Reflection on the Project

Overall, this project allowed us to connect with likeminded students and community members and create accessible knowledge. This felt like an honor to us, and we appreciate the guidance we received from our instructors and our community partner. Although our time working on this project is over, we hope that the next group of community mapping students carries it forward from where we left off. We feel the The StoryMap we created has laid foundation for the larger goal of building resilient urban systems by providing information and resources about biomimicry and pollinators. Future projects could work to increase the place-specificness of the R.U.S.H. initiative by exploring case studies within Victoria. NatuR&D hosted several open space zoom sessions about biomimicry, and future students could compile the information recorded in the sessions and create infographics or other learning tools.

Reflection on the Field Journaling Session

During our field journaling session I felt the power of slowing down and tuning into the connection between myself and my immediate environment. Through slowing down and paying attention to the intimate details of the finnerty garden, I felt a connection to place that I wouldn’t have experienced if I were simply walking through. In my own life, I notice I am most creative when I move through my day with a slower and more attentive mindset. This session was a great reminder of that and felt like a breath of fresh air amidst a busy semester.