Groundwork RI – PVD Week 5/6: Develop, Deploy & Celebrate! | Juliana Soltys, Jason Hebert | MID ’22
The goal of this week was to finish painting and placing the trash cans in their permanent locations. First, the youth leisurely painted the lids outside the greenhouse and sealed the containers with waterproof sealant. Next, we added bins and trash bags inside to hold the accumulated waste. Finally, the youth decided that the larger trash can with the heart top should be placed across the street from the greenhouse in the green area and the smaller one outside the greenhouse near the farm stand. Each was chained to discourage people from tampering with them, increasing their longevity.
To prepare for the end-of-summer event, we talked with the coordinators and the youths about food, games, and setup steps. The youth suggested we get Mi Casa, a Dominican restaurant a block away from the garden. If the wind was blowing in the right direction, we could smell the delicious food cooking away while we were working. With that, we walked over to discuss catering, and they were very patient with us since we didn’t speak Spanish. After talking to one of the employees, we were able to order delicious chicken stew and rice. We spent the rest of our time that day posting flyers in Spanish and English on electric poles around the area to gain more traffic with locals.
Reflection
The youth enjoyed the creative freedom of painting whatever they wanted on the trash cans. Jason and I primed them with exterior primer, and each youth was able to paint one side of the bins. The boys worked together on the rectangular container and the girls painted the square one with the heart cover. One of them really enjoyed painting and started splattering Pollock style: paint got everywhere. Some of the others weren’t too happy with the mess, but we mitigated the situation. Chairs and tables ended up splattered with paint, but no long-term harm was done. By the end, cleanup was pretty quick and easy!
Additional Activity
Before the event, we joined the group and YSANEL at Billy Taylor Park to work on a chalk mural. They wanted to thank the park for being a beautiful, public space for meeting and learning while working with the public artist. So, we drew a peace sign and a heart, writing, “Thank you, Billy Taylor Park,” below on the large concrete slabs. Although the planned mural is still waiting for funding, it was fun to draw and color in these park designs with everyone. The heat created a challenge for engagement, but popsicles gave the youths a little pick me up during the afternoon.
End-of-Summer Event:
Setup
We met everyone at the greenhouse at 9 am to drop off supplies, and the youth started the morning with a trash clean-up around Prairie Ave and the neighboring streets. Then, Jason and I ran errands to pick up last-minute supplies, including grabbing the food from Harvest Kitchen in Pawtucket. Next, we started setting up the green space across the street from the greenhouse and opened the farm stand with produce for locals to take. Shaded tents were constructed, and tables and chairs were scattered around. GWRI has two fancy canvassing tables that we set up with a waste sorting game and the other with flyers and information about composting. We put together lawn games like can jam and cornhole on the grassy spots and the food was set up on the folding tables.
Outcome
Attendance started slow but picked up in the middle despite the heat! The youth’s friends and family came, and locals walked by from the waterpark and Prairie Ave curious about the event. We happily invited them in and offered food from Mi Casa and Harvest Kitchen. Mi Casa catered chicken stew and rice, a big hit with people coming back for seconds (and even thirds)! Harvest Kitchen provided a mixed salad, potato salad, and cookies, also a popular hit. Reusable cups, dishes, and utensils were used to minimize waste and consumption. Two large jugs of cold water and juice kept everyone hydrated in the super hot and humid temperatures. The tents and water were also a necessity to stay cool from the high 90s temperatures! The greenhouse was open for tours despite the heat. Youths and coordinators were open to show anyone around the gardens and learn more about GWRI. The booths across the street provided more information about GWRI and had games about recycling and composting with prizes! Other entertainment included can jam, spikeball, and cornhole around the green space. Cornhole was a big hit early on, and as it got hotter, the youths played Uno in the shade.
Reflection
The event was a success! The heat was almost unbearable, but the delicious food and fun games in the shade made the event enjoyable. The trash cans are now permanent fixtures on Prairie Ave, and it was so rewarding to watch the youth come out of their shells and create something for their community throughout the summer. Jason and I took photos to commemorate the event so it was a little difficult balancing socializing and capturing candid moments. Overall, the day was exhausting, but a rewarding experience. Thank you to everyone that supported the event!
Thank you Messages:
I’d first like to thank Maharam for funding the Maharam Fellowship and supporting local environmental work. Without the support from the fellowship, Jason and I couldn’t have worked with Groundwork RI and supported the youths’ projects.
Thank you to Amelia Rose for believing in our proposal and letting two RISD students work with GWRI! We hope to continue working together in the fall.
Thank you Kevin Jankowski for asking tough, but important questions and checking in throughout our fellowship. Hope to one day see the garden and the bees!
To Chandelle Wilson & Everett, thank you for believing in our goals to support the youth to work with Galego Court Community Garden. I’m glad we stopped by that one afternoon and were able to tackle realistic projects this summer. Jason and I will definitely be stopping by in the fall!
