Preparatory Participation: Embodied Methodologies for Inclusive Blue Space Research

Embodied methodologies have gained prominence in human geography, particularly in disability, sensory, and environmental research. However, much of this work focuses on data collection and analysis, with less attention given to how researchers prepare for embodied fieldwork in ways that are skill-based, relational, and attuned to material and sensory landscapes. This paper introduces preparatory participation—a methodological approach that extends beyond autoethnography to foreground researcher skill-building, trust-building, and embodied attunement prior to data collection. Focusing on blue space engagement among visually impaired (VI) individuals, this paper examines how participating in sighted guide training, volunteering with VI support organizations, and undertaking open water safety training cultivated non-ocular ways of knowing and navigating aquatic environments. These preparatory experiences facilitated interdependent learning, deepened researcher reflexivity, and challenged ocularcentric assumptions about spatial awareness and environmental engagement. Rather than assuming an outsider perspective that relies on interpretation, preparatory participation is framed as an embodied geographical practice fostering situated awareness, ethical commitment and a relational understanding of accessibility in blue spaces. Grounded in phenomenology, sensory ethnography, and critical disability studies, this paper argues that embodied methodologies must account for the researcher’s role in co-producing knowledge throughout the research process. By foregrounding pre-fieldwork participation as a site of learning, this approach challenges extractive research models and emphasizes the epistemological and ethical value of skill-building, practice-based preparation, and researcher adaptability. This study contributes to ongoing geographical debates on inclusive methodologies, participatory sensory research, and knowledge co-creation in environmental and disability geographies