Who Am I

• The benefit of the 'Who am I?' game is that it can be tailored to many contexts, with the cards and the discussion prompts. The terms and images on the cards provide an opportunity to spark meaningful conversations about conservation and biodiversity awareness.
• When used in the PLANET4B project, the game was customised to feature plants and animals commonly found in the Chiltern Hills, Oxfordshire, UK (e.g., red kite) as this is an area the UK case study participants were familiar with.
• In the PLANET4B project the cards were designed to be visually appealing, with a picture and words, and laminated.
  

Tips for Encouraging Learning and Engagement

• Pre-prepare discussion points related to the plants and animals on the cards.
• Highlight species of cultural, ecological, or conservation significance.
• The game is a potentially fun way to open a conversation about local biodiversity challenges — is there a species that needs protection or one that is a focus of current research?
• Ensure the plants and animals selected will be guessable by the participants.

In the PLANET4B context, for example, ‘snail’ and ‘butterfly’ were selected as opposed to species level (white-lipped snail and speckled wood butterfly).

In this video Lindy Binder explains how to adapt 'Who am I?' to different contexts:

The impact of the ‘Who am I?’ game lies in the post-game conversation, which encourages participants to reflect on their connection to biodiversity. Depending on how much time you have and the group you are working with the discussion could last between 5 and 40 minutes.

In the PLANET4B case study, the game was used to bridge conversations between cultural interactions, personal experience and biodiversity. This contextualised biodiversity, taking it beyond a scientific concept - ‘out there’ and encouraging players to think about how it connected with their everyday lives:

Potential Topics to Guide the Discussion:

• Knowledge and Discoveries – What did you already know about the species you represented? Did you learn anything new? Was anything surprising or particularly interesting?
• Cultural and Personal Associations – Does this species have cultural significance, traditional uses, or feature in folklore, stories, is it sacred? Does its meaning or importance vary across different communities?
• Personal Experiences – when have you encountered this species? How do you feel about the species?
• Human Perception and Interaction – Is this species generally liked or disliked? Why? What role does it play in ecosystems and human society?
• Conservation and Responsibility – What challenges does this species face? How can individuals, communities, or policymakers contribute to its protection?

Facilitators can use prepared biodiversity fact cards to guide the conversation.

• These can include information about conservation status, habitat, ecological role, and human interactions with the species.
• It might be beneficial to link the species to a local conservation effort (e.g., 'This species is protected in this area—what impact does that have?').

In this lesson Lindy Binder explains how playing'Who am I?' created an open, inclusive atmosphere for discussing biodiversity:

‍Tips for inclusive participation

• Depending on your objective for the game, the discussion can be organic or guided. Some groups (e.g., children) may need more structured facilitation to keep the conversation focused.
• Make sure the species included are guessable,  adjust this as needed for the group you are working with i.e. children may need simpler prompts, whereas a community gardening group might be able to identify more specific prompts.
• There are no right or wrong answers, as the discussion is about personal perspectives and everyone’s experience of biodiversity is valid.

In this video Lindy Binder explains how to ensure 'Who am I?' is inclusive and accessible for all participants: