eden in brisbane: engaging community in sustainability

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A handbook on techniques for community engagement, created for a two-day training workshop in Brisbane led by the Eden Project in 2009.

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Page 1: Eden in Brisbane: Engaging community in sustainability
Page 2: Eden in Brisbane: Engaging community in sustainability

A joint initiative of

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Prelude: an extract from Hope in the Dark by Rebecca Solnit 4

I. The 21st century and the challenges ahead 6

II. Interpretation at the Eden Project 11

III. Minds-On: Hearts-On 22

Interlude: Why it’s important to play 25

I. Eden’s interpretation principles 33

II. Eden’s community engagement principles 38

III. Working with artists: the Eden approach 44

Interlude: the Heart and Soul of Rock ‘n’ Roll (a questionnaire) 54

I. The point of what we did 58

II. The programme 60

III. Exercises and outcomes 62

IV. Brisbane: Islands and ‘Road Maps’ 104

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There are times when it seems as though not only the future but the present

is dark: few recognise what a radically transformed world we live in, one

that has been transformed not only by such nightmares as global warming

or global capital, but by dreams of freedom, of justice, and transformed

by things we could not have dreamed of. What accretion of incremental,

imperceptible changes made them possible, and how did they come about?

And so we need to hope for the realisation of our own dreams, but also to

recognise a world that will remain wilder than our imaginations.

Cause and effect assumes history marches forward, but history is not an

army. It is a crab scuttling sideways, a drip of soft water wearing away

stone, an earthquake breaking centuries of tension. Sometimes one

person inspires a movement, or her words do decades later; sometimes

a few passionate people change the world; sometimes they start a mass

movement and millions do; sometimes those millions are stirred by the

same outrage or the same ideal, and change comes upon us like a change

of weather. All that these transformations have in common is that they

begin in the imagination, in hope. To hope is to gamble. It’s to bet on the

future, on your desires, on the possibility that an open heart and uncertainty

is better than gloom and safety. To hope is dangerous, and yet it is the

opposite of fear, for to live is to risk.

I say all this because hope is not like a lottery ticket you can sit on a sofa

and clutch, feeling lucky. I say it because hope is an axe you break down

doors with in an emergency; because hope should shove you out the door,

because it will take everything you have to steer the future away from

endless war, from the annihilation of the earth’s treasures and the grinding

down of the poor and marginal.

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Hope just means another world might be possible, not promised, not

guaranteed. Hope calls for action; action is impossible without hope.

Anything could happen, and whether we act or not has everything to do

with it. Though there is no lottery ticket for the lazy and the detached, for

the engaged there is a tremendous gamble for the highest stakes right

now. I say this to you not because I haven’t noticed that the US has strayed

close to destroying itself and its purported values in pursuit of empire in

the world and the eradication of democracy at home, that our civilisation

is close to destroying the very nature on which we depend – the oceans,

the atmosphere, the uncounted species of plant and insect and bird. I say

it because I have noticed that wars will break out, the planet will heat up,

species will die out, but how many, how hot and what survives depends on

whether we act. The future is dark, with a darkness as much of the

womb as the grave.

Stories trap us, stories free us, we live and die by stories, but hearing

people talk of [the certainty of despair] is hearing them tell themselves a

story they believe is being told to them. What other stories can be told?

How do people recognise that they have the power to be storytellers,

not just listeners? Hope is the story of uncertainty, of coming to terms

with the risk involved in not knowing what comes next, which is more

demanding than despair and, in a way, more frightening. And immeasurably

more exciting.

We thank Rebecca Solnit for permission to reprint these edited extracts from her book

Hope in the Dark: The Untold History of People Power, published by Canongate Books.

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Our lives will change in the years ahead in ways that may not totally

be within our control, but in ways that we can influence. This century

is going to demand the best of us. It will demand the best of our

innovation and imagination, our justice, our creativity, our community

resilience, our humanity. We will need flexible, innovative, inspired

and strong individuals and communities, ready to respond to the best

of their abilities to the challenges ahead and fully aware of the need

to support each other. We will need to examine our core values, and

place the worth of things above the costs of things.

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Eden Project exhibits, our educational programmes and our events

address many of these issues, and increasingly we have also increased

the opportunities for community groups, local and national, to use us

as a meeting and learning place and as a stage to let their voices be

heard, to express their values, hopes and ambitions for the future.

