Greening Ward 27 was simply amazing. I was so happy with the turnout of participants, even though it was rainy afternoon and I would understand if everyone had wanted to stay in bed.
As participants arrived they were asked to pick up a name tag with a combination of live, work, play, eat or learn. The name tag code was revealed later. The goal of the day was to not think too hard and to have fun, this was the best way to come up with innovative ideas. A hands-on community design charrette works best when all the participants are open to new processes, mindful of other people’s ideas and positive about making changes.
To start the day, we had design thinking oreos. Oreos are the perfect way to explain the process of design thinking. Design thinking is something we all do; it is a process of intending, discovering, collaborating, creating and communicating – this is something we do when we eat oreos. Oreos are great icebreakers, idea generators and free thinking catalysts.
Everyone literally put their ideas on the table, based on themes of “Live”, “Work”, “Play”, “Eat” & “Learn”. We got lots of amazing ideas and lots of great energy.
Lastly, the best part is the post-it note action mapping activity that helps to have participants take action in the projects moving forward.
This event was made possible by my awesome sponsors and volunteers. I could never have done it without you all! Thank you forever to Emily, Matt, Mojan, Johnny, Vince, Hitoshi and of course Ed!
All photography credits go to Hello-Foto