Groundwork RI – PCF Week 5/6: Develop, Deploy & Celebrate! | Jason Hebert, Juliana Soltys | MID ’22

Groundwork RI – PCF Week 5/6: Develop, Deploy & Celebrate! | Jason Hebert, Juliana Soltys | MID ’22

As the final weeks encroached, frantic motions were made to refine all the loose ends. Week 5 was the big week for completing all the projects so they would be presentable next week at the end-of-summer events. PCF’s Thursday group continued to paint their signs, remembering to include both English and Spanish versions. Concurrently, the completed signs from the week prior were drilled to their stakes; they were finally ready to be placed around the garden. PCF’s Monday group continued to prepare their tabling items — specifically the canvas that would be draped over the table and the recipe box that would contain produce-relevant recipe cards for passersby to grab with their produce. Recipes for beets and eggplants were picked by Juliana and myself; moreover, we ensured both Spanish and English translations.

To our pleasant surprise, PCF’s Tuesday group was interested in working on the tabling project! Juliana and I never met with this group because of logistics; therefore, the drying signs from the Thursday group piqued their interest. With that, we all met on Tuesday that final week at Hope Artiste Village where they painted the opposite side of the canvas. The recipe box was completed by Juliana, and I spent the day drilling the dried signs from Thursday. With much struggle, we finalized the tasks from week 5 by handing in the flyers to the Pawtucket Housing Authority. 

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In retrospect, the youth from each group showed excitement and liveliness with the painting opportunities. Despite it being Victory Day in Rhode Island, the Thursday group at PCF joined us on Monday to paint the canvas with them. It was nice to see the two groups we had been working with come together at the end. Naturally, awkward cliques were formed during this meeting, but overall it was incredibly productive and wholesome. On the backend of everything, advertising for the event was difficult. With it both being a holiday and vacation time for our point-of-contact at the PHA, handing over the flyers failed multiple times. However, we were able to hand them off. On top of it all, there were some minor mistakes on the flyers that we had overlooked, so always remember to triple check your flyers before you print them!

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Galego Event

Setup

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Outcome

All was prepared by 11 am! In retrospect, there was decent attendance, with the primary set of visitors being friends and family of the youth. Partway through, important members of the Pawtucket Housing Authority stopped by. They praised the youths’ endeavors and the gardens lusciousness, furthermore hinting at future collaborations. Regarding attendance from the Galego community itself: foot traffic was low but there were members that came with their families. We assume slow attendance was because of the timing during working hours as well as the broiling temperatures outside. To the surprise of many, a journalist also came to the event! I sadly have forgotten his name — as well as his company — but will keep an eye out for the article. 

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Food, drinks, and entertainment for the event were spectacular. Harvest Kitchen prepared a similar menu as Providence’s event: veggie salad, potato salad, and cookies. Caprichos was unanimously an attendee favorite though; their array of appetizers, entrees, and desserts went out quickly. I, myself, ate a fair share of their food. Iced water and juice were supplied at the opposing end of the table. Outside of the tent, but still under the shade of the trees and buildings, youth played cornhole and Juliana played with a younger family member of one of the youth at the Spikeball net. Music was nearby playing off of Juliana’s karaoke speaker. The speakers’ lights were on, of course.

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The weather was similar to the day before: objectively hot and humid. Being in the high 90s, you were guaranteed to sweat if you stood in the sun for even the briefest of moments. Thankfully, the shade from the tent, trees, and tenant housings created spaces for respite. This heat could be felt during the garden tours; however, hidden spots of shade were found along the way. Besides, the vibrant garden signs helped to forget the heat. Under the shade outside the gardens stood the farmstand. It was colorful and refreshing. Luscious vegetables were piled, laying proudly atop the painted canvas and adjacent to the vivid recipe box.

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Reflection

The event was an absolute success! Everyone seemed to be in good spirits despite the heat. The food was enticing, and the outcome of the youths’ projects was relieving and rewarding. They did absolutely amazing. Real changes were seen in the gardens, and the acceptance by the community was reassuring. Given our positions, Juliana and I spent much of our time documenting the experience. We were also exhausted from the day before, so this made it hard to socialize — but that didn’t stop us! All in all, it was an exhausting but rewarding experience for us as fellows, for the youth as leaders, for the coordinators as supporters, and for the communities as hosts.

