Emily Grows Process Book

DESN-320 - Guillermina Noel
Community Gardens Project
Clayton Wadsworth
Jordan Tate
Katrina Yu
Tina Yan
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Table of Content s
1. The Problem
2. Co-Creation Activities
3. Co-Creation Findings
4. Design Strategy
5. Conclusion
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1.0 T he Problem
in vancouver, climate change, resource depletion,
growing inequity, loss of farmland and farmers, and
rising healthcare costs from diet-related illness all
threatenen the city’s food resilience. Community
gardening is a effective solution to combat these
problems and and strengthen our food resilience by
providing a way for citizens to grow their own food
and be self-sustainable. However, Vancouver already
has a very robust citizenship interest in sustainability
and related activites, shown through the flourishing
organization Village Vancouver— a global movement
and integrated network in 45 countries of: 472 official
Transition Town Initiatives in 23 countries, and 32
official initiatives in Canada, including 10 in bc. Even
though community gardening has become extreme-
ly popular, it is not always available to everyone.
There are over 75 community gardens with waitlists
so long that many individuals feel unmotivated to
get involved.
In addition, knowledge passed along down generations
is extremely valuble in that the knowledge,
once lost, may never be obtained again. There is also
a prevalent problem of elders experiencing social
isolation, and wanting (but lacking) an active and
social lifestyle. This social interaction is crucial for
an elders’ health and wellbeing. Thus, both youth
and elders lack the resources and programs in order
to achieve an environment with intergenerational
learning.
How can we engage elders and youth through community gardens to increase food
resilience, while promoting intergenerational learning and utilizing Vancouver's
existing resources?
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1.1 Personas
Peter Diaz
19 year old Male
Meredith Smith
70 year old female
Occupation:
Location:
Personality:
Interests:
Values:
Social Needs:
Technical
Literacy:
Transportation:
Transfer student at Emily Carr and
part-time at Whole Foods
Downtown Davie
Social, outgoing
Likes to live a healthy & sustainable
lifestyle, but sometimes finds it
hard to do so due to time
Friends, Family
Needs to be involved in social activities.
Needs to feel belonged
High, knows how to use a computer
and smartphone/tablet
Translink, walking, biking
Occupation:
Location:
Personality:
Interests:
Values:
Social Needs:
Technical
Literacy:
Transportation:
Retired high school teacher
Kitsilano
Friendly, loves to talk and interact
with people
Teaching, gardening, and the environment
Family & her students
Sense of belonging, love and
safety.
Decent, has a smartphone and
computer. Can do basic activites
Translink, walking, driving
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1.2 Mind Map
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2.0 Co-Creation Activities
before beginning our co-creation activities, we decided on the information
that we wanted to obtain from the activities and catered them
to fit the factors. These factors include:
• Level of interest in community gardening
• How to increase interest & motivation
• The barriers
• Level of interest for youth working with elders (and vice versa)
• How to increase interest
• Do they know how current food systems work?
• Current knowledge of gardening
From these points we created our 4 activites, keeping in mind that
these activites must be interactive and engaging for the participants.
These activites are:
• Ice breaker
• Flash cards
• Storyboard
• Open Discussion
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2. Fla shc ards
in the first activity, we created flashcards with
various images to do with gardening, and intergenerational
learning. We laid them out on the table
and participants were to discuss the first thing that
comes to mind. They are invited to take more than
one photo and relate them to each other if they
would like. Images included families in the community
garden, soil, transportation techniques and
seed libraries.
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2.2 St oryboard
in the second activity, we asked the participants
to draw/write out an ideal situation in which
inter-generational learning is promoted. On a tabloid
sheet with frames in it, each frame prompted a
question (who, what, when, where and why).
• Who: Who would the learning be between?
• What: What would you learn?
• When: When would you be doing this activity?
• Where: Where would this be taking place?
• Why: Why would you be doing this activity?
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2.3 Discussion
In the last activity we facilitated an open discussion
with our participants. We asked a series of questions
related to community gardening and intergenerational
learning, and then wrote down findings. Questions
included:
• How do you prefer to travel to a community
garden?
• How much time can you dedicate to a community
garden per week?
• Do you prefer to garden individually or socially?
If so, who?
• What are some barriers for you to do community
gardening?
