Better Stories for a Better Planet
Most AI is trained on old ways of thinking that harm nature.
At Ecophora, we are building technology that listens to your voice and helps our environment flourish.
The Power of Our Stories
Why the stories we tell matter
Most of us use AI every day, but we don't often think about what it’s learning. Right now, most AI is trained on data that treats nature as a resource to be used and encourages us to "buy more".
This leaves behind a Narrative Footprint—a digital trail of stories that can actually harm the planet.
At Ecophora, we are changing the script:
The Problem: Current AI often ignores local wisdom and repeats harmful habits.
Our Solution: We create "Eco-Social AI". This is technology designed to prioritize the health of our planet and the fairness of our communities.
Your Role: We use your voices and lived experiences to teach AI new stories—stories that help our environment flourish.
Our Stories.
Our Future.
Our AI.
AI is a powerful storyteller. When it’s fed biased data, AI repeats habits that harm our environment—leaving a hidden mark on our planet.
At Ecophora, we are changing the script, we make it wiser. We build technology that listens to your voice and helps nature flourish for a greener, fairer future.
Our Values: The Ecophora Way
Ecosophy: Wisdom Over Speed.
We use "Ecosophy"—ecological wisdom—to judge if a digital story protects or destroys our life-support systems. We prioritize planetary health over operational speed.
Narrative Sovereignty: Your Voice Matters.
The climate crisis needs "outside-the-box" thinking. We use creative storytelling to break old habits of consumerism and reimagine how we live.
Through Responsible Research (RRI), we protect your data and actively fight the algorithmic biases that promote endless consumption.
Communities should own their stories. We use "bottom-up" design so your lived experience becomes the architect of our digital future.
Ethical Innovation: People Before Data.
Radical Creativity: Pattern-Breaking.
Building Earth-Friendly Tech
Learning for Everyone
Listening to Local Voices
We are developing earth-friendly AI chatbots that help you tell stories that protect the planet.
We don’t just build prototypes; we create "Teacher Packs" and online courses. These tools help students and communities navigate the digital world with confidence and ecological awareness.
Our work starts in local neighbourhoods. We host workshops where community wisdom becomes the blueprint for the technology we build. By rooting our AI in local culture and geography, we ensure it respects your unique community identity while contributing to a global shift in ecological awareness.
Ecosophy - ecological wisdom
Ecosophy is simply "ecological wisdom"—a formal set of values we use to judge if a digital story protects or destroys the life-support systems of our planet. By building this wisdom directly into our AI’s design, we ensure that technology acts as a partner in helping your community flourish.
The Collective:
We are a group of storytellers and tech experts working to change the script on AI. By blending ecological wisdom with modern innovation, we transform complicated data into practical tools that everyone can use to protect our shared future.
Dr Sabina Fiebig Lord
Sabina leads our team, using her expertise in storytelling to help us spot and break the patterns that keep us stuck in old habits. She ensures our technology always stays focused on what real people need to build a fairer world.
Arran is a world leader in how our language can either harm or help the planet. He guides our research to find "new stories to live by" that protect and celebrate our natural world.
Prof. Arran Stibbe
Dr Mah Rukh
Mah Rukh is the architect behind our smart, earth-friendly technology. She makes sure our AI isn't just powerful, but also uses less energy and stays true to our green values.
Prof. Kenny Lynch
Kenny brings a deep understanding of environmental justice to the team. He works to make sure our digital tools are fair and helpful for every neighbourhood and community.
Eleanor Tiernan
Sam Copland
Eleanor combines data science with "ecological wisdom" to keep our AI on the right track. She ensures that every piece of data we use helps protect the planet's life-support systems.
Jorge is our expert in building open and honest digital tools. He makes sure our tech is transparent so that anyone can see how it works and trust the results.
Jorge Vallego
Mariana helps us connect the dots between community voices and scientific data. She works closely with our partners to make sure every story we tell is grounded in real, lived experience.
