By Lisa May Thomas

"Whilst trove was designed to care for children and young people, through supporting their life-stories, the children and young people started to care for trove"

Trove is a physical and digital tool that enables children and young people to be in control of their own life story. It combines a multi-media storying app and bag designed for adding stories to objects. Keeping safe the objects and their connected stories, trove uses simple digital technologies to bring them back to life, time after time. CenSoF Senior Research Associate, Lisa May Thomas, explains how she – together with fellow University of Bristol researcher Dr Stuart Gray – took trove to the Abrechian woodland activity centre in the forest near to Loch Ness and Inverness earlier this year.  

In April this year, we took trove up to Scotland as part of a 3-day residential with a group of care-experienced children and young people and their families who live in Glasgow, and who have a long-term relationship with The Articulate Cultural Trust and Hub. Articulate is a charity based in Glasgow, who support dynamic platforms for arts projects, programmers and producers who wish to create amazing creative experiences for children, young people, and adults, especially for those who experience barriers to participation. Previously, trove had been used in indoor spaces, in homes and classrooms, and during the trip we wanted to explore how trove might be used in the outdoors – in the wild spaces of the forest of Abrechian, and as part of the woodland activities that were taking place with the families there (run by the outdoor activity leaders and Articulate)...