The University of Aberdeen has been awarded funding through the Coast-R Small Grants Fund for a new research project examining how coastal communities are navigating environmental and energy transitions along the North Sea.
Led by Interdisciplinary Fellow in Social Inclusion and Cultural Diversity Dr Rebecca Macklin, the project ‘Listening to North Sea Coastal Communities in Transition’ will explore how large‑scale changes such as climate impacts, renewable energy development and industrial expansion are reshaping ecocultural heritage and everyday life in Shetland and Aberdeen.
The interdisciplinary research will work closely with local communities in Yell and Torry to understand both the opportunities and pressures on multispecies environments, cultural practices and lived experiences.
Through a focus on sound and the sensory experiences of transitions, the project aims to facilitate exchange between community groups and generate new insights into the ecocultural impacts of transitions. By amplifying local voices and creating opportunities for cross-regional exchange, it will support and strengthen community driven approaches to ecocultural heritage preservation.
The project is a new collaboration between researchers Dr Rebecca Macklin and Dr Andrew Whitehouse at the University of Aberdeen and Nicolas Le Bigre from the Elphinstone Institute, working with artist Professor Roxane Permar from the University of Highlands and Islands and partners Greyhope Bay, based in Aberdeen, and North Yell Development Council (NYDC), in Shetland.
The funding forms part of a UK‑wide investment supporting early‑career researchers undertaking community‑engaged projects to strengthen coastal resilience. In total, eight projects across the UK have been funded in this first round, recognising innovative approaches that connect research with lived coastal experience.
“By inviting discussion on the sounds we associate with the coast in Aberdeen and Shetland, we hope to reveal the lived and felt experiences of ecocultural change in areas that are rich with coastal heritage yet often marginalised when it comes to decision making.” said project lead Dr Rebecca Macklin from the University of Aberdeen.
“Our activities with community partners in Yell and Torry, will allow us to learn about community priorities for ongoing energy and environmental transitions and support their important work to preserve local heritage."
This work builds on the successful 2025 project ‘Just Reverberations’, led by Dr Macklin and Dr Whitehouse in collaboration with Greyhope Bay. Funded by the University of Aberdeen, this earlier project worked with community members to produce a set of field recordings for preservation in the Elphinstone Institute.