This summer, Rangers Twente embarked on a fun citizen science journey called “Mapping for recreation” (Map4Rec), which turned out very productive:
- 74: number of participants
- 6: number of cities and teams
- 101: number of sports and play areas mapped
- 3: number of micro-modules completed
- 6: number of recreational spaces designed
- 7: number of art projects crafted
- immeasurable: jokes, laughter, memories, newfound friendships, ideas for the future
The closing event took place on November 15th at the DesignLab at the University of Twente, and was led by young researchers themselves! Coinciding with the Geography Awareness Week, it marked a fitting end to the project. Participating teams showcased their maps of places of recreation, detailed available recreational activities, shared their assessments of the attractiveness and safety of explored locales, and proposed designs of inclusive and sustainable recreational areas. Visitors could also explore art installations reflecting experience with citizen science, such as a clock-shaped map of Boekelo, titled “An ideal 15-minute city for recreation”. It was a joyous occasion, and we are grateful to everyone who attended to support our young co-researchers.
While the Map4Rec team (Javier Martinez, Kateryna Miller) is working on reports and scientific outputs, one key learning stands out already now. Engaging refugee children in citizen science is a highly collaborative effort, reflecting the proverb “It takes a village…” We are indebted to our “villagers” — dedicated and enthusiastic individuals — who helped us make this project a reality. We extend our gratitude to participants and their families, Mark Paalman, Melissa Pala, Marcel Bouwmeester, Rianne Knippels, Elena Tempfli and all refugee facilities teams across Twente, Karin van den Driesche from KADEN DESIGN, Jasmin Dubbink and Merel van den Toorn from M-Pact Enschede, Simone Wesselink from Dol op Bouwen, Mirjam Zegers from UNICEF Nederland, Aron Hoeksema, Pritam Ghosh, Stanislav Ronzhin, and many others. We are grateful to IMPETUS for citizen science! for funding and exceptional training, and to our mentor Louise Francis for inspiration and support throughout the project. Thank you kindly also to the DesignLab University of Twente for the DesignLab Research Fellow Seed Grant that allowed to pilot the educational micro-modules used in Map4Rec.
Thank you all for your ongoing support in our efforts to make our cities and communities more inclusive and resilient through place-based citizen science. We are curious about the future adventures of Rangers Twente!