Planning Your Project
Before embarking on biodiversity storytelling, facilitators should reflect on the following:
- Communication and Purpose:
Before beginning, consider carefully the intended outcomes of using biodiversity storytelling and what will realistically be achievable through this method. Being transparent about what storytelling as a method can realistically influence or achieve builds trust and prevents disillusionment later in the process. - Ethical Concerns: How will participants’ stories be used? You might want to discuss some shared group rules, these could be co-negotiated by the group
- Subject Matter: Discussions about food, biodiversity loss, environmental change and migrant experiences can be sensitive topics that evoke strong emotions. It is important to manage and acknowledge these responses within the method. Facilitators can support participants by offering clear, achievable steps they can take, or advocate for, to promote more biodiversity-conscious decisions in their lives. Additional advice on facilitating these conversations can be found at Education Reboot, Natural Resources Defence Council, and Force of Nature
- Checklist:
Do you have the skills, resources, equipment and time to dedicate to this method, do your participants have the time capacity – if not it might be worth considering a different method instead.
Recruiting and Group Dynamics
In the PLANET4B project, the storytelling method (used in the context of the Austrian case study) was introduced early in the process of building the citizen Learning Community. Sharing personal stories related to food and childhood allowed the women to connect with one another. This method is well suited to groups that plan to meet regularly, as it supports trust, cooperation, and a shared understanding. For this reason, the method may be most effective with groups you are already working with, or when you are in the process of forming a new Learning Community.
If you are delivering the storytelling method as a one-off event, you may wish to consider the following strategies in your recruitment strategy:
- Be present – Go to where people already are, rather than expecting them to come to you. This could mean holding sessions in familiar and accessible spaces such as village halls, community centres, or libraries.
- Appreciation – Cover expenses such as travel and provide refreshments. If permitted within your project’s ethical guidelines, offer financial payments or token in-kind gifts to participants by way of acknowledgement of their time and contribution. If direct payments are not possible, consider alternative forms of recognition such as free access to training, workshops, or other events. This signals respect and values people’s contributions.
- Collaborate – Look for opportunities to engage with existing groups or networks. Working with established communities can foster continuity, support trust-building, and increase the long-term impact of the process.
- Make it accessible – Offer language support and translation (this can be done with the use of technology), make sure the space can accommodate all access needs. Offer childcare, transport, and family-friendly formats to widen access.
- Be creative – Use proactive and imaginative approaches to reach people. This might include designing visually engaging materials, collaborating with local organisations, or running a targeted social media campaign. Personal invitations can also be effective, especially when there are particular individuals or communities you hope to include.
Preparation
Give storytellers at least two weeks to prepare their stories and offer some guiding questions around which to base the discussion. In the context of a biodiversity story, some suggested questions are below:
- When do you first remember eating this food?
- How do you prepare this food, where did you learn to cook it?
- What do you like about it – the taste, the texture, the smell?
- Is there a particular occasion you associate with this food – a celebration, a tradition, a season?
- Has your relationship with this food changed over time?
- How do you source this food – do you grow it, buy it, make it, have it made for you?
- Do you have any songs or sayings associated with it in your family, friends, community or culture?
- Are there any changes you would like to see in the food you eat (e.g. better taste, availability, other varieties, processing, more availability etc.)?
Facilitators:
- Once you know what food item each of the storytellers is going to share their story about, prepare short factsheets about it – for example, in the PLANET4B project, the facilitators prepared factsheets on mushrooms related to the mycelium network, and the history of penicillin etc.,
- Depending on the group you are working with the factsheets could be related to local identity, local topics of interest, a local history
- Given that the method can provide a way to connect biodiversity storytelling to everyday lives, begin the conversation by talking about biodiversity.
In this video Sandra Karner explains how to prepare for the Biodiversity Storytelling workshop:
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Using Storytelling Workshops in a Research Setting
A storytelling workshop can serve as a valuable research setting, providing opportunities to observe, document, and analyse how people articulate, interpret, and connect with biodiversity in practice. Its richness often depends on collaboration, since shared responsibility and diverse expertise shape the stories that emerge. As a researcher, you may work alongside community groups, growers, or cultural organisations to co-design and deliver the activity. It is important to reflect on your role in shaping the process and to consider carefully what you want to include in the design of the session.
Define research objectives
Begin by clarifying what the storytelling activity is intended to investigate, while leaving space for new insights to emerge through the process.
- Objectives may include examining how participants perceive and value biodiversity through everyday lives, or how metaphors, memories, and cultural references shape the way biodiversity is understood and narrated.
- Researchers may also be interested in how personal stories can inform wider social or policy debates, positioning individual experience within collective reflection.
- Objectives should reflect both the wider research aims and the priorities of participants, and they may shift as the workshop unfolds.
Data generation
- Stories can be captured through audio recordings, written transcripts, photographs, drawings, or researcher fieldnotes.
- Visual data may also include photos of drawings or other creative expressions made during the workshop.
- Collecting contextual material, such as demographic information or notes on group interactions, can provide depth and allow for triangulation.
- Managing this variety of data requires strategies such as clear labelling, secure digital storage, and cataloguing systems that track both individual and collective contributions.
Ethics and consent
- Informed consent must be secured, with participants made aware of how stories will be used, stored, and shared.
- Researchers should be transparent about their role and what participants can expect in terms of outputs and dissemination.
- Confidentiality and anonymity should be carefully addressed, recognising that some participants may wish to be identified while others may not.
- Participants should be given the option to withdraw or to contribute in non-verbal ways, such as drawing or anonymous writing.
- Attention to power relations is essential to ensure the setting remains respectful and safe for all contributors.
- Researchers should also be clear about how stories will be shared, for example through academic publications, community reports, exhibitions, or digital platforms, and secure agreement on these uses in advance.
Analytical strategies
- Storytelling data can be explored thematically, narratively, discursively, or comparatively, depending on the research questions and objectives.
- Patterns can be traced in how biodiversity is represented, valued, or linked to cultural, social, and emotional themes.
- Silences, hesitations, and absences can be just as revealing as the stories that are told, offering insight into contested or sensitive areas.
- Reflexivity is essential, as prompts, group dynamics, and facilitation choices all shape what stories are shared and how they are framed.
- Storytelling can also be used in combination with other methods, such as interviews, observation, or policy analysis, to provide complementary perspectives on biodiversity and governance.
