In September, The Royal Society of Chemistry awarded a £10,000 Outreach Grant to Your Canal Boat to create original works of theatre that educate the public and demystify the work of chemists, and facilitate conversations between lay persons and scientists on environmental problems common to all.
Leveraging a £2,000 grant from the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea’s Small Grants Scheme that prompted an early dialogue between actors at SPID Community Theatre and climate scientists at the Universities of Bristol and Birmingham. Ah-Ha! (When the fundamental science behind climate change first hit me) commits us to producing 60 minutes of science-informed monologues that elucidate principles of climate change in time to participate in their Stand Up for Climate, Earth Day 2022 program.
The project kicks off with monthly movie nights featuring guest appearances by climate scientists discussing movies of their choice. The first presents Dr. James Bendle from University of Birmingham screening “Chasing Ice”, which follows one man’s obsessive pursuit to document the world’s fast disappearing glaciers. A weekly Book Club launches also, for actors and chemistry teachers to read and discuss scientifically informed popular readings on climate.
Project partners from the University of Colorado in Boulder, Colorado’s “Inside the Greenhouse” program are sending Bev Stasny to lead workshops on climate and comedy beginning October 29. Together with Inside the Greenhouse we’ll launch an international day of climate comedy programs in Los Angeles, Chicago, New York and London on Earth Day, April 22, 2022. Actors interested in the science of climate change, and chemistry teachers interested in developing performative ways to teach their students about the climate emergency can sign up here.