• What would motivate you to do community
gardening?
• Do you interact with any elders and in what scenario(s)?
Do you enjoy it and why or why not?
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2.4 Co-creation Photos
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3.0 Co-Creation Findings
• Sense of pride when you get to eat the food you’ve grown in your
own backyard
• Community Gardens dont look fun or attractive- However, it was
rewarding
• Lacked knowledge & resources to get started
• People sitting together: love doing potlucks all the time. Great way to
be together with other people and share a meal. Experience food
• The youth participants like to engage with the elders so that they can
create a deeper connection with them and learn new things
• The youth feel excluded, as they think a community has already been
established and they can’t join after
• If they had friends that went as well they would be more interested
• Wanted less commitment, and many youths didn't have enough time
• Location must be convienient- Many youths didn't have cars
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3.1 Data Analysis
Response Analysis Application
“In the summer [community gardens]
are nice but when it’s cold
and gloomy it’s unattractive.”
“[We] love doing potlucks all
the time. It’s a great way to be
together with other people and
share a meal.”
“I feel excluded - I feel as
though the community has already
been established and I’m
not welcome.”
“I need something with low
commitment. Perhaps something
that is a 3-6 week course.”
“I don’t generally communicate
to elders other than my relatives.”
The gardens lack an appeal and
a sense of a fun and sociable
community.
The potlucks are a great opportunity
for sharing stories, food
and knowledge between generations.
The sense of exclusion can be
the lack of welcoming signage
and also an already established
community.
Students generally do not have
much time and can not commit
to something too demanding
immediately.
It may not be in the student’s
comfort zone to reach out to the
elders.
Signage will be posted in the garden
to promote the foods growing
there. There will also be signage in
the form of posters in the school.
The club will have a monthly potluck
to share food and gardening
experience. Improvements and
knowledge can be exchanged.
The gardens lack an appeal and
a sense of a fun and sociable
community.Signage needs to be
placed so that it is welcoming.
Important to create something
on a cyclical basis. Students
commit to a week at a time to
garden.
A potluck will allow the students
and elders to come together
and share knowledge and experiences
while having fun.
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4.0 Design Solution
utilizing the already existing and flourishing organization
Village Vancouver and Emily Carr's space,
interests, and resources, we propose Emily Grows.
Emily Grows is a extracurricular urban growing club
at Emily Carr University. The club promotes a culture
of food resilience for all students, and allows
for intergenerational learning between students
and elders as members of Village Vancouver with
the knowledge and experience of growing food will
guide the club. Monthly potlucks will be held where
we invite members of Village Vancouver to come
and share some of the food we have grown together.
Thus, knowledge and social bonding is shared
through the experience. Emily Grows is also convienient
for students as the location is on-campus
and the commitment level is low, since it is a team
project. Finally, we strive for Emily Grows to be
replicable— on the Emily Grows website, we upload
instructions and diagrams that are completely
opensource and available for any other academic
institutions or organizations to download and use.
Emily Grows allows for a place for both students and
elders to garden together, promoting both food resilience
and intergenerational learning.
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4.1 Sequence of Event s
• An informational session will be held for those who are interested, studnets
sign up
• Students pay a $20 fee to join per semester that go to supplies
• Raised beds will be built together by students, with the help of ID student
members, and placed in Emily Carr's balcony area
• A workshop at the beginning of the semester will be given by a knowledgable
Village Vancouver member
• Student get into pairs to take turns every week to tend to the
garden
• Meetings are held every month in the form of engaging potlucks where
the youth and elders come together to discuss and share their gardening
experiences
• There will be information sessions, crate building sessions and sequential
meetings if needed
• The instructions and tools needed are all available on the website for
reblicability
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4.2 Introducing Emily Grows (Video)
the video's purpose is to communicate what Emily Grows is in a fun,
engaging way. It starts giving the viewer context on Vancouver’s current
community gardening scene, then explaining some of the issues
students face when trying to grt involved. We then go into explaining
what Emily Grows is and how to get involved.
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4.3 Poster
The posters serve as first-hand and direct promotional
material to the students of Emily Carr. These
will be seen on all across campus to attract students
to come to the informational session, and to join the
club. Through our research, we found that students
found community gardens unnattractive and uninviting.
