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Rothamsted scientists take on new identities
A new interactive game has created plant and animal avatars for leading experts to help explain how regenerative farming research could benefit nature and combat climate change
9 October 2024
The Rothamsted Sentience Dial is an immersive game and online video archive connecting school students with the various plants and animals on the Rothamsted Estate threatened by climate-change and unsustainable farming practices.
The game imagines a future where a new device – the Sentience Dial - has allowed plants and animals to communicate with humans. Some of these species are voiced by Rothamsted scientists who talk about how their research will help them thrive in the future by creating more nature-friendly farming.
Furtherfield, the arts and technology collective that developed the game, then worked with Sandringham School in St Albans where each character scientist acted as a mentor to groups of students, who then had to imagine alternative futures where either the challenges had been addressed (bright future) or got worse (bleak future). The students then voice their future visions using the same animated character.
All of this has been captured as a mobile app which can be accessed here: https://rothamsted.furtherfield.org
Launched by QR codes placed around the Rothamsted estate and shared online, the app allows the wider community to tune into the plight of local species and develop new awareness of how to better co-exist.
The project is a collaboration between Rothamsted scientists, visual artists from Furtherfield and the Hertfordshire Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP).
“The game demonstrates work on climate resilience of farming systems carried out at Rothamsted and how they cascade across ecosystems, drawing on our world-leading understanding of agro-ecological processes,” says Prof Simon Willcock who coordinated Rothamsted’s input. “Young people often feel voiceless in important debates like climate change. This project connects them with non-human life forms, encouraging them to speak on their behalf and consider the impact of climate change from alternate perspectives.”
Players accessing the app can also download masks of the characters here and use Snapchat face filters to look like their favourite animals or plants. The filters can be found by searching Snapchat for Furtherfield and then selecting the species.
Game development credits:
Sajan Rai: Species artist
Cade Diehm: Sentience Dial artist
Matt Catlow: Sentience Dial sound artist
PopulAR: Face filter producers
Sandringham School: The future species
Contacts
Prof. Simon Willcock
PRINCIPAL RESEARCH SCIENTIST
ABOUT ROTHAMSTED RESEARCH
Rothamsted Research is the longest-running agricultural research institute in the world. We work from gene to field with a proud history of ground-breaking
discoveries in areas as diverse as crop management, statistical interpretation and soil health. Our founders, in 1843, were the pioneers of modern
agriculture, and we are known for our imaginative science and our collaborative approach to developing innovative farm practice.
Through independent research, we make significant contributions to improving agri-food systems in the UK and internationally, with
economic impact estimated to exceed £3 bn in annual contribution to the UK economy. Our strength lies in our systems approach, which combines strategic research,
interdisciplinary teams and multiple partnerships.
Rothamsted is home to three unique National Bioscience Research Infrastructures which are open to researchers from all over the world:
The Long-Term Experiments,
Rothamsted Insect Survey and the
North Wyke Farm Platform.
We are strategically funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC), with additional support from other national and
international funding streams, and from industry. We are also supported by the Lawes Agricultural Trust (LAT).
ABOUT BBSRC
The Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council is part of UK Research and Innovation, a non-departmental public body funded by a grant-in-aid
from the UK government.
BBSRC invests to push back the frontiers of biology and deliver a healthy, prosperous and sustainable future. Through our investments, we build and support a vibrant,
dynamic and inclusive community which delivers ground-breaking discoveries and develops bio-based solutions that contribute to tackling global challenges,
such as sustainable food production, climate change, and healthy ageing.
As part of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), we not only play a pivotal role in fostering connections that enable the UK’s world-class research and innovation system
to flourish – we also have a responsibility to enable the creation of a research culture that is diverse, resilient, and engaged.
BBSRC proudly forges interdisciplinary collaborations where excellent bioscience has a fundamental role. We pioneer approaches that enhance the equality, diversity,
and inclusion of talent by investing in people, infrastructure, technologies, and partnerships on a global scale.
ABOUT LAT
The Lawes Agricultural Trust, established in 1889 by Sir John Bennet Lawes, supports Rothamsted Research’s national and international agricultural science through the provision of land, facilities and funding. LAT, a charitable trust, owns the estates at Harpenden and Broom's Barn, including many of the buildings used by Rothamsted Research. LAT provides an annual research grant to the Director, accommodation for nearly 200 people, and support for fellowships for young scientists from developing countries. LAT also makes capital grants to help modernise facilities at Rothamsted, or invests in new buildings.