Reconnecting with nature
NBS Comics
NBS Comics: Nature to save the world
NBS Comics blends science and storytelling to promote nature-based solutions (NbS) that empower people and nature to thrive together. Through engaging narratives and diverse artistic styles, the comics raise awareness about environmental issues and inspire action. The project involves comic creators, artists, scientists, and NbS experts in an interdisciplinary collaboration to share new voices and ideas for a sustainable, biodiverse future.
Ireland
Regional
The first open call in 2023 was limited to comic creators in Europe. The second open call was open to comic creators from all over the world.
It addresses urban-rural linkages
It refers to other types of transformations (soft investment)
Yes
2024-12-31
Yes
Horizon2020 / Horizon Europe
No
No
As a representative of an organisation
NBS COMICS is an interdisciplinary project that empowers comic creators to combine science and storytelling, fostering a unique dialogue about nature and its role in a sustainable future. By commissioning diverse artists, scientists, and NbS experts, the project creates engaging stories that connect people to nature through art. These stories tackle themes such as nature-based solutions, biodiversity, and environmental challenges in both urban and rural environments. With genres ranging from realism and fantasy to sci-fi, the comics make complex environmental issues both accessible and entertaining. Since its launch in 2023, NBS COMICS has reached thousands of readers worldwide, inspiring new voices to share stories that raise awareness, promote sustainability, and ignite action for a more resilient world.
The project has produced 18 comics focused on NbS, biodiversity, and environmental challenges. Educators, community builders, civil society organizations, professionals, and even scientists have used the comics to mainstream NbS in entertaining, beautiful, and informative ways. NBS COMICS has also facilitated partnerships between artists and scientists, enriching the storytelling process and expanding its impact. Through digital platforms and events, the project has contributed to global discussions on sustainability.
Aligned with the (NEB) principles, NBS COMICS embodies the values of sustainability, aesthetics, and inclusion:
Sustainability: The comics advocate for nature-based solutions that promote environmental resilience, climate action, and biodiversity conservation.
Aesthetics: Combining art, storytelling with scientific knowledge, NBS COMICS ensures environmental issues are not only informative but also visually engaging, making complex topics accessible.
Inclusion: The project empowers diverse communities to connect with nature and actively engage in addressing environmental challenges, ensuring that its messages reach a broad, global audience.
The project has produced 18 comics focused on NbS, biodiversity, and environmental challenges. Educators, community builders, civil society organizations, professionals, and even scientists have used the comics to mainstream NbS in entertaining, beautiful, and informative ways. NBS COMICS has also facilitated partnerships between artists and scientists, enriching the storytelling process and expanding its impact. Through digital platforms and events, the project has contributed to global discussions on sustainability.
Aligned with the (NEB) principles, NBS COMICS embodies the values of sustainability, aesthetics, and inclusion:
Sustainability: The comics advocate for nature-based solutions that promote environmental resilience, climate action, and biodiversity conservation.
Aesthetics: Combining art, storytelling with scientific knowledge, NBS COMICS ensures environmental issues are not only informative but also visually engaging, making complex topics accessible.
Inclusion: The project empowers diverse communities to connect with nature and actively engage in addressing environmental challenges, ensuring that its messages reach a broad, global audience.
Nature-based solutions
Environmental education
Sustainability
Art and storytelling
Climate action
The key sustainability objective of NBS Comics is to inspire and educate global audiences about nature-based solutions as essential strategies for addressing climate change and biodiversity loss. The comics promote sustainable practices like ecosystem restoration, urban green spaces, and sustainable agriculture, urging readers to adopt solutions that protect and restore the environment. The project highlights the power of storytelling in spreading sustainability messages to diverse audiences and making complex environmental issues more understandable. Through partnerships with artists and scientists, NBS Comics demonstrates how creativity can lead to positive environmental change, while encouraging sustainable action among communities, schools, and policymakers.
NBS COMICS fosters a deep connection to nature by blending visual art with compelling storytelling, creating an immersive and engaging experience for readers. The project's key objective is to evoke emotional responses through diverse artistic styles, ranging from realistic depictions of nature to imaginative fantasy and sci-fi worlds. This artistic variety makes environmental issues relatable and accessible, encouraging readers to view nature as a valuable ally in tackling pressing challenges such as climate change and biodiversity loss.
The project also emphasizes cultural benefits by incorporating cultural references and ecological themes that celebrate local ecosystems. Each comic reflects different regions' unique environmental challenges and solutions, fostering a sense of belonging and responsibility toward nature. By doing so, the project educates and builds a shared understanding of the importance of protecting our planet, instilling pride in local and global ecosystems.
