Walking Outside the Box: A Visual and Sensory Landscape Journey to Capture Perceptual Values

This paper explores the use of an embodied new materialist workshop approach to collecting landscape data. It acknowledges the significance of embodied experiences and intra-actions with the material world, aligned with new materialism, which emphasises the agency of more-than-human entities in shaping human experiences. Used in a range of landscapes, the innovative method involves participants in the planning and data collection to embed a democratic and inclusive process. Participants engage in a physical and sensory exploration of the landscape on foot – sometimes using other mobilities – and visit multiple locations. This approach allows participants to familiarise themselves with the diverse specificities of place that influence their perceptions. It also encourages a collective experience, leading to shared insights. Working in groups, participants then create vivaria, mini-landscape assemblages made from the natural materials present. These serve as a tactile creative way for participants to express their perceptions of and connections to the landscape.