Thank you to the PVD coordinators, Sarah Hashem and China Yang, and PCF Coordinators, Arleen Hernandez and Leandro Castro, for opening your doors and making space for us to work with you and the youth. Have a great rest of the summer and hope to stay in touch and continue working together in the fall!
To the PVD and PCF youth, thank you for supporting two random people entering your summer and being active leaders and participating in our workshops. The final projects are just the beginning of what I know you can accomplish in the future. If you ever need Jason or me, don’t hesitate to reach out.
And lastly…to Jason Hebert, Thank you so much for being my teammate and friend this summer. I’m grateful for our bonding during wintersession, blooming into this opportunity. This summer, you’ve challenged me and were supportive through the curriculum development to our many hardware store visits. Working with you was almost effortless, and we were very efficient in our meetings… not so much in our building, but it was a great learning experience! Thank you for supporting me at my lows and my many cravings for ice cream. I am so grateful to have collaborated with you this summer and learn from you. This is only the beginning, and I’m excited to see our thesis work develop and continue working together. Most importantly, thank you for being my friend, and I’m just a little mad that I never learned any K-pop dances!
Design for change: An endeavor, Vrinda Mathur, MID Industrial Design, 2022
Design for change: An endeavor, Vrinda Mathur, MID Industrial Design, 2022
Today, I am writing to you from the last working week of my fellowship. It’s been quite a journey these past few weeks with moments of ‘I can do this!’ briskly transitioning into ‘How do I do this?’
Design as a discipline is still in its nascent stages in India – where I am from. A layman’s understanding is limited to the superficial aspects of design and it is not necessarily viewed as a tool for powerful thinking and problem-solving. As a young, creative practitioner part of my goal is to reconstruct this very perception not just for my home country but across geographical and societal bounds. I consider design as a medium of expression, of communicating ideas and igniting conversations; Perceptive, relevant, and relatable.
To culminate my research around tree canopy cover and equity, I conceptualized an experiential ‘walk and talk’ with the trees of Providence, in collaboration with Social Enterprise Greenhouse, supported by the PVD Tree Plan Steering Committee and Tree Equity Score.
Let’s walk with the trees is a pilot walk designed keeping in mind the PVD Tree Plan that is set to launch in November 2021. Through this event, I hope to garner interest amongst those divided by tree canopy cover to come together on a journey traversing through low and high tree canopy neighborhoods of the city. You can read more about the PVD Tree Plan or watch this Youtube video.
The walk is set to start on Benefit St, home to two powerful institutions, Rhode Island School of Design and Brown University maintaining a score of 100 on the tree equity analyzer. The end point of the walk lies near Eddy St. on the Southside of Providence where the coast is lined by mountains of coal, salt, and recycled metal parts. In the 1.2 mile walk, we will be covering different themes around urban forestry and climate change including tree canopy equity and it’s impact on different communities, health, land use, and development.
While planning and programming the event, I focused on how to make it more than an educational walking tour. Using a set of creative tools I worked on gamifying the walk such that it would encourage people to engage and collaborate with the facilitators. Think ‘Follow the Leader’ or ‘Simon Says’ where the group is asked to follow a set of actions that the facilitator sets. For example: ‘Hop to the closest shaded spot’ or ‘Take off your sunglasses for 30 seconds’. Simple prompts will be planned to simulate the effects of low tree canopy. Along the walking route, I will be installing posters that highlight the tree equity score of those particular areas with different expressions voiced by fictional trees.
Members from the PVD Tree Plan Steering Committee will shed light on the upcoming master plan and also advise on how each participant can find a way to increase tree canopy cover in their neighborhood. Whether it means collaborating with local tree-planting organizations or speaking up for their communities with their respective council people.
In my practice, I have always enjoyed packaging a project with an identity of its own. For this event, I tried my hand at digital illustrations and created a fun set of communication assets for social and print media use. I went back and forth multiple times between colors, typography, and design styles to create something that would appeal to people of different ages. My favorite part was the crooked trees inspired by different species I’ve noticed around Providence.
It has been an overwhelming nine weeks since I started the Maharam Fellowship. Initially with just a seed of an idea addressing climate change through the lens of urban forests. I hope this event sparks important conversations and enables the participants to engage with the natural environment in different ways.
If you are reading this blog post from Providence, RI consider signing up for the walk via Eventbrite.
Hope to see you there! 🙂
Scaling Up | Kate Reed | Industrial Design | 2021
Recap: I am an Artist in Residence at BosLab, in Cambridge, MA, researching new ways to use bacteria to dye textiles. I have successfully dyed textiles the color purple using Violacein.
Through my research, I have been growing vats of Violacein dyes and then refrigerating them until ready to use. I have found that the fresher dyes create the boldest colors, and the longer a dye sits, the more dull gray the colors become. Having said that, I love the range of colors the Violacein creates. I have created my darkest hues by growing up a vat of Violacein, and centrifuging it down to a concentrate. Using this concentrate, I have been able to control the fabric to dye ratio, allowing me to get very dark purple shades. This has worked amazingly well for small scale dye jobs.