NBS COMICS strives to make the experience enjoyable while also informative. Feedback from readers underscores the project’s ability to **entertain** while educating, creating a quality experience that inspires positive environmental action. The balance between engaging storytelling and educational content ensures that readers are not only informed but motivated to take action in their communities.
By blending creativity with environmental advocacy, It demonstrates how art can be a powerful tool for education, cultural expression, and environmental change, encouraging readers to form a lasting connection to nature while actively participating in sustainability efforts.
The project also emphasizes cultural benefits by incorporating cultural references and ecological themes that celebrate local ecosystems. Each comic reflects different regions' unique environmental challenges and solutions, fostering a sense of belonging and responsibility toward nature. By doing so, the project educates and builds a shared understanding of the importance of protecting our planet, instilling pride in local and global ecosystems.
NBS COMICS strives to make the experience enjoyable while also informative. Feedback from readers underscores the project’s ability to **entertain** while educating, creating a quality experience that inspires positive environmental action. The balance between engaging storytelling and educational content ensures that readers are not only informed but motivated to take action in their communities.
By blending creativity with environmental advocacy, It demonstrates how art can be a powerful tool for education, cultural expression, and environmental change, encouraging readers to form a lasting connection to nature while actively participating in sustainability efforts.
NBS COMICS embraces inclusivity by ensuring its stories are accessible to all ages, literacy levels, and backgrounds. The project’s key objective is to make environmental issues such as climate change and biodiversity loss accessible to everyone, regardless of their background or education. By commissioning comic creators from diverse communities, the project ensures that a variety of cultural perspectives are represented.
NBS COMICS prioritizes accessibility by providing translations in multiple languages, ensuring that people from different linguistic backgrounds can engage with the material. This effort extends the reach of the comics, making them accessible to a global audience. Additionally, the project focuses on affordability, allowing educational institutions, community groups, and individuals to access the comics without financial barriers.
By showcasing practical and actionable nature-based solutions, NBS COMICS invites everyone to participate in environmental conservation, regardless of their location or socioeconomic status. The project fosters an inclusive approach to sustainability by offering an accessible platform for individuals and communities to engage with pressing environmental challenges.
NBS COMICS prioritizes accessibility by providing translations in multiple languages, ensuring that people from different linguistic backgrounds can engage with the material. This effort extends the reach of the comics, making them accessible to a global audience. Additionally, the project focuses on affordability, allowing educational institutions, community groups, and individuals to access the comics without financial barriers.
By showcasing practical and actionable nature-based solutions, NBS COMICS invites everyone to participate in environmental conservation, regardless of their location or socioeconomic status. The project fosters an inclusive approach to sustainability by offering an accessible platform for individuals and communities to engage with pressing environmental challenges.
The NBS Comics project is built on a participatory model, involving comic creators, scientists, and community members in the storytelling process. By inviting diverse artists to create stories rooted in local environmental challenges, the project ensures that citizens are actively engaged in sharing their visions of sustainable futures. The feedback loop from readers also allows the project to adapt and evolve, ensuring that it remains relevant and impactful.
Throughout the project, we have engaged a wide range of stakeholders, including environmental scientists, educators, local communities, and organizations. Their involvement has been crucial in shaping the storytelling process, ensuring the comics reflect real-world environmental issues. Collaborations with institutions like NBS Eduworld, NetworkNature, Deutsche Wildtier Stiftung among others, have significantly expanded the project’s reach.
We actively invite new partners to join us. Opportunities include commissioning and creating comics on topics of shared interest, such as biodiversity research projects. We also offer interactive workshops on creative and visual storytelling, helping scientists and practitioners effectively communicate complex messages. An example of this is the storytelling toolkit . Additionally, our comics are available for use in education programs formal and non-formal, offering an engaging tool for discussing environmental issues, climate change, and nature-based solutions (NbS).
We encourage scientists to propose collaborations with artists to develop comics that bring their research to life. Likewise, artists can propose collaborations with scientists to co-create impactful comics. Furthermore, we’re open to developing new educational materials that expand on the NbS concepts presented in the comics.
This approach has allowed us to engage stakeholders from multiple sectors, ensuring the comics are not only accessible but also aligned with local and global environmental needs.
We actively invite new partners to join us. Opportunities include commissioning and creating comics on topics of shared interest, such as biodiversity research projects. We also offer interactive workshops on creative and visual storytelling, helping scientists and practitioners effectively communicate complex messages. An example of this is the storytelling toolkit . Additionally, our comics are available for use in education programs formal and non-formal, offering an engaging tool for discussing environmental issues, climate change, and nature-based solutions (NbS).
We encourage scientists to propose collaborations with artists to develop comics that bring their research to life. Likewise, artists can propose collaborations with scientists to co-create impactful comics. Furthermore, we’re open to developing new educational materials that expand on the NbS concepts presented in the comics.
