Northern Connections: Engaging young people in rural Arctic societies in building sustainability across borders

This research poster shares our experience of work in Shetland primary schools (Hamnavoe Primary School and Foula Primary School) during the first stage of the research project, Northern Connections - Engaging young people in rural Arctic societies in building sustainability across borders.

This two-year project brings researchers together from universities in the UArctic ASAD Network: Nord University Nesna Campus, University of Lapland and UHI Shetland to work with young people from island and rural schools through arts and science-based activities, online and in real life. It encourages young people to engage with each other across political and cultural borders to discover they face many of the same challenges in tackling the climate emergency. The project facilitates collaborative and peer-to-peer learning through real-life workshops and online discussions with pupils and teachers based in four geographically remote, rural and island communities: 1) Foula and Burra Isle in Shetland; 2) Onøy/Lurøy in Norway; 3) rural Finland.

The poster shares work led by the UHI Shetland Team where pupils have engaged in creative activities - drawing, writing and wire sculpture - to explore electricity in their everyday lives. What does electricity look like, sound like, and smell like? This stage of the project was funded by the UArctic and the Scottish Education Exchange Test and Learn Project (Year 3).

In Design Lab #1 in Norway (March 2026) the UHI Shetland team led workshops based on PhD researcher, Helen Garbett's Human Limpet Project where she examines the relationship between humans and limpets.