I have spent the past month trying to scale up my work to be able to dye batches of textiles by the yard. This has turned out to be quite difficult because it means I need a lot of dye, and I have found that the more dye that I use, the smellier the project gets. I am working with synthetic e.coli, which unfortunately, smells like e.coli. Yesterday, I opened a dye bath that had been dying for 5 days and the smell was so putrid that it made my eyes water – no one ever talks about the smell of science. Generally though, the smell is only temporary, and once the bacteria is killed the smell mostly goes away.
I have been dying a series of scarves using the Violacein and the size of the scarves has made it difficult to dye consistently. As result, I have re-dyed the same scarf multiple times to create darker colors. This has created beautiful results, with nice variation in the purples from different bacteria dye batches. Because each dye bath is alive, the dye can grow in the most beautiful patterns and places. Each textile becomes a conversation between living and fossilized bacteria.
I went with Boslab to share our research and lab at a maker festival in Cambridge, MA. We brought a strawberry DNA activity to do with the kids there. It was very fun to share my research with the community, inspiring the next generation of biologists and designers. It was reaffirming for our future to see that all kids have an interest and an eagerness to play, experiment, and learn. But, somehow, as these kids grow up, they are herded into respective fields, and magically, the field of science becomes filled mostly with men. It made me proud to be a woman in science and role model for the next generation of young girls.
Design can empower communities. Responsible design can eradicate social problems. Biodesign has the power to shift this dichotomy and offer our planet time to rest and heal. As designers we need to keep thinking towards this future of products that help our bodies and our planet. But right now, the industry has not innovated as quickly and does not have the infrastructure to support living products. But this infrastructure will catch up to our living futures, it just needs the next generation of designers that believe in the balance between living futures, form, and function.
This summer at Boslab has given me the skills and tools to design living systems that put our planet and its ecology first. I will be forever grateful for my time here and the wonderful community I met. This summer project has unfolded at the perfect time in my life and leaves me inspired to continue my deep dive into the field of biodesign.
The importance of Aesthetics | Transform Drugs UK | MFA Sculpture ’22 | Zibby Jahns
As I’ve continued to explore new visual ways to focusing on systems of harm and harm reduction, I’ve been frustrated with the reality that I don’t aesthetically like the work I’ve been doing. Is that important? The efficacy of an image doesn’t exist solely in its concept. It also has to wrangle the viewer, give them a feeling. The feeling of stigmatizing imagery is what so often makes it problematic, as I’ve delved into in previous posts. Stripping the feeling can strip the moralizing factor, but does it do the work that successful design does? How to elicit interest in a text with an image that doesn’t play on heart strings or preconceived notions? And how to still be attracted to the image?
I have been researching design that I like–even if it has nothing to do with drug use or harm reduction– to build some groundwork for an aesthetic I would like to play with in these illustrations. I have also been researching previous successful harm reduction campaigns and their stellar graphics (particularly in the realm of the AIDS crisis) as well as anti-drug (from reefer madness to acid house) and satanic panic design that wasn’t successful–i.e. Its inadvertent coolness and irony fed into drug culture.
Act Up’s campaign (these images from 1989) around the AIDS epidemic spoke to systemic priorities instead of on stigmatizing imagery and striking, simple, boldness to get its messages across.
These campaigns are all essentially about a lack of trust in the youth as opposed to transparency about systems of control. In his new book, This is Your Mind on Plants, Michael Pollan looks at how legality around psychoactive plants ultimately boils down to whether or not they serve the capitalist project. Caffeine is nearly institutional while mind-expansive chemicals that undermine productivity are classified as a schedule 1 drug. The ridiculous “Satanic panic” followed a similar thread: it perceived youth who listened to subcultural music –which spouts a distrust in systems of governance– as dangerous or in danger, succumbing to the seduction of Satan. Our country has a long history of intertwining its objectives with Christian morality, and this was no exception.
The fear-mongering marketing schemes against such subcultural movements were mocked and re-appropriated by drug users and underground music fans. The past few decades have been saturated with imagery appropriated from subcultures and then mass marketed to the benefit of corporations. There is some poetic justice to the kitsch delight anti-drug campaigns return to these overly-mined subcultures. Can these images also invigorate an interest in decriminalization outside of subculture?
Stripping Preconceptions in Accessible Imagery Around Safer Consumption | Zibby Jahns | MFA Sculpture ’22
When you search image databases for “drugs” or “drug use”, this is what you’ll find:
Desperation, shame, homelessness, death. These aren’t actually the symptoms of drug use–they are the symptoms of a society that criminalizes drug use. When the visuals of drug use reflect society’s stigma and place the blame on the user, as opposed to the system, education around overdoses cannot progress.
