Europe contains natural treasures that provide endless inspiration, excitement, and enjoyment as well as supporting much of its economy. The EU-funded OPERAs research project spent five years working with policy makers, land managers and citizens to develop approaches to improve the management and protection of ecosystems across Europe to ensure we continue to benefit from these ecosystem services. We worked with researchers at the University of Edinburgh to help them visualise these ecosystem services in two Natural Treasure maps, one of Scotland and one of Europe (both of which are available as a public resource). Each map contains more than 100 examples so we had to work hard to ensure everything was covered in an accessible and, of course, visually appealing way.
“Creating these maps was a fun and challenging experience. Scriberia helped us to pack the two maps with simple images representing a wide range of ecosystem services. We’re very happy with the final results, which we hope will form a resource that will help to engage non-expert audiences.”
Dr Marc Metzger, University of Edinburgh
We’ve been working with the University of Edinburgh since 2013, creating visuals that bring to life the amazing work they do around climate and ecosystems; work that really makes a difference. For the Scotland map, our co-founder Chris attended an event celebrating five years of putting this research into practice, filling a map with as many images and ideas as it could take. From seaweed harvesting to the tidal energy, the sketch quickly filled up with all of the incredible natural treasures that Scotland has to offer. Back in the London studio, Chris' sketch became a beautiful poster packed with the colour and energy of the Scottish environment.
We’re really proud to have created these artworks under the creative commons license that allows free distribution so that anyone can learn and be inspired by the natural treasures of Scotland and Europe.