In My Boat: a card game designed by community researchers to explore the impact of environmental change on marine ecosystems

This work presents the development of an educational ecology-focused card game created in collaboration with a grass-roots community group. Employing a participatory action research (PAR) methodology, the group gathered and analysed data on public attitudes towards climate change and card games to inform the design of the game. Key findings revealed a general awareness of environmental change but a limited understanding of its causes. Additionally, the public expressed a positive attitude towards both card games and education through this medium. Building upon these insights, the group designed a card game that explores climate change and pollution threats to a marine ecosystem. The PAR approach was found to be effective in designing a card game through community-led dissemination of results and decision-making. This article is published in the Thematic Collection ‘Participatory Engagement and Game Playing for Achieving Sustainable Net-Zero Transition’, edited by Jing Zhao, Eirini Gallou, and Ievgeniia Kopytsia.