, during the design process? How could you ensure this in your project?

Careful considerations in MTH design (approaches)

• Why are situatedness and exploration crucial in more-than-human design, and how can you immerse yourself in the context of your design?
• How did the materials used in the activity influence the choices you made and the insights you gained (consider the agency of the materials)? 
• In what ways does more-than-human-centred design differ from traditional human-centred design?
• Ecosystems vary based on time (seasonality). How do you believe seasonality could impact the outcomes of this teaching activity? (e.g., different defined actors).

Positionality as a designer in a MTH context

• How do you, as a student, designer, and human, relate to the defined actors in the more-than-human ecosystem?
• How does the traditional human perspective and agency influence your selection of more-than-human actors and actor ambassadors?
• To what extent have you been able to empathize and represent a MTH actor in the activity? 

Questions for assessment

Take any of the questions for the guided reflection in Step 4 above that you have not used

Recommended readings

Timothy Morton. (2010). The Ecological Thought. Harvard University Press. 

Video material:
https://youtu.be/v6ubvEJ3KGM?si=5PZgt-GKOzaBeg3p
Crash course ecosystem ecology (10 minutes)

The books by Anne Sverdrup Thygeson (a biologist specialising in insects and a writer) are filled with illustrative examples of how species are entangled and how humans greatly depend on them. 

https://youtu.be/VgyMbS6qs0M?si=e7UXoGieftTndsZH (video of her reading a segment from the book on nature’s shoulders)

Ted talk about book Extraordinary insects:https://youtu.be/FR1eoOy1tSM?si=TzN4TIOn9NBiO9_n