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Acknowledgements + Thanks

As cliche as it is, words can not express the gratitude I feel for this opportunity. Thanks goes out to Kevin Jankowski for the support and constant encouragement you gave us throughout the entire process. You have a gorgeous garden and a contagious charisma. To the Providence coordinators, Sarah and China: thank you ten times over for letting us into your garden space. Your energy and emboldenment made this possible — without it, we would never have been able to connect with the youth and with the surrounding community. The memory of eating the spicy pepper still sits strongly in my mind. To the Pawtucket and Central Falls coordinators, Arleen and Leandro: the sentiment is repeated. Allowing us the time to meet in the Hope Artiste Village will always be remembered so positively, even though the air conditioning was a bit aggressive now and then. To all of the food vendors, thank you for sharing your hidden gems with us; moreover, thank you for the patience with working with us as non-Spanish speakers. I have continuously been advertising your food to everyone around me. To Chandelle and Everett at the Galego gardens and Kimberly with the Pawtucket Housing Authority, thank you more than ever for allowing us into your space. The gardens were astonishing and the people who work within it are exponentially more amazing. I hope to visit you again soon. And of course, I am forever grateful to the youth who made this experience workable and worthwhile; you are all truly the next leaders of our society. Your effort, with and without us, was and will continue to be admirable and dignified. The world is a better place with everyone listed in this thank you message.

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Last, but certainly not least, tremendous thanks goes out to my teammate, Juliana. Thank you for being there with and for me; thank you for letting me be with and there for you as well. It was such a ride (literally and figuratively) with amazing highs and unavoidable lows. Thank you for driving constantly and letting your car get filled to the brim with random items alongside the copious amount of dog hair. Our multiple hardware store trips were hilarious and humbling. Even more humbling were the hours we spent in the studio — none of which I would ever take for granted. Thank you for the constant support, empathy, resourcefulness, and insight you have to offer. Without you, this experience would never have been possible. I am excited to support you as you grow this next year and will always value you as a classmate, a professional, and (more than anything) a friend. 😀

Groundwork RI – Consolidate + Consensus | Jason Hebert, Juliana Soltys | MID ’22

Week 3: Consolidate + Consensus

Intended Curriculum

Week 3 came down to finding consensus over the various problems the groups noticed; the goal was to define the problem to drive the development phase. To do so, we continued to walk and talk. After some heads-down time, each person shared 3 ideas written out on sticky notes to the rest of the group. Placing them on a whiteboard, Juliana and I rearranged them to begin drawing connections and patterns. From this, a list of general problems was detailed, and the youth placed votes over the ones they were interested in. Slowly, the topics with the least votes were eliminated until only one remained. This finalized the define and discover phases.

PVD Monday

Walking on and around Prairie Avenue, the youth continued the discovery work they started the week prior. This time, the group found interest in a rundown church, the copious amounts of litter, and the low tree canopy cover. (And aside, they helped move a car that broke down at an intersection!)

At the end of the walk, we went into the South Providence library to begin finding consensus. Topics of interest included the previously mentioned church, waste, signage, and the farmstand. Many placed particular interest in the church because of the backyard space; despite the lovely greenery, veranda, and grills, it was covered with litter and felt like it lacked regular maintenance. Waste was an issue they noticed previously. They attributed the problem to the irregular placement of trash bins and an overall sense of community unawareness. Building off this, signs were discussed to help promote Groundwork and the greenhouse. Topics of the farmstand related to advertisement: produce wasn’t labeled, and passersby were sometimes hesitant over whether they could take them from the table for free. 

Despite the awkward moments, a consensus was found on addressing the waste problem with ideas to create waste bins to place around. Hosting a street clean-up event was also on the table. We were finally able to proceed with the development phase.

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PCF Thursday

We first met with the Thursday Pawtucket + Central Falls group at Hope Artiste Village. Soon after, we headed to Galego garden to begin discussing problems. One youth, who lived in the community and worked there, gave us a tour of the space, highlighting the areas of concern. Sitting in the shady but itchy alcove nestled behind an overgrown path, we wrote out our thoughts on sticky notes and placed them on the whiteboard. Here, the youth were invested in garden signage, distressed pathways, weeds, and overgrowth. As it lacked overall signage, the many spaces in the garden were hidden away. Moreover, the communal spaces where produce could be taken were unbeknownst to the general public. Driving this problem further, the pathways were overgrown with weeds, with stinging nettles even making some paths dangerous. The overgrowth of these nettles and knotweed made the garden seem much smaller than it actually was. 

After discussing these problems with the garden manager, a consensus was found on signage. Landscaping was planned for the space in the future meaning the pathways and overgrowth would be addressed later. With consensus being found, we returned to Hope Artiste Village and brainstormed the plethora of necessary signs. Particularly, we wanted to point out the paths, the plots, the plants, and the supplies that made up the garden. 

PCF Monday – Cancelled

Sadly, we were unable to meet with the Monday Pawtucket/Central Falls group as they were needed for a tree stewardship event. From what we heard, they were going around to label the trees that were planted during previous tree planting sessions.

Additional Activities

As the end of the summer approached, we took it upon ourselves to begin planning out two separate events to showcase the youths’ works. Additionally, this was an opportunity to bring awareness to the Galego Garden and the Providence Greenhouse. The Galego community was open to this event; therefore, planning began immediately. Planning for the Providence event was trickier as there was yet a location in mind. We attempted to call the church that we passed by earlier; however, they were unresponsive. Event planning would have to continue the following week.