Mariana Roccia
Sam helps us understand how we shop and live so we can build better habits together. He bridges the gap between the business world and the green transition we all need.
Our Home:
We are proud to be based at the University of Gloucestershire. Being part of the University allows us to combine world-class research with a local heart, ensuring our work stays grounded in the needs of our community while reaching for global change .
Our Foundation:
Ecophora wouldn't exist without the incredible groundwork of The H4rmony Project. They provided the ethical "blueprint" and the first datasets we used to build our tools. Their work is a massive resource for anyone who wants to see how technology can be a force for good.
Explore the Legacy: We encourage you to visit The H4rmony Project to see the amazing resources they offer for researchers and activists alike.
Our Global Network:
Through the International Ecolinguistics Association, we are linked to over 1,000 experts worldwide. This partnership ensures that the stories we help you tell are backed by a global movement of people using language to protect our earth.
Learn More: Visit the International Ecolinguistics Association to see how language shapes our world.
Our Community Partners:
Real change happens when we listen to local voices. We are honoured to co-design our tools with these brilliant organizations:
Voices Gloucester: Helping us celebrate and protect the unique stories of our city.
Vision 21: Working alongside us to make sustainability a reality for every household.
Animal Think Tank (TBC): Ensuring that our digital future includes a voice for all living beings.
Adfree Cities (TBC): Helping us reclaim our public spaces and digital lives from constant consumerism.
Industry & Future Partners:
We are currently building bridges with forward-thinking businesses to help our green technology reach more people. While these partnerships are still growing, we are excited to explore future opportunities.
Join the Story:
Are you ready to help us change the script? We are always looking for new friends to help us grow. Whether you are part of a school, a charity, or a local business, we’d love to have you on board.
Better Together
Research & Resources: Tools for a Better Future
Our Research Pillars
Narrative Auditing: We use Ecosophy (ecological wisdom) as a design metric to distinguish between "greenwashing" and genuine eco-social impact.
We don't just analyse data; we audit the future.
To change the world, we have to change the stories we tell about it. Our research looks at the "hidden stories" in our language and technology to see if they help or harm our planet. By using an Ecolinguistic approach, we find ways to replace destructive habits with stories of resilience and hope.
Ecophora is the next generation of the groundbreaking work started by The H4rmony Project. While H4rmony proved that ethical AI is possible, Ecophora is scaling those ideas into real-world tools that communities across the UK can use. We are refining these models to move from research lab prototypes into practical tools for community resilience.
Pattern-Breaking Design: We transfer "pattern-breaking" logic to the digital space to target the consumerist and "technofix" biases that currently pollute AI datasets.
Fair Technology: We "stress-test" our AI models to make sure they are fair, honest, and truly support community wellbeing.
The Evolution: From H4rmony to Ecophora
Open Source & Transparency
We believe that technology for the public good should be open to everyone. You can find our technical work and ethically curated datasets at the links below:
The H4rmony Dataset (Hugging Face): Access the H4rmony Dataset, our ethically curated collection of ecologically aligned data. This dataset serves as the "wisdom" we use to train AI to prioritize planetary health over simple efficiency.
Ecophora & H4rmony Code (GitHub): Explore the "blueprints" for our work at the H4rmony GitHub Repository. This is where we share the code behind our low-carbon Small Language Models (SLMs) and show how ecological principles can be built into modern technology.
Ethical AI in Action
We are turning our research into real-world tools that you can interact with today. These models show that AI doesn't have to be a "black box"—it can be a transparent partner in protecting our planet.
Theophrastus Chatbot: Meet our flagship conversational assistant. Unlike standard AI that might encourage consumption, Theophrastus is fine-tuned on the H4rmony Dataset to prioritize ecological wisdom and community resilience. It is a proof-of-concept tool designed to help us co-create better stories for our future.
