Design to protect biodiversity
Identifying the presence and spread of fungal disease
After learning about the numerous health issues faced by UK trees and how their decline can have a detrimental impact on biodiversity, recent Industrial Design graduate Lucy Mitchell decided to explore the role design could play in alleviating the problem.
British woodland biodiversity is increasingly under threat from invasive pests and diseases, so as part of her final year degree project Lucy created Spored: a spore trap that uses settle plate sampling to culture fungi and identify fungal diseases that pose risks to trees.
I aim to create products that can tackle some of the many social and environmental issues we face today, from climate change to biodiversity loss.
Spored is a network of spore traps that can identify fungi present in the local area through culturing spore samples on petri dishes. The public can participate through citizen science, starting by looping the weight around branches to hang the trap up, then sending the petri dishes into laboratories for identification. Using this information, the emergence and spread of pathogens that threaten our woodlands can be mapped.
My design process is research-led and driven by a desire to learn. I enjoy immersing myself in research to identify insights and opportunities.
The spore traps come in kits for users to assemble, initiating an engaging and rewarding experience. The kits have been designed with the circular economy in mind so components can respectively be recycled, composted, or sent back for sterilisation and reuse.
The Woodland Trust identifies six fungal diseases that have reached epidemic level in Britain. Woodlands promote biodiversity, provide timber and habitats, capture carbon and benefit social wellbeing – so it’s vital that they are protected. Lucy’s design, Spored, aims to identify the presence and spread of diseases quickly so that more can be done to manage and hopefully eradicate them.
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