Enhancing Sensorial Connectedness
Enhancing Sensorial Connectedness is a field exercise in which a small group visits a local ecosystem, attends to it one sense at a time, and collects natural and waste materials while noting the sensations and associations these trigger. It was developed by anthropologist Yolanda van Ede of the University of Amsterdam for the Transition Makers Toolbox and draws on David Howes' sensory anthropology. Back indoors, each person presents one object and groups of three build a joint artwork from what they found.
Facilitation script
- 1
Brief the group on site: purpose, area boundaries, safety and hygiene rules, and the note-taking that will be needed later.
10 min - 2
Guide perception sense by sense: sight, then touch, then smell, sound and, if safe, taste. Announce each change and leave quiet time for notes.
120 min - 3
Participants collect natural and waste materials, noting place, quantity, sensations and the thoughts or memories each find brings up.
90 min - 4
Everyone selects what to take back and bags it, sharing observations with people nearby. Leave the site as found.
15 min - 5
Indoors, empty the bags. Each person presents one object with its sensations and associations and answers questions. Allow 10 to 15 minutes per person; the hour covers four to six people, so a larger group presents in parallel subgroups.
60 min - 6
Trios form around shared themes, build a joint artwork from the materials and present it to the other groups.
120 min
Tips
Visit the site beforehand at the same time of day and check tides, weather, access and what may legally be removed.
Slow the group down at the start; people tend to rush through sight and skip the other senses unless each one gets its own announced time.
Ask for notes in the moment, because the presentations depend on remembered sensations and these fade quickly.
Keep the art-making about the materials and their stories, not about producing something attractive.
Common pitfalls
Letting the sensing phase run as a free walk, so participants look around, chat and never isolate touch, smell or sound
Skipping the risk check for the site: sharp or contaminated waste, tides, plants and anything put in the mouth are real hazards, so provide gloves and limit tasting to what is known to be safe
Ignoring access needs and weather, which excludes participants who cannot manage uneven ground or hours outdoors
Collecting without notes, so the indoor presentations become descriptions of objects with none of the sensations or memories behind them
Removing living organisms or protected material, which damages the site and may break local rules
Variations
The source timings add up to a long day for a full group of twelve. For a half-day version, shorten the sensing and collecting phases to about an hour each and have people present their object in small groups instead of in plenary. An urban variant uses a street, market or vacant lot. If materials may not be removed from the site, participants photograph and sketch their finds and build the artwork from those records. The exercise does not translate to a remote setting, though dispersed participants can each visit a local site and share objects on a later call.
Where it fits
When to use it
A programme on sustainability or a specific place has so far been taught through data and text and needs direct contact with the site
A small group has at least half a day and a suitable outdoor location within easy reach
You want people to notice how much of their perception runs through sight alone
A project team will work on a particular landscape, shoreline or neighbourhood and should know it first-hand
The group is open to making something with their hands and talking about personal associations
When not to use it
You have a meeting room and under three hours; a short Soundwalk or an object-based check-in gives a taste of sensory attention in far less time
The group is larger than about twelve; individual presentations become too long, so split into parallel groups with a facilitator each
The site is unsafe, protected or inaccessible to some participants; choose a different location or a Sensing Journey with interviews instead
The aim is to gather systematic data about a place; use a Transect Walk with a recording sheet
Participants expect a decision or plan as the output; this exercise produces awareness and shared experience, not actions
Related methods
Frequently asked questions
What is Enhancing Sensorial Connectedness?▾
Enhancing Sensorial Connectedness is a field exercise by anthropologist Yolanda van Ede for the Transition Makers Toolbox. A small group explores an outdoor site one sense at a time, collects natural and waste materials together with the sensations and memories they evoke, and later turns the finds into presentations and a shared artwork. It aims to deepen people's felt connection to a place.
How long does it take?▾
Plan at least half a day. The source timings for sensing, collecting and art-making alone come to five and a half hours, and individual presentations add 10 to 15 minutes per person. A shortened version with one-hour field phases and small-group sharing fits into about three and a half hours.
What kind of location works?▾
The source uses a beach as its example, and any local ecosystem with varied textures, sounds and smells will do: a riverbank, dunes, woodland or a park. The site should be safe to move around in, reachable for everyone, and a place where picking up material is allowed.
Why collect waste as well as natural materials?▾
Waste is part of what the place is today. Handling it alongside shells, wood or stones makes human impact on the site tangible, and the contrast often shapes the themes that the trios later work with in their artworks.
Do participants need artistic skills?▾
No. The artwork is a way for three people to think together about what they found and felt. Arranging, tying and gluing found materials is enough, and the conversation while making it matters more than the result.
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Try it freeMethod descriptions on Workshop Weaver are original content written by our team, based on established facilitation practices. This method was inspired by work from Yolanda van Ede, Transition Makers Toolbox (University of Amsterdam).