Jill Borcherds

Biography

For 30 years, I taught maths to secondary school students aged from 11 to 18; including older students studying a large data set of climate data from around the world, provided by the examination board Pearson for their A Level Maths statistics examination. Meanwhile, beyond the classroom, I saw the "warming stripes", a powerful visual representation of temperature data from across the globe, created by Professor Ed Hawkins at the University of Reading. https://showyourstripes.info/ Having seen the striking image and inspired by the call to #ShowYourStripes, I decided to make a wearable version in the form of a crochet scarf - an accessible conversation starter about data associated with climate change and global warming. The data set I chose to use was for the UK since 1884; I now continue to add additional stripes each year as the latest data is released. The yarn used is an organic cotton which was available in 16 different blue, pink and red tones. I wanted to avoid using acrylic and this yarn is marketed as "more sustainable, natural, and bio-degradable". I know that this choice was still a compromise but hope that I have made a long-lasting piece, not fast fashion destined for land fill after a few months. I chose the wavy pattern to add visual interest, a more natural look – it also made the crochet process more interesting. Making the scarf was itself thought provoking, as the stripes moved from cool blues to warmer pinks and then reds. The first time I used the darkest red to represent the hottest temperatures, then again, and then for two years running was very sobering.

Looks

About the look

Show Your Stripes Climate Scarf with UK temperature data 1884-2021

Organic cotton double knit yarn

Initially 2023 but remains unfinished

Bringing global warming data to life, this scarf has been photographed in some key locations - for example outside the Houses of Parliament and in front of the clock tower in my home town Stevenage. The clock face in each picture represents a call to urgent action to address climate change - from both individuals and political decision makers alike. Most importantly of all, the scarf is a wearable display of data, a quiet piece of "craftivism", that could be worn without challenge in the public gallery of the House of Commons as Parliament debated the Climate and Nature bill in January 2025.