Having established that soil is a significant contributor to carbon emissions, we dug deeper into the effects of chemical fertilisers on soil health and their harmful longterm use impact on the environment. The goal was to complete the initial planning and production of the installation with in the week.

Following feedback about a transmedia experience, we gained a deeper understanding about what it means to deliver one and based on this, we geared towards designing a community platform using different forms of media. The installation would then serve as a catalyst or portal into this community platform with a vision of users being able to interact with it, generating interest in the topic and leading them to the platform to learn more.

Harm from long-term use of fertilisers

• The runoff from chemical fertilisers can contaminate waterways and aquatic ecosystems, leading to harmful algal blooms, fish kills, and other negative environmental impacts.
• The production of chemical fertilisers requires large amounts of energy and resources, contributing to greenhouse gas emissions and climate change.
• Chemical fertilisers can also lead to soil erosion, as they often do not provide the same level of soil structure and stability as organic matter.

We took inspiration from some of the experiments applied from the video references into making our prototype that would deliver the experience of visualising how soil has been polluted. Our aim was to not only to visually compare organic and natural soil with fertiliser-contaminated soil, but also to encourage interaction with the soil and for people who would through a website learn more about it.

Realising the need for real plants and soil for the miniature garden, we had a weed-uprooting tour around London College of Communication sourcing for different for different kinds of plants. We made sure not to destroy any vital plants or take without permission any vegetation while on our quest. Our food display carriers carried both our plants and vegetables to create a miniature garden that mimicked the experience of harvesting fresh food from the garden. We anticipated critism that would arise from use of plastic containers and soiled the sides to drive a message of plastic use and their inability to decompose in the soil.

We created an engaging website featuring an interactive animation of characters guiding you through the content, accompanied by icons that explain the composition of organic soil and data highlighting the crucial role of soil health. As a call to action, we linked visitos to online organic food stores to promote better soil health while increasing sales of these organic products and a link to Creative Conscience, our project partners.