H4rmonious Anthea & Breeze: These are specialized Models that we’ve built to be low-carbon and ethically aligned. They demonstrate how "pattern-breaking" design can filter out harmful industrial narratives and replace them with regenerative ones.
Local Contexts & Global Stories: We study how technology interacts with specific local places. By auditing AI through a community lens, we make sure digital tools support regional ecological goals and don't overwrite unique voices with generic, global industrial stories.
[Status: 🚧 Co-Designing for 2026
We believe that understanding the link between technology and nature is a vital skill for everyone. Whether you are a teacher, a youth worker, or a community leader, we are co-designing free "Learning Packs" to help you bring ecological wisdom to your local group.
Our goal is to turn complex research into simple, interactive activities that help people of all ages navigate the digital world with confidence and care for the planet.
What we are developing:
The "Narrative Footprint" Workshops: Creative sessions that help people spot how digital stories can either harm or help our environment.
Interactive AI Dialogue: Guided activities using Theophrastus, our friendly AI assistant, to help your group co-create their own "Regenerative Stories."
Digital Literacy & The Ecological Scale: Practical exercises using our Ecological Scale tool to compare the carbon and water costs of AI to everyday habits.
Pattern-Breaking Toolkits: Encouraging "radical creativity" to help communities imagine new, sustainable ways of living and using technology together.
Join the Learning Journey
Help us shape the future of community education. We are currently looking for local groups, schools, and civic partners to help us test and refine these resources. If you would like to be the first to know when the packs are ready—or if you want to host a pilot workshop for your community—please get in touch!
For Educators & Learners:
Eco-Social AI in Our Communities
Our Stories, Our Future
Every Action Tells a Story.
We often think of technology as just a tool, but it is actually a storyteller. Most AI today repeats old habits that put profit before the planet, creating a harmful "Narrative Footprint." At Ecophora, we are changing the script—shifting from stories of consumption to stories of flourishing.
Interactive Story: Read the Data Story of Your Life.
Data Tells a Story
We often think of AI as living "in the cloud," but it has a very real story on the ground. From the water used to cool servers to the energy required to answer a single question, every digital interaction leaves a trace.
The Tool: Use our interactive calculator to see how the energy and water used by an AI chat compares to everyday habits like having a shower or streaming a movie.
The Goal: By understanding these stories, we can all make wiser choices that help our planet flourish.
Dialogue in Action: Theophrastus & New Narratives.
Seeing the Possible.
What does it look like when AI is trained on ecological wisdom? Watch our flagship assistant, Theophrastus, co-create a story with Prof. Arran Stibbe. Instead of giving generic answers, the AI uses "pattern-breaking" logic to find better ways for us to live together on a healthy planet.
Community Stories: Voices from the Ground.
Local Wisdom, Global Tech.
🚧 Coming Soon: Stories from our Resilience Pilots
Real change starts in our neighbourhoods. These lived experiences are the primary architects of the technology we build. Our resilience pilots are more than just local projects; they are blueprints for a better world. By deeply listening to local communities , we are creating a model for how any community, anywhere, can reclaim their digital narrative.
Call to Action: Tell Your Story
Join the Transition
We are currently looking for community groups, educators, and neighbours to help us test and refine these resources for 2026. Whether you want to host a workshop or simply stay informed, your voice is needed.
Let’s Change the Script Together.
Ecophora is a collective effort. Whether you want to use our tools, share your story, or partner with us on the green transition, we want to hear from you. Your voice helps us build technology that protects our planet.
Contacts
ecophora@glos.ac.uk
Ecophora is a collective effort to build technology that helps our planet flourish. By combining ecological wisdom with modern innovation, we are creating tools that listen to local voices and protect our shared future.
© 2026 Ecophora | Bridging the gap between tech and ecology. Built on the open-source foundations established by The H4rmony Project.
We are proud to lead this research from the University of Gloucestershire, within the School of Business, Computing, and Social Science. This partnership ensures our work is grounded in academic excellence and a deep commitment to community resilience.
