Natureculture Probes
In-situ probes for natural and cultural heritage
What exploratory tools and methods gathering information in situ and in the moment can be developed to critically highlight who, when, and what is and is not present in heritage-making and inform the design of heritage-related digital intervention?
This work is part of the EU-funded LoGaCulture project, which explores how transmedia interventions and locative games can increase accessibility and engagement on four European cultural heritage sites. To gain a deeper understanding of visitors' experiences and ideate on what type of technology could be developed to enhance them, we designed the Natureculre probes (a set of 12 Postcards and a Sensory Map toolkit) deployed in two UNESCO heritage sites: the Avebury stone circle in England and the Laurisilva rainforest of Madeira in Portugal.
A five-step research design approach was developed to design the probes in Avebury, allowing an emergent and interpretative process for generating design knowledge for nature-related locative experiences at heritage sites. First, ‘Getting to know the place’ by visiting Avebury on the summer solstice day, collecting autoethnographic impressions of site-specific invisible rules and social relationships. Followed by ‘Harvesting information’, digging deeper into Avebury’s history and locals' and visitors’ experience of the site. Findings from those first two steps were consolidated through ‘Design Exploration’, where we developed multiple probes prototype, including the postcards and sensory maps, but also a Neolithic TikTok and a Time Travelcards asking participants to travel through time taken at the site through new perspectives. In ‘Prototyping and testing’, we returned to Avebury to test the probes and meet with the National Trust to gather feedback and ideate further. Probes were consolidated in the final phase, ‘Final probes design’, highlighting the probes’ potential to capture diverse, contextual data and foster deeper connections with nature and cultural heritage.
The process behind the design of the Natureculture Probes, rooted in local knowledge and collaborative approaches.
The final Natureculture probes include a set of 12 Postcards and a Sensory Map toolkit, complementary tools that inspire and guide the creation of design spaces that enhance visitor experiences and access to rich natural and cultural heritage sites. The Sensory Map builds on sensory ethnography to capture the here and now of the experience and bring new perspectives to the self-exploration of heritage sites by re-discovering the area through all senses. By inviting participants to stop and sense during their visit and document a wide range of sensory information, the maps allow for collecting data in situ and integrating new ways of noticing and remembering. The Postcards feature probing questions building on ten concepts such as ‘diverse cosmologies’, ‘Unique vocation of place’, ‘Diverse temporalities’, and ‘How to visit’ to safeguard it ‘for those who follow’, and their motifs’ aesthetic is intentionally distorted and humourous, including surreal collages featuring elements from the heritage site.
A selection of the probe postcards building on local iconography. Left Avebury, right Madeira.
Detail of the sensory map probes
Inspired by the Avebury set, the probes’ design for the Madeira Levadas followed a slightly different process. First, a participatory design session was organised with local stakeholders at the National History Museum of Funchal to build on local knowledge, ideate, and share feedback on the Avebury probes. The discussion focused on local heritage concepts such as the Levada trails, their locations, and diverse visitor groups. As researchers had little familiarity with the natureculture of Madeira, an afternoon walk was organised to the accessible Levada dos Balcões to gather material and firsthand experiences of the Levadas. Photographs, sketches, and observations were collected to inform new probe designs and illustrate the place’s complexity. We tested the Madeiran prototypes in a second Levada walk, a guided tour with a larger group of tourists, and used this opportunity to collect more material and insights on the Levada experience. When designing the final probes, collected material from the walks and the museum informed the probe aesthetics and logistical particularities. Site-specific details were included in the Sensory maps, such as one-way systems, which were unclear on the online and onsite maps but important when immersed in the Levada trails. The maps were expanded to three levada trails to widen their reach (the Levada das 25 Fontes, the Levada do Calderão Verde, and the Levada dos Balcões) and adapted to an A5 booklet format, making it easier for participants to carry and navigate while walking. The existing postcards’ themes aligned well with the institutional stakeholder priorities, so the probing questions were kept while the imagery and place names were changed to reflect Madeira’s unique natureculture landscape. Both probes were adapted in English and Portuguese to accommodate tourists and locals.
Key findings from the pilots advocate for adaptive, seasonally varied deployments to better address the diverse needs of heritage visitors and stakeholders, ultimately contributing to more empathetic and sustainable heritage site management and visitor experience design. The design and piloting of the probes highlighted some tensions between heritage preservation and public engagement and between nature and technology, as well as ways forward in addressing the design of natureculture exploratory tools. In the scope of the LoGaCulture project, other researchers adopted and adapted the method for two further cultural-heritage landscapes (Hill of Tara and Battle of the Boyne).
Piloting the probes, from left to right: a group of participants filling up the probes during a Levada walk; a sensory map and a pile of postcards on a pique-nique table waiting to be filled up in Madeira; the postcard table in Avebury; some filled up postcards.