The Environment Agency.

The Environment Agency (EA) is the leading body responsible for protecting and improving the environment in England and Wales.

For this brief, we had to attempt to better understand the relationship between citizens and their local assets that are protecting them from environmental harm and consider solutions for instilling a sense of ownership and individual responsibility.

Our research found that there was mistrust and frustration towards the Environment Agency because they were associated with the government, and had negative connotations since they were mainly only visible when serious incidents were taking place. We also found that the consumption of information about environmental assets & harm was passive. Lastly, we found that a sense of belonging encourages accountability within the community.

As a result, we recommended that the Environment Agency plays a more active role within the community, becoming visible by appearing at local community events. We thought the combination of introducing a recognisable mascot, and having interactive stalls - for example, having headsets that show augmented reality of floods in the local area, could generate discussions about how citizens could become more engaged about environmental assets and potential harm from physical incidents that are seemingly more likely because of climate change.