For the past month, I’ve been working to make a new type of image, one that doesn’t replicate images of drugs–or kitchen cabinet substances posing as those drugs–or distraught teens huddling in a corner. I am working to create images that demonstrate healthy relationships with substances on a personal and social level, through accepted modes of discussing harm reduction and safer use.
Instead of making visuals within my own aesthetic confines, I’ve been experimenting with stripping these images of all their stigmatizing factors. I want to remove users from shadows and hoodies, and normalize use that doesn’t end in strife. I want to represent people in a way that isn’t gendered, nor do I want to give them a race or a body type–i.e. not white or black, fat or skinny, old or young, straight or gay–in order to eliminate the possibility of preconception or stereotype. My goal is to portray people, in a world, using drugs or not, existing in a society that could be our own.
Why does it seem so far-fetched and dangerous to have conversations about safer drug use without some sort of visual warning sign? Our society already has safety measures in place for objects and activities that pose risk. This is a simple and ingrained part of our everyday lives. We are trained to use powertools and sharp objects; users are given protective-wear such as goggles, hardhats, and gloves; first-aid boxes are always on site for emergencies. Rarely do people chop down trees alone–they do so in a team. All of these protocols are the same for using drugs: Never Use Alone, Test Your Drugs, Use Clean Needles, Sterilize the Injection Spot, Carry Narcan. There are always ways to reduce harm in any situation. We know what protocol works–it was passed down through community members of drug users and their allies. The only thing standing in the way is stigma. How will your mind, dear reader, shift so that these principles seem one in the same? How can images help locate such a pivot point in the average viewer?
I have been sketching out these ideas in the most simplistic way I can imagine, to envision innocuous, accessible and de-stigmatized entry points for talking about these concepts. I have been experimenting with paints and collage, continually trying to strip down the shapes and images, until I began taking a hint from kindergartners and used construction paper to talk about adult safety. (This has been a great challenge, as I don’t find these to be very aesthetically pleasing.)
We don’t dull a knife’s blade to make it less dangerous, we standardize education and safe practice around knife use at home and in school.
The overdose epidemic has hit kids so hard, but children are continually taught only abstinence–a method with a 96% failure rate. Why do we make discussion of safer drug use only a topic for adults? Why can’t we incorporate the conversation of testing drugs and knowing the effects of and first aid for overdoses into our everyday vernacular? This inspired the image of a parents taking a picture of youth preparing for a party or celebration, and casually reminding them to test their drugs.
I like to imagine a world where an active, concerned parent talks to their children about condoms, urges them not to drink and drive, and gives them fentanyl test strips. 1 in 4 children report using drugs– “Just Say No” has not limited the death toll.
Have fun, kids, and don’t forget to test your drugs!
El Poder de la Comunidad. | Kansas City, KS. | Leslie Ponce-Díaz, BArch/BFA ’23
During my Maharam Fellowship, I had the opportunity to participate in various community events that helped give students in the community academic and health-related resources in preparation for the upcoming school year. Through my community organization, First-Gen Chisme, I participated in three school supply giveaway events with local non-profits/government association: Central Avenue Betterment Association (CABA), El Centro Inc., and the KCK USD 500 School District. First-Gen Chisme successfully gifted over 350+ school supplies including pencils, pens, notebooks, folders with notebook paper, pencil bags, and glue sticks. First-Gen Chisme also gifted stickers and postcards on more information on how First-Gen students in the community can be supported through First-Gen Chisme’s resources.
El Centro is a local non-profit organization located in Kansas City, KS that focuses on “strengthening communities and improving lives of Latinos and others through educational, social, and economic opportunities.” The non-profit organization hosted a vaccine and book bag giveaway to students and families within the Kansas City Metropolitan area. First-Gen Chisme participated by handing out school supplies at their vaccine event. Once students received their vaccine, they were asked to wait 15 minutes and then they received a book bag from El Centro Inc. staff and the First-Gen Chisme school supplies. At the event, we were able to vaccinate 104 individuals from the community. First-Gen Chisme gifted an approximate of 180+ school supplies within the event for K-12 students and their families. There were also opportunities for students to get free hair cuts and food at the back-to-school fair located in Central Middle School in Kansas City, KS.
Poster for the El Centro Inc. Vaccine Event. Created by El Centro Inc. 
Poster for the USD 500 KCK Vaccine Event. Created by the district. 
Poster created by me and shared on all of First-Gen Chisme’s social media pages.
Three days after the El Centro’s Vaccine event, the USD 500 KCK Public School District hosted a back-to-school
event with vaccination and free school supply giveaway opportunities. First-Gen Chisme participated by handing out school supplies at their vaccine event. At the event, there were 264 adult and teens that were vaccinated. First-Gen Chisme gifted an approximate of 200+ school supplies within the event for K-12 students and their families. This event was important for Enough is Enough as families got the opportunity to learn more about the initiative as well as get their vaccines and free items to take home. There were a variety of different community organizations that participated to make the event get the attention of the community. The First-Gen Chisme school cart was a great success! It caught the attention of families and they wanted to be a part of getting free school supplies for their families. I was able to hand out all of the supplies I had left from the previous two school supply giveaway events I participated in.
