The COMPLEXITY of the REEF

A creative research project I set myself was to understand why Australians were apathetic to the plight of the reef. This challenge was borne of the fear that my daughter of two years old, may never see its beauty. The conclusion from this work, was not one of apathy by Australians, but complexity to undertand such a massive problem.

How can any one person understand the complexity and interplay of an eco-system 375,000km2?

This phenomena I learnt was called ‘construal level theory’ or the psychological distance created by unknowable complexity.
Breaking down into many ways in which we are distanced from problems:
Social Distance - What can my actions truly impact?
Temporal Distance - When will my actions affect any change?
Spatial Distance - The problem is happening far away?
Hypothetical Distance - Are our actions actually causing this?

VISUALISE THE PROBLEM

Collaborating with a geo-spatial data expert in Canada we are working to create a living model of the Great Barrier Reef within the Minecraft universe (1/10th the scale). Using publicly available data we are able to covert map data into Minecraft blocks, allowing everyday people to explore the entirety of the reef in a real-time state.

In addition the public data allows the visualisation of current issues facing the reef, such as pollution, pests, marine life levels, coral bleaching, turbidity and temperature.

ADOPT A REEF

Whilst users can view the entire reef, our approach to overcome this psychological distance is to break down the challenges facing the reef into knowable 1km2 sections. Rather than one reef, we now have 375,000 reefs ready to be cared for by individuals. Real-time data and visualised projections can focus attention to the current need of their reef, whilst using projections to show how small changes in everyday behaviour, over time can make a real impact.