← 07a · Nature on campus
Prototyping and testing · case study 07b · 2026 · 3-minute read · solo

Nature on campus, a year on: running the redesigned test myself

In the 2025 team project, students liked the idea of foraging for natural dyes and upcycling clothes, but asked for a shorter outdoor session, foraging and dyeing on the same day, and real samples. I redesigned it around those findings and I'm running it myself.

My roleSolo: redesign, field guide, route and the test
When2026
StageDevelop: a demand test
WhereCardiff first, along the Taff Trail, then Bristol
What changed

Each change answers a finding

What the 2025 test foundWhat I changed
Two hours outdoors is too longOne bike ride with a shorter outdoor leg
Keep foraging and dyeing on the same dayBoth in one session
Mock-ups didn't show the colour rangeReal dyed samples to show
Worries about identifying plantsA field guide with ID sketches and lookalikes
The field guide

A guide to foraging dyes by bike in Cardiff

  • Why forage: oak tannin and homemade rust-jar iron cost pennies after a one-off kit of about £32. Expect greys to near-black.
  • What to find: oak galls, acorns and acorn cups, walnut husks and alder cones, each with what it looks like, lookalikes, where and when.
  • The route: the Taff Trail north from Bute Park to Castell Coch, about 14 to 16 miles there and back, with where you can and can't collect.
  • The rules: personal use only, no uprooting, nothing from protected sites, and ask first in council parks.
What it will show

Sign-ups, turnout and what people said

I'm testing it on my own clothes first, then running it in Cardiff and Bristol so the two cities can be compared.

Results to come.