Alongside the public events in collaboration with other organizations and First-Gen Chisme, I initiated various visual arts and community projects to help raise gun violence awareness within my community in Kansas City. I created visual branding and content for Enough is Enough to share on their social media and school wide printed visuals. The visual content provides a youthful invitation to the community to know more of what the initiative is providing for the community. After researching various of gun violence awareness initiatives from #MarchForOurLives and Change The Ref, I realized the importance of creating content that engages in the voices of the youth. At first, I did have difficulty thinking about designing visuals that the school district would like to use within their campaign. Originally I was troubled by the blue ribbon because politically it can symbolize the ‘thin blue line’ visual often seen in relation to police officers. However, I did more research and I realized that the blue ribbon symbol was also a universal image that shows support for child abuse and prevention. I believe that through the inclusion of youth voices and stories, the message will become more clear on what the relations between the blue ribbon and the initiative Enough is Enough. I used already existing visuals of the initiative to create branding that expressed the districts message on gun violence awareness. I realized that the district’s already existing content is: inclusive, representation, bilingual, non-text heavy, and to the point. The district is also known to include blue ribbons around the community on poles and trees that expresses Enough is Enough’s message for gun violence awareness. All of these projects helped me create branding that expressed the work that the initiative is doing for the community.
Every time I go to my nearest library or drive by a school, I always enjoy seeing the blue ribbons tied on trees in the community and I wanted to visualize this through a perspective illustration for the Enough is Enough campaign. The initiative has allowed members from the community to download Enough is Enough Zoom/Laptop backgrounds to show their support towards the initiative in a virtual manner. However, I felt that the backgrounds were missing the community factor that is really needed when raising awareness on violence. I imagined a field of trees with tied abstracted Enough is Enough ribbons on the trunks surrounded by families, youth, and teens having important conversations and sharing a moment of community expressed better what the initiative is doing for the community. All of the graphics I have created include the district’s logo and a QR code that leads individuals to learn more about Enough is Enough.
I also included this visual on the thank you gifts that I will be gifting to my two supervisors, Sharita and Randy, as a thank you for allowing me to be a part of this great movement within my community. Using my Maharam funding, I purchased a printed tote bag and pencil pouch as well as a small blue bear. This experience has been the most rewarding opportunity in my work as a student architect and community organizer and I am forever grateful for Sharita and Randy’s welcomeness within the initiative.
This internship is stemmed from my passions in helping the upcoming generation of students within my school district. It has been a pleasure not only working on Enough is Enough but also having the opportunity to help through my community organization, First-Gen Chisme. I have been able to brainstorm and re-imagine how First-Gen Chisme can become a physical non-profit space near Central Avenue in Kansas City. How can I continue providing resources for First-Gen students in a sustainable manner within my community? One of my main goals after graduating from RISD is to establish an official non-profit within Kansas City, KS through First-Gen Chisme that supports youth through art, design, advocacy, and education. I believe that the Maharam Fellowship and the B-Lab Venture Program have been great opportunities to engage my community through First-Gen Chisme and the potentials it has in helping the Kansas City, KS community. My involvement within Enough is Enough and First-Gen Chisme has been recognized by The Kansas City Beacon Media through an interview highlighting Enough is Enough and my work within the initiative. The Kansas City Beacon Media isa non-profit online news outlet focused on in-depth journalism in the public interest.
Overall, this summer, I have learned about “El Poder De La Comunidad. — The Power of the Community.” within my Maharam Fellowship as an intern in my past school district, USD 500 KCK, within their initiative Enough is Enough to raise gun violence awareness within the Kansas City, KS community. I have curated a Final Maharam Fellowship Booklet that captures all of the various projects I worked on this summer within my Maharam Fellowship at Rhode Island School of Design and the B-Lab Venture Program at Brown University. The Final Maharam Fellowship Booklet is in both English and Spanish to share with all of my family and friends! The orange cover is in English and the green cover is in Spanish.
Final thanks to all of the RISD Careers Team that helped me out with my application and believed in my vision to help my community! This experience has meant so much to me and I am very thankful for this amazing opportunity. Muchas gracias! Thank you to Enough is Enough, Sharita and Randy, and all of the collaborators located in Kansas City that allowed me to be a part of their amazing community events. I look forward to seeing how my work with First-Gen Chisme can continue to support these great organizations and our Kansas City, KS community.
