CREATING MULTIDISCIPLINARY SCIENTISTS AND COMMUNICATING GEOSCIENCE TO GEN-Z AUDIENCES

A cross-disciplinary team visited the eastern limb of the Bushveld Complex, South Africa, and the communities that have grown around the economic activity arising from Cr and PGE mining. Partnerships between students with different educational pathways explored and documented geology’s impact on the human and physical environment. Through peer-to-peer mentoring, the experiences of the students living and working in the field were captured and used to produce picture-stories, short videos, and longer documentary-like films; some materials were translated to social-media posts. The production materials were disseminated and monitored for viewer feedback, particularly in non-STEM oriented Gen Z audiences.

Gen Z is described, variously, as entrepreneurial, interconnected, global, with strong interest for inventing and implementing new devices (e.g. technology), solving real-world problems, and educating the public about science. The team developed narratives with the broad goal of “sparking interest” about Geoscience through presentation of the co-dependence and interaction between Bushveld geology and the communities built on top of it. Peer-guidance from cultural geographers placed the impact of (economic) geology in the human experience. Highlighting personal experiences increased viewer engagement with geology particularly when its human context was emphasized. A comparison of media prepared by the collective group (versus STEM-students only), resulted in feedback with the more common occurrence of words such as “accessible”, “friendly”, “curious”, and “context”. Stories that highlighted geology and its intertwined communities raised awareness of how quality of life was modified by economic resources, how communities adapt and respond to inward and outward migration, and how tolerance of environmental impact changes.

Storytellers influence the collection of media materials by changing the perspective of the geologist, and how they compose images and video through the lens of the final outcome, rather than the need to capture an image in the moment. Showing the impact of economic geology and its downstream consequences and telling stories that link the lived experiences of communities with their geology increased engagement with Earth Science.