New Beggarswell Allotments barry Wales

 

After several years on the waiting list we finally got an allotment not far from our house in Barry Wales. Based on experiences of climate action conversations with strangers that started from me doing slightly unusual activities in local public spaces, I am planning to connect with my new allotment community with an unusual allotment feature: a sonic raised bed that gives a voice to microbial soil life. Most soils are inhabited by some electrogenic bacteria, microbes that produce electrons as part of their metabolic processes. These very small electrical currents can be harvested and/or measured. One of the most common electrogenic bacterium is the shewanella one-idensis.

 

Electric Strawberries raised bed

 

The Electric Strawberries installation measures the electrical voltage produced by the microbes and generates an audio signal that varies according the measurement. The sonic raised bed is installed close to an access lane where I hope it will be a hook for engaging other allotment users or visitors in conversations about allotment growing know-how, microbial soil life, climate adaptation and other topics of interest. The experiment values an equal relation to non-human beings and a committed low-tech approach. The aim is to share knowledge, ideas and opinions as well as to strengthen links with the allotment community.

 

Tech

 

The Electric Strawberries installation is solar-powered and completely made of found, re-used and recycled parts. It is the latest instance of an ongoing investigation in electrogenic soil bacteria for art and citizen science that started from a collaboration with bio-engineer Michka Melo in 2017. Since then I have made several installations using the technology including the microbe-powered Mudbots (2018), the Singing Compost installation in collaboration with London-based artist Harun Morrison (2022-ongoing), the Garden Lab project with Knowle West Media Centre in Bristol and the Crymlyn Bog microbial voltage datalogging devices for the Better Bonymaen community art project in Swansea.

 

 

The Electric Strawberries were created during the Climate Adaptation for Creatives course run by Black Mountains College and the British Council in winter 2024-25

 

Allotment meets lab meets creative tech meets growing veg meets outsider art meets people meets microbiology meets citizen science