Communicating Climate and Cultures | Jasmine Gutbrod | Teaching and Learning in Art and Design | 2021
Connecting with Community
After many remote events this Summer and past year, it was great to be able to work outside and connect with the public in person. The Blessing of the Fleet festival in Narragansett was a great way to learn more about Rhode Island’s fishing community and meet the people directly involved in the industry. The festival centered around a boat parade, where fishing vessels received a blessing for a safe year. Working on a fishing boat can be dangerous, and there was also a memorial to honor those who have lost their lives working at sea.
Eating with the Ecosystem was at the event to help visitors learn more about different seafood species and how to practice sustainable habits for eating seafood. Some in the crowd were already familiar with local species because they had friends and family members who worked in the fishing industry, and the Narragansett, RI is home to multiple seafood unloading sites and local fish markets. Many visitors were interested in learning more about where to find local fish, how to support small businesses, and how climate change might be affecting the ocean. I was able to distribute information that I had learned through courses at RISD and Brown in addition to the research that I have been doing this summer. My interactions affirmed previous observations of mine, in that overall people are willing to learn more about the environments they intermingle with and want to know how they can help build a healthy relationship with their ecosystem. Many were concerned with ocean health. To me, this symbolizes a core issue with how we approach discussions of sustainability and climate change. The issue is not necessarily that people do not care about creating resilient ecosystems, but rather they lack the tools to become involved in the discussion and do not know what they can do about it. I think that discussions around sustainability are often over-simplified to try to get people on board, explaining that if you simply conserve energy by turning off lights, eat local, and recycle your plastic then you are on track to solve climate change. This over-simplification is, in my opinion, harmful because it does not take into account the nuances of climate issues and the resulting nuances solutions. Visitors to my booth wanted easy answers to “what kind of fish should I be eating” or “what seafood is sustainable”, when it depends on the species, location, and time of year. By taking a few extra minutes to explain to visitors some of the complexities of ocean migration patterns and seafood supply chains, people can be empowered to see their food as a part of a system that is constantly changing and adapting to economic and environmental shifts. To me, this represents a stronger and more memorable way to talk about sustainability, as a concept which will always be evolving and updating and will require a mindset that is equally adaptable.
Telling the Story
In addition to the in-person event, I have also been designing social media graphics to help tell the story of various projects Eating with the Ecosystem has been working on. One of these has been the seafood donation program, which began about a year ago in response to the onset of COVID-19. This grant-funded project has made whole, fresh fish accessible to community members for free, while also helping to sustain local fishermen. Organizations such as the Women’s Refugee Center, the Narragansett Tribe, the African Alliance of Rhode Island, and the George Wiley Center all have received and continue to receive fish through this program. The project also provided a platform for those in historically underrepresented communities to share recipes and stories about their relationship to seafood. Seafood can serve as a way to bring together those from diverse cultural backgrounds, as recipes are passed down through generations and different families and cultures have their own unique ways of preparing fish. For example, many in New England’s vibrant immigrant and indigenous communities know how to turn whole, unprocessed fish into delicious meals. Learning more about the many ways that seafood can be prepared across different cultures can help center these communities in important discussions.
Take a walk along misery mile, Vrinda Mathur, MID Industrial Design, 2022
Take a walk along misery mile, Vrinda Mathur, MID Industrial Design, 2022
This week, I visited a few locations in the Washington Park Neighborhood to gain an understanding of the landscape. I started my walk down Allen’s Avenue, past the hurricane barriers, and turned into Collier Point Park after I spotted unassuming signage.
The park was designed in the year 1996 by William Warner Architects and spans six acres in size with open views of the bay, fishing docks, bridges and more. The park has been in the news lately with regards to public resistance towards its ownership by Dominion Energy. I read this excerpt from the Providence Journal to learn more about the issue.
This entire stretch of land is lined by industries like Sim’s Metals, Sprague, National Electric amongst others. Naturally, the state of air and water quality is compromised and other environmental issues continue to impact the residents in nearby areas. Even though the park is landscaped and offers beautiful views of the bay, it fails to impress in comparison to other parks, especially those on the East side of Providence. The Washington Park Neighbourhood Association (WPNA) is working with the city and the Department of Transportation to beautify the area and offer ‘adopt a spot’ options to the neighboring industries.
My next stop. within a one-mile radius was Public Street. The street falls perpendicular to Allen’s Avenue and leads to a 25-foot wide view of the bay. However, this street was not as ‘public’ until a few weeks ago.
“From its name, you’d assume that Public Street was intended for the public. But before the attorney general’s office intervened last winter, fences blocked off the road’s eastern terminus where it meets the Providence River. People from low-income neighborhoods in South Providence and Washington Park were cut off from one of the few places where they could walk to the waterfront and fish.” 1
On either side of this street are grated barriers with views of the mountains. Not the beautiful, green ones but those made with coal, salt, and recycled metal parts. On discussing further with Linda Perri, the President of WPNA we spoke about visualizing a cleaner, greener space where people from the neighborhood could spend their evenings close to nature, stroll, fish, and experience the outdoors.