This approach has allowed us to engage stakeholders from multiple sectors, ensuring the comics are not only accessible but also aligned with local and global environmental needs.
The NBS Comics project brings together professionals from multiple disciplines, including environmental science, art, education, and community outreach. This transdisciplinary approach allows the comics to blend scientific accuracy with artistic creativity, making environmental issues both accessible and compelling. By involving experts from diverse fields, the project creates a comprehensive platform for dialogue on sustainability.
NBS Comics innovates by combining environmental science with artistic storytelling to create an engaging and educational tool that breaks away from traditional methods of environmental communication. By using various comic genres and art styles, the project makes environmental issues more relatable and entertaining, engaging a broad audience that might not typically engage with traditional scientific or policy discourse. Everyone reads comics, and NBS Comics uses this universally loved medium to mainstream knowledge that is often framed for scientists or experts. This approach makes complex scientific and environmental concepts accessible and relatable to the general public, breaking down barriers to understanding and fostering a more widespread, inclusive conversation about sustainability and nature-based solutions.
The methodology behind NBS COMICS is designed to foster collaboration and creativity while ensuring that the stories effectively communicate environmental challenges and solutions. The process begins with a call for comic creators, inviting artists from diverse backgrounds to submit proposals for new comic series. This open call encourages a wide range of artistic styles and storytelling techniques, ensuring that each comic is unique and resonant.
Once submissions are received, a jury composed of experts from multiple fields—including artists, scientists, and practitioners—reviews the comics. The jury evaluates the submissions based on several criteria: creativity, the strength of the story, the integration of nature-based solutions (NbS), and the ability to entertain. This approach ensures that the comics are not only scientifically grounded but also engaging and accessible to a broad audience.
TNOC (The Nature of Cities) works closely with comic artists throughout the process, often pairing them with scientists and NbS experts to help craft a compelling and scientifically accurate narrative. This collaboration ensures that the stories are informed by real-world ecological challenges and solutions, while still maintaining an entertaining and visually engaging experience for readers.
By facilitating these partnerships and fostering creative exploration, NBS COMICS creates a dynamic and effective platform for combining art and science. This methodology allows the project to produce a diverse range of comics that inspire readers to take action and engage with important environmental topics, all while enjoying a high-quality artistic experience.
Once submissions are received, a jury composed of experts from multiple fields—including artists, scientists, and practitioners—reviews the comics. The jury evaluates the submissions based on several criteria: creativity, the strength of the story, the integration of nature-based solutions (NbS), and the ability to entertain. This approach ensures that the comics are not only scientifically grounded but also engaging and accessible to a broad audience.
TNOC (The Nature of Cities) works closely with comic artists throughout the process, often pairing them with scientists and NbS experts to help craft a compelling and scientifically accurate narrative. This collaboration ensures that the stories are informed by real-world ecological challenges and solutions, while still maintaining an entertaining and visually engaging experience for readers.
By facilitating these partnerships and fostering creative exploration, NBS COMICS creates a dynamic and effective platform for combining art and science. This methodology allows the project to produce a diverse range of comics that inspire readers to take action and engage with important environmental topics, all while enjoying a high-quality artistic experience.
The NBS COMICS project is highly replicable due to its adaptable format and scalable approach. The use of comics as a storytelling medium allows for seamless adaptation to different regions, cultures, and languages by developing new comic series that address locally relevant environmental challenges and solutions. This flexibility ensures that the project can resonate with diverse audiences while maintaining its core message of sustainability and environmental action.
The project’s methodology—integrating art and science—provides a flexible framework that can be applied across various educational and advocacy efforts. Whether in formal education settings like schools and universities or community-driven awareness campaigns, professional training programs, or policy engagement, the approach enables NBS COMICS to be effective in different contexts.
Furthermore, the comics can be easily incorporated into digital platforms, printed materials, and interactive workshops, expanding their reach and accessibility. The project is not limited to one format, making it adaptable to various media, including animations, exhibitions, and interactive storytelling tools.
By fostering collaborations between scientists, educators, and artists, NBS COMICS ensures a participatory and inclusive process that can be replicated across regions, strengthening environmental literacy and encouraging action. Local partnerships ensure that the project remains relevant, addressing region-specific environmental issues while maintaining its global impact.
The project has led numerous storytelling workshops that teach scientists how to use storytelling to communicate complex concepts. NBS COMICS has also worked with Biodiversa+ to commission three new long-form comics about 21 science projects coming to conclusion. Plans are in place to expand the NBS COMICS platform to include existing comics on sustainability, broadening its reach and impact.
The project’s methodology—integrating art and science—provides a flexible framework that can be applied across various educational and advocacy efforts. Whether in formal education settings like schools and universities or community-driven awareness campaigns, professional training programs, or policy engagement, the approach enables NBS COMICS to be effective in different contexts.
