Sea for Yourself
Digital Marine Citizenship Toolkit
What does it mean to help people build a genuine relationship with the sea? And what role can digital technology play in that?
These are the questions behind a new practical resource for organisations working with coastal and marine communities.
How this came about
In 2025, researchers Professor Katharine Willis and Kizzy Beaumont at the University of Plymouth worked with Plymouth Culture and Plymouth Sound National Marine Park to explore the idea of Digital Marine Citizenship.
The research asked how digital and creative tools might help people understand and connect with marine environments, participate in conversations about them, and ultimately play a more active role in their future. It brought together practitioners, researchers and community partners from across the country.
The work was supported by the Arts and Humanities Research Council through an Impact Acceleration Award.
From Screen to Shoreline
Hannah Harris, CEO of Plymouth Culture, has written a thought leadership piece drawing on the research and on Sea for Yourself's own experience of exploring how digital tools can help people connect with Plymouth Sound.
The Digital Marine Citizenship Toolkit
Designed for people working with coastal and marine communities, the toolkit brings together research, practical guidance and examples of different approaches to digital engagement.
It considers everything from storytelling, navigation and citizen science to immersive experiences and participatory decision-making. It also asks practitioners to think about inclusion, co-design, maintenance and evaluation - because the technology itself is never the measure of success.
It offers a framework that community organisations, cultural practitioners, educators, local authorities and environmental and marine organisations can adapt to their own places and communities.
Connected Seascapes - Community Toolkit for Digital Placemaking
Alongside the main toolkit, the project produced a one-hour training module designed to help practitioners and community groups think through how digital tools can support place-based engagement with marine environments.
Part of a wider programme
The Digital Marine Citizenship research is part of Sea for Yourself - Plymouth Culture's four-year creative digital programme for Plymouth Sound National Marine Park.
Sea for Yourself is exploring how art, storytelling, participation and digital innovation can help people across Plymouth develop their own relationship with Plymouth Sound.
FIND OUT MORE ABOUT SEA FOR YOURSELF
This project was a collaboration
The Digital Marine Citizenship project was led by the University of Plymouth in partnership with Plymouth Culture and Plymouth Sound National Marine Park, with support from the Arts and Humanities Research Council through an Impact Acceleration Award.
Research team
Professor Katharine Willis, University of Plymouth
Kizzy Beaumont, University of Plymouth
Partners
Plymouth Culture
Plymouth Sound National Marine Park
Funder
Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC Impact Acceleration Award)