The neighborhood around Washington Park has a tree equity score of 63/100 and is marked in bright yellow on the tree equity analyzer. As per the State of Providence’s Urban Forest report, this area has <10% urban tree canopy while the intended canopy cover goal stands at 48%. The other crucial demographic and environmental indicators of this area include people of color, senior citizens, unemployment rates, children, people in poverty, temperature, and health index. 2
No wonder Allen’s Avenue is commonly referred to as the ‘Misery Mile’. In fact, Linda and I spoke about creating some banners for the area highlighting this very issue.
Back at the SEG office, I had a team meeting with four other members across different departments including environmental advocacy, food systems, and green events to talk about some ideas and design interventions that may be useful in furthering our communication with frontline community members. I have been working on designing accessible infographics on the theme of tree equity by highlighting the equity score and embedding a call-to-action as a digital take away. In the process, I am interested in exploring the use of AI chat bots, performance artists, and potentially a website dedicated to the conversation. While a lot of these concepts are still in the planning phase, together with all stakeholders we hope to launch them over the next couple of months.
What I am most excited about is a curated walk for members of different neighbourhoods to come together and immerse themselves in an educational, invigorating walk across low and high tree canopy areas. The goal of this experience would be to bring people together, whether it is local organizations, community leaders or the community members themselves, and start a dialogue around the need of better tree canopy and its many benefits to the environment, health, wellbeing, thereby providing a platform for every person to put forth their opinion, ask questions and find a sense of togetherness.
More on that in the next blog.
2 Urban Tree Canopy Percentage by Neighbourhood: “State of Providence’s Urban Forest” Report. April 2008. Providence Parks Department, Forestry Division, https://treeequityscore.org/map/#12.73/41.79961/-71.39243, https://opportunityatlas.org/
Systems of Needs, Shreya Kaipa, BArch ’23
August 6, 2021
My partnership with the growers and organization of Sankofa has certainly been challenging but an incredible learning opportunity. As I reflect on the past weeks, I diagramed the process I’ve been following to help myself understand the cycle I’ve been practicing.
I use “Project Imagination” as an alternative to “Solution”. I find this word choice focuses the goal as intentional responses to needs, over a problem-solution mindset.
An example was the recent sign I painted for the market! This year’s market has been a little slower than past years, and so I took on the opportunity to repaint the old market sign to be a permanent stay on the lawn.
In addition, many of the vendors and customers use plastic bags to hold their market coins (which they trade in for EBT). I asked a friend studying Textiles at RISD if they’d be able to make reusable coinbags; which they graciously did with scrap fabric. It brought the vendors so much joy, and in exchange, many free veggies for us!
As I get to know vendors and growers by helping them in the garden or market, I have begun to notice patterns that contribute to a lack of abundance. For example, there is general disrespect from outsiders in the neighborhood to the garden. Stealing (of produce) occurs frequently, and working men drink and sleep in the garden at night. Many older women care for their beds on early mornings, and often have to confront these men.
Sankofa was born with the intention to activate “blighted” urban lots by growing food. I’ve noticed a few abandoned lots, where a public garden could revitalize the space and offer an opportunity for those stealing. This would also foster positive relationships between those in need and growers. In this unused space, they could receive discounted produce and learn how to grow produce.
It’s important to note, theft also occurs between growers. The beds currently in Sankofa are distinguished by grower names, which may be leading to misunderstandings about garden bed ownership through language and cultural differences. The new growing space could be an opportunity for the growers to work with one another to tend for the whole garden together. Instead of beds divided by growers, they would be identified by produce kind.
Through conversations, I realized this ambition was a longer term project, due to the resources, permits, and outreach needed to bring it to fruition. And so I searched for another idea that would be feasible for the time and resources I have.
Through conversations with advisors, I found that narrowing my focus on the grower needs might help with the challenge of constraints. When I meet growers in the garden, it is rare that more than one is tending to their plants at the same time. When there are 2 or 3 growers at a time, they keep to themselves and don’t typically interact with others. When I spoke to Ana, one of the women, about stealing, she expressed anger and frustration, but expressed she would never confront the thief, even though she has witnessed them.
I am currently planning a signage project and system that could help grow stronger relationships between the women and mitigate stealing within the garden. Below are sketches that illustrate a grower with more knowledge sharing advice and produce with another grower.
The biggest challenge of the summer so far, has been engagement. I was originally hoping to work with this community to design an intervention; however, good places are created through tried systems and relationships. With language and scheduling differences between growers, I found this to be a much longer project for another opportunity. So instead, I’ve been focusing on one-on-one conversations, drawing, and strategic thinking seeking to illustrate what the women are asking for.
On a side note, I have been organizing a youth-led street mural project with student activism groups in Providence! This is from a recent design workshop where students were brainstorming ideas.