They also did not know much about the benefits
of community gardening, and even if they wanted
to, had no idea how to get involved. This poster
would inform them of the benefits of growing food
as well as to tell them about an information session.
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4.4 DIY Urban
Garde ni ng
This DIY Urban Gardening informational sheet
is used at the beginning of the club for the members
to learn how to build raised beds for portable
gardening. id students who sign up for the club will
assist and lead other students who are in other majors
and may not have experience in building. This
also promotes bonding and interaction between
the different majors, something we currently lack in
Emily Carr. Through our research, students iterated
that they were more likely to want to do an activity if
their friends and peers were involved as well. In addition,
having students be a part in making the raised
beds will therefore make them feel more involved
and responsible for the garden that grows in it. The
poster is designed to be friendly and easy to read
and understand. In addition, for Emily Grows to be
as replicable as possible, this instructional poster will
be provided on the Emily Grows website for others
to download and make their own raised beds.
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4.5 Toolshed Item List
This Toolshed Item List is an informational sheet that has images,
names and descriptions of different tools you will find and need for gardening.
This will be placed on the toolshed that we will have for Emily
Grows, and meant to be an instructional tool for new gardeners to familiarize
themselves with all the needed equipment, since through our
research we found that many people did not have much knowledge on
gardening or the necessary tools.
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4.6 Garden Signage
these garden signs will be displayed in the gardens
that have a short step-by-step process as to
how to grow these vegetables or fruits. The side
of the sign will have a week number and a Monday-Sunday
checklist for the student to check off
whether they have watered or taken care of the garden.
This sign will be laminated, so that a whiteboard
marker can be used so that the sign can be reused
over and over again. Through our research, signage
had to be attractive and inviting. Also, having the
checklist made the students feel more responsible
for the garden and by checking it off, they can feel a
sense of pride and accomplishment.
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4.6 Garden Signage (Cont.)
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4.7 Website
The Website will allow members to access resources
and information, such as DIY tutorials and tool
information lists. It will also provide a platform via
the blog to allow for communication between the
students and the elders from Village Vancouver. The
blog also serves as a way of documenting the process
of making and maintaining the garden, and also
updates members on upcoming events. Through our
research we found that elders and youth would like a
way to communicate online, however many elders do
not have social media. The we came up with the idea
of the blog as the best solution. The website also
satisfies the criteria of replicability as all information,
files, and resources pertaining to the construction
and maintenance of the Emily Grows club is readily
available to anyone to download.
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4.8 Website - Homepage
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4.8 Website - Blog
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4.8 Website - Blog (Cont.)
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4.8 Website - Resources
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4.9 Social Media
Social media is used for updating and engaging
with current members of Emily Grows, and to reach
to others who may not know about the club. In our
research youth often felt excluded from the community
of urban gardening, so we want Emily Grows to
be as open and as accessible as possible. It is also a
good way to cultivate a online community of urban
gardeners.
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5.0 Conclusion
Looking back on Emily Grows, our team managed
to accomplish a lot in a very short period of
time, through the use of teamwork and truly listening
to our research. Through our co-creation, we
realized that large communities like Village Vancouver
actually have an exclusive quality to them, and
beginners were intimidated and hesitant to take the
first steps in getting involved. They voiced that they
needed to be with their friends, it needed to be in a
location they felt safe in as well as be accommodating
to different schedules.
During the conceptualization phase, we incorporated
the push/pull strategy Louise's spoke about in project
one, where we pulled already established community
like Village Vancouver and Emily Carr, and
used our project as a tool to connect two already.
This way we would establish an authentic connection,
and produce a resilient idea that has the potential
to last for generations.
In addition, we also made sure that Emily Grows was
replicable as possible, so other established communities
like other universities and corporations would
be able to easily follow our lead. This was due to be
observant, and noticing that while Vancouver doesn't
have a lot of space, there are still tons of courtyards
and balconies that almost always go unused.
Relating to Ezio Manzini’s Small, Local, Open, and
Connected, we went into it with the idea of taking a
small school of around 1800 students, and creating
an experience that we believe, can connect many
young people who do actually want to make a difference
with people like Ross and the members of Village
Vancouver. Which is why we truly believe Emily
Grows was successful, and if incorporated at Emily
Carr, would promote positive social change.
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