Reflections

As is usually the case, the consensus-building process was overall difficult. Many of the youth were disinterested in the conversation with one even falling asleep. Additionally, getting the youth to vote for the different topics involved a lot of encouragement from the other Groundwork coordinators. We mentioned that the consensus phase is always the least interesting and most frustrating; moreover, we promised to make the development phase of their projects the most exciting. Beyond our involvement with the youth, community outreach for planning the event was tricky. Many of the organizations and individuals we contacted never returned our communications. We slowly had to eliminate potential collaborations because of this.

All in all, it was a very productive week! Many of the problems were decided, and the future of our involvement with Groundwork was becoming clearer. Our personal excitement was building.

Groundwork RI – Define + Discover | Juliana Soltys, Jason Hebert | MID ’22

Week 2: Define + Discover

Intended Curriculum

We wanted to start Week 2 with a short lecture about a general design process and different types of design. There are six steps in this process: define, discover, develop, deploy, test, and iterate. We defined each term and related it to a board game project that Juliana worked on this past semester. These steps aren’t linear; therefore, we highlighted how this is only one way of thinking about solutions. On the next page, we discussed different areas within design and had the youth call out examples. This exercise was a great way to recognize the ubiquity of design and the spectrums connecting designed goods and services! Following, we explained the levels of impact adopted from the Ashoka Systems Change Crash Course. They list four levels: direct impact, scaled direct impact, systems change, and mindset shift. GWRI is involved with all four, with one example being their tree planting initiatives. The trees have a direct impact on PVD, but also a scaled effect since they are planted in the surrounding towns as well. GWRI is involved with initiatives to fund and support more tree plantings in redlined neighborhoods and redefine our relationship with trees. After a short break, we dove deeper into the first two steps of the design process: define and discover. The define phase sets up the background for understanding, sharing, and starting a design intervention. There should be no design solutions at this stage! There are four main concepts: the problem statement, design opportunity statement, design statement, and design criteria. As an example to explain the terminology, the redlining board game was elaborated on further. As the second phase, discovering involves observing a problem and collecting data about the issue as well as benchmarking current solutions. There are two main types of research used: market and user. The youth are primarily focusing on user research through ethnographic research, demographic data, and surveys. 

PVD x PCF Monday – combined due to weather conditions

Because of the weather conditions, the two groups combined, and it was an excellent opportunity for them to get to know each other. We reintroduced ourselves and played an icebreaker game about proposing a movie. The groups had 15 minutes to develop a movie: detailing its plot, actors, and budget. They would then propose this movie to the judges (J + J and the Green Team coordinators) who decided to fund both movies. After, we had a group lecture and discussion about the design process and, in further detail, spoke about the define and discover phases. As the sky cleared up, we took that information with us and walked around the Hope Artiste Village, taking observational notes on general sights, sounds, and smells. 

PCF Thursday, July 15th 

After lecturing about the design process and systems design, we walked around Hope Artiste Village and Pawtucket, writing down observational notes. We relaxed under a tree at Baldwin Elementary and started discussing the problems we observed while walking around. The conversation shifted quickly towards Galego Garden, a Pawtucket community garden the group was working at once a week. Located in the back of the Galego public housing complex, the garden is a space for residents and community members to tend to their plots. The youth work at the garden once a week, helping with a variety of gardening tasks. With the goal of the summer to have the youth choose their project, they were more interested in working with this space. Additionally through this discussion, they were able to acknowledge a variety of problems as a group. For example, they noticed the center path is too steep to climb with a wheelbarrow, the weeds are difficult to control and lead to a low retention rate of gardeners, and the lack of advertisement and awareness about the garden amongst the community. After a successful talk, we grabbed yummy Mamacita ice cream as a treat for their attentive and thoughtful work. We left that day excited about the prospect of this space that we were unaware of prior. 

Additional Activities

After hearing how excited the youth were about Galego, we went to check out the 1.5-acre garden. We met Chandel, the garden coordinator, and Everett, an AmeriCorp member, who were eager to show us around the hilly, green landscape. Community gardeners grew a variety of fruits, vegetables, flowers, and some even had beehives! They were very friendly, and we sat in the shade to learn more about the lush community garden and our involvement and intentions for the student-led projects. For the upcoming week, we will work in the garden to learn about the space and struggles of maintaining the constantly evolving garden. 

Reflections

The weather was rainy and cold, creating a sluggish PVD x PCF group. However, the youths were engaging and talkative during our discussion about the different types of design. The icebreakers also helped re-engage the youth to get them thinking and moving with their fellow team members. We used a giant paper pad to prepare the lecture notes the first week, but the paper was too flimsy and slippery. We needed something to hold the slides up and decided to get a whiteboard to pin up information and brainstorm sessions. Unfortunately, the print-out design process sheets were not an engaging form to share information, and the youth were less interested in reading and following along. 

We originally had an additional print-out with the 5 W’s + 1 H as an outline for taking observational notes on their clipboard. However, the youth didn’t use it because it was easier to have an open discussion with a designated note taker.  

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