Groundwork RI – Developing & Model Making | Juliana Soltys, Jason Hebert | MID ’22
Intended Curriculum
Each group is at very different stages of the design cycle. Since we were unable to meet with PCF-Monday last week, we worked through the discovery phase. PVD and PCF-Thursday were both at the development stage. The main goal was to brainstorm the 2D drawings/sketches and 3D sketch models using cardboard and hot glue for the various design solutions. It was a fun, hands-on week for the youth to be creative and express themselves!
PVD Monday
It was a super hot Monday to be working outside, so we walked over to the South Providence Library next door. The librarians were very kind and generous to let us work downstairs in their community room. We set up a couple of folding tables and plugged in the hot glue, and the youth started cutting up cardboard, making 3D sketch models of trash cans. We gave them free rein to create any shape or designs they wanted; They just had to keep in mind the construction limitations and time constraints to build the cans.
The girls decided to work together and created one larger model. They sketched out ideas and collectively constructed a rectangular bin, each taking a side to draw designs of messaging to paint on the can. The boys decided to create their sketch models but used each other to bounce off ideas. We walked around helping with construction questions and chatted about where we wanted to place the bins along Prairie Ave.
After an hour and a half of building, we came back to the greenhouse to vote on the top two designs to build full-scale models. Again, each youth voted for their two favorites, and the heart bin and trapezoid bin won!
PCF Thursday
We took the primed planks of wood to the Hope Artiste Village to spend the afternoon painting with the youth. First, we divided and painted the 25 boards in Spanish and English using the list of vital signs. It was fun to get to know the youth better and bond about K-pop and their other interests. Then, using outdoor paint, we spent the afternoon sketching and painting colorful signs to plant (haha, no pun intended) around the garden.
PCF Monday
Since we did not meet last week, we decided to spend the afternoon coming to a consensus about where we wanted to work. We spoke a bit about Hope Artiste Village and decided to continue the work at Galego. At first, we discussed solutions for soil drop-off and compost piles since they block the main path and are cumbersome. We traveled to Galego to discuss with Chandelle our ideas but soon realized that this was an area we could not intervene in our time frame and budget. After further discussion with Chandelle and the youth, we decided to focus on community engagement in terms of handing out communal veggies. Galego produces extra food, but the residents often do not know about the garden or its amenities. There is an opportunity to bridge the gap between the garden and residents through a weekly produce stand.
We continued to ideate about what the stand was going to share with the community. It was not only going to be a place to give out extra produce but also share recipe cards. Since the garden produces veggies the residents might not usually cook with, we thought it would be essential to include a simple recipe to go with it.
Back at the office, we used the whiteboard to sketch out ideas of what the stand could look like to draw residents to it and share the produce and information. It was important to have signage by the street and on the table for labeling the produce and recipe cards. Also, setup needs to be easy and simple enough for one person since Chandelle doesn’t have help every day. We came to a consensus on the table design and the advertising signage.
Additional Activities
Jason and I are definitely not woodworkers, and there was a significant learning curve to building the trash cans. We first found plastic trash bins to go inside to hold the trash and started designing around the cans. We decided the housing should be made from 2×4’s and plywood for ease of construction and to keep costs down. Afterward, we reached out to a friend to check on our rough design and intended materials for construction. At the hardware store, we were ready to purchase materials, soon realizing that 2×4’s aren’t actually 2 inches by 4 inches. In reality, they are only 1.5 inches by 3.5 inches…a big mistake in all of our calculations…oops. Slightly frustrated and laughing at our mistakes, we sat under a pergola and recalculated all of the measurements to fit the 2×4 lengths at the store.
We bought lumber, hardware, drills, and primer over three different hardware stores since some didn’t have the necessary materials we needed or their panel saws weren’t functioning correctly (always call ahead because it’s a 50% chance they work). Eventually, we were able to buy the necessary materials to start building one of PVD’s trash cans and get the proper materials for signs, even having to cut some planks with a pull saw (A great workout if you can’t get to the gym, 10/10 would not recommend).
Back at the ID building, we constructed one PVD trashcan frame using 2×4’s, screws, and L-brackets. We still needed to get the plywood for the sides of the can, but that would be a trip to the hardware store for next week! We also cut down the smaller planks into 1.5 ft signs for PCF-Thursday to paint and primed the wood to protect it from wear and tear from the elements. Finally, the signs were ready for the youth to paint!
Reflection
Overall, this week was highly productive but involved more backend work on our end than expected. Much of our time was spent finding and preparing the materials for the youth to work on in the following weeks. Because of time and resource limitations, we had to simplify a few concepts the youth had decided upon. Notably, we had to scrap the idea of a trapezoidal bin because of the amount of niche machining and purchasing necessary; therefore, we settled on creating a rectangular bin as a replacement. Surprisingly, finding the resources was the trickiest part of the week! Because of the obstacles mentioned previously, we had to spend more time looking than preparing. Regardless, it was a fun experience in light of the silly mistakes and obstacles that stood in our way.
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