Sense
Experience environmental relationships through the body and senses, not as information alone.
SPGP / EARTH EXPERIENCE LAB 2026
Thinking about the Earth through experience.
People from diverse regions bring together their experiences and knowledge of environment and nature through VR, share what they feel, and collectively shape the research environment to come.
This site introduces the VR field session and the research behind it.
RESEARCH QUESTION
Through experiencing environments in distant regions and engaging in dialogue with others, can we come to feel the global environment as something connected to our own lives?
01 — ORIENTATION
SPGP — the idea of a Second-Phase Global Perspective.
SPGP (Second-Phase Global Perspective) is an idea for looking at the Earth anew through two perspectives: a view of the planet as a whole and the viewpoints of people living from within particular lands. Moving between them helps us understand global environmental issues not as distant knowledge, but as matters connected to our own lives. The SPGP Protocol is the experiential and dialogical design for cultivating that perspective. Through immersive VR, it moves between lived worlds shaped by different natural environments and cultures and a planetary overview, then connects those experiences through structured dialogue.
Bring
Treat each person’s experience, questions and discomfort as knowledge that can move the research.
Co-create
Think together about the next questions and the nature of the space, without sharply separating researcher and participant.
02 — DECEMBER FIELD SESSION
DECEMBER FIELD SESSION
In December 2026, the first session begins.
This VR field session is SPGP’s first step toward sensing the Earth, encountering the experiences of others and discussing together what comes next.
CameroonKikaijimaAtacama- Dates
- December 2026
- Participants
- 3 people per session in each region (age 18+)
- Times
- Atacama 8:30 a.m. / Cameroon 12:30 p.m. / Kikaijima 8:30 p.m.
- Details
- Shared directly with participants
03 — SESSION JOURNEY
What happens during the session.
01VR
Visit regions through VR
Move between the lived worlds of Atacama, Cameroon and Kikaijima and a view of the Earth as a whole.
02REFLECT
Put the experience into words
Reflect at your own pace on impressions, questions and discomfort. There are no correct answers.
03DIALOGUE
Bring experiences into dialogue
Share what each person sensed and encounter different ways of seeing and thinking about the environment.
04OPTIONAL
Offer ideas for what comes next
Those who wish may share ideas about future sessions and what would make participation easier.
04 — CO-DESIGN
A FIELD WE BUILD TOGETHER
The future field will be built together with local communities.
The future site and shared field will not be decided by the researcher alone. Reflecting on the December experience, we will consider together the dialogue, participation, transparency and forms of support that are needed.
1
Which regional experiences should connect?
2
What makes continued dialogue feel safe?
3
What makes participation possible for more people?
4
How can support be returned to participants?
MEMBER PORTAL
Participant portal
View guidance for the day and the detailed session questions here.
Enter participant portal→