Furthermore, the comics can be easily incorporated into digital platforms, printed materials, and interactive workshops, expanding their reach and accessibility. The project is not limited to one format, making it adaptable to various media, including animations, exhibitions, and interactive storytelling tools.
By fostering collaborations between scientists, educators, and artists, NBS COMICS ensures a participatory and inclusive process that can be replicated across regions, strengthening environmental literacy and encouraging action. Local partnerships ensure that the project remains relevant, addressing region-specific environmental issues while maintaining its global impact.
The project has led numerous storytelling workshops that teach scientists how to use storytelling to communicate complex concepts. NBS COMICS has also worked with Biodiversa+ to commission three new long-form comics about 21 science projects coming to conclusion. Plans are in place to expand the NBS COMICS platform to include existing comics on sustainability, broadening its reach and impact.
NBS COMICS project directly addresses the pressing global challenges of climate change and biodiversity loss by highlighting nature-based solutions (NbS) as crucial strategies for building environmental resilience. Through its engaging and accessible comic format, the project brings complex environmental issues to life, making them relatable and understandable for diverse audiences.
By presenting NbS as effective, practical solutions to climate and biodiversity crises, the project empowers communities to take action on a local scale while contributing to broader global efforts. The comics foster a sense of responsibility and connection to the natural world, motivating individuals to engage in conservation and sustainability practices within their own scopes.
Through education and storytelling, NBS COMICS creates a clear participatory method that can connect scientists and policy makers to regular citizens, and inspires a deeper understanding of how nature can play a pivotal role in mitigating climate change and protecting biodiversity. It encourages communities to not only acknowledge global challenges but also recognize their ability to be part of the solution, reinforcing the importance of collective action. By making environmental issues more participatory, accessible, and relatable, the project helps bridge the gap between global concerns and local solutions, fostering a more sustainable and resilient future.
By presenting NbS as effective, practical solutions to climate and biodiversity crises, the project empowers communities to take action on a local scale while contributing to broader global efforts. The comics foster a sense of responsibility and connection to the natural world, motivating individuals to engage in conservation and sustainability practices within their own scopes.
Through education and storytelling, NBS COMICS creates a clear participatory method that can connect scientists and policy makers to regular citizens, and inspires a deeper understanding of how nature can play a pivotal role in mitigating climate change and protecting biodiversity. It encourages communities to not only acknowledge global challenges but also recognize their ability to be part of the solution, reinforcing the importance of collective action. By making environmental issues more participatory, accessible, and relatable, the project helps bridge the gap between global concerns and local solutions, fostering a more sustainable and resilient future.
NBS COMICS has made significant strides in reconnecting people with nature, achieving impactful results in raising awareness about environmental issues such as climate change, biodiversity loss, and the importance of nature-based solutions (NbS). The project has reached thousands of readers globally, engaging audiences across various age groups, literacy levels, and cultural backgrounds. By integrating science and art, the comics have made complex environmental challenges more accessible, providing a creative and relatable entry point for audiences to connect with these issues.
Direct beneficiaries of the project include educators, students, community builders, and civil society organizations, and scientists. Educators have successfully integrated the comics into both formal and non-formal educational settings, using them to teach sustainability concepts in an engaging and visually stimulating way. The comics have sparked conversations about NbS and environmental responsibility within youth.
Indirect beneficiaries include the wider community and global audiences who have been exposed to the comics through digital platforms and events. By fostering collaborations between scientists, artists, and educators, the project has created a multidisciplinary approach that strengthens the impact of the comics, making them scientifically grounded while visually appealing.
The project has also contributed to global discussions about sustainability, demonstrating the power of creative storytelling in addressing environmental challenges. Through these efforts, NBS COMICS has helped raise environmental awareness, foster community involvement, and inspire action, creating a positive ripple effect that extends far beyond the immediate beneficiaries.
Direct beneficiaries of the project include educators, students, community builders, and civil society organizations, and scientists. Educators have successfully integrated the comics into both formal and non-formal educational settings, using them to teach sustainability concepts in an engaging and visually stimulating way. The comics have sparked conversations about NbS and environmental responsibility within youth.
Indirect beneficiaries include the wider community and global audiences who have been exposed to the comics through digital platforms and events. By fostering collaborations between scientists, artists, and educators, the project has created a multidisciplinary approach that strengthens the impact of the comics, making them scientifically grounded while visually appealing.
The project has also contributed to global discussions about sustainability, demonstrating the power of creative storytelling in addressing environmental challenges. Through these efforts, NBS COMICS has helped raise environmental awareness, foster community involvement, and inspire action, creating a positive ripple effect that extends far beyond the immediate beneficiaries.