We see this work as having national, and international, relevance

but it has its roots in Cornwall – our community. This is a county

that has seen great wealth come and go, intimately related to

natural resources; it is a county that encompasses the extremes

of natural beauty and dereliction; it is a county rich in creativity

and with a strong sense of identity; it is a county with a strong

history of invention and enterprise; it is a county that has seen the

industries that helped define that identity collapse leaving fractured

communities and a devastated economic base behind. The Cornwall

experience therefore has much to say about the challenges of radical

transformation and change, of sustainable use of resources, and of

how communities find the strength and inspiration to move forwards.

Eden Project is also open to ideas,

voices and inspiration from people across

the globe that have been working to solve the challenge of

how the future might be better than it could be – and finding

real solutions that deserve to be shared. Our partnership with

Brisbane City Council is teaching us much about what a 21st-century

city might look like, and about the values and behaviours we will

need to propagate for our communities to survive and thrive.

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Every day we use plants from every continent. We eat them, drink

them, take them as medicine, clothe ourselves with them, build our

furniture and houses with them, perfume ourselves with them.

They put colour in our fabrics and our food, they make up most of

our paper and packaging. They stop us from getting pregnant and

from getting our feet wet.

They intoxicate us; they give us cancer when we smoke them.

And even things we think aren’t made of plants – oil, petrol, coal,

plastics – have their origins in the great primeval forests.

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Most of us in the developed world now live in happy ignorance of

the processes and people that bring us the amazing products that

give us our standard of living. And the cost of this ignorance is an

irresponsible, inequitable and unsustainable use of the

world’s resources.

We care not what the life expectancy of a banana plantation worker

is, poisoned by pesticides, providing we can have cheap bananas.

We must have chocolate, not understanding that the price of

our sweet tooth is many acres of rainforest turned over to

cocoa plantation, some of it harvested by child slave labour.

We no longer respect the seasons, expecting mange tout

peas to be flown to us from Africa in midwinter. We have

become disconnected in a fundamental way from nature

and natural processes and cycles.

This is not healthy.

In the gentlest of ways, without making people feel depressed or

guilty, at the Eden Project we are inviting people to engage with

these ideas, to celebrate our dependence on nature and on each

other, and to start recognising the power and responsibility we have

to respect our resources and share them.

So this then is the content of the Eden Project, its meaning.

But it has another healing mission too: the regeneration of our home,

Cornwall. We have taken a big hole in the ground, stabilised it,

drained it, landscaped and planted it, and given it a contemporary

role and meaning.

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We currently employ 500 people all the year round in real jobs. In

our first year of operation 2 million people visited us, four times what

was expected. It is estimated that more than £900 million has now

been put back into the local economy. New businesses have started

and are thriving, many picking up on Eden themes of sustainability;

restaurants cooking and serving locally grown food, recycling

companies collecting and processing waste, other gardens opening to

the public, plant nurseries growing unfamiliar plants associated with

familiar products – bananas, coffee, papaya – for people to buy and

nurture at home.

We talked about the nature of experience, learning

and behaviour change, and the relationship of

emotion to these things.

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When we started on this journey, we did some field research. We

went to the other science parks, museums and galleries and watched

visitors’ behaviour around the exhibits. We watched people

not reading text panels. We watched people not watching

films, no matter how beautifully produced. We saw a child

playing with one of those interactive exhibits in the

London Aquarium. You had to push the right buttons

and the display panel would light up showing you where fish lived,

or what they ate, or some such. He was having a great time hitting

the red buttons, but no connection was being made with the content

of the exhibit. But we saw the same child later queuing to touch the

back of a real stingray in a pool.

We started playing the ‘Day Out’

game inviting people to describe

encounters and experiences that

had stayed with them, changed them

in some way (see ‘A Day Out’).

At Eden we have taken the idea of these transformative moments

and turned them to the purposes of education. And now we have to

unpick our assumptions about what constitutes education.

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Each exhibit has behind it mountains of data about the history,

botany, politics, science, economic significance, myths and legends

of the plant in question. And the temptation when you have this

knowledge in the bank is to tell it all, to transmit it. But that isn’t

education. In a world where information is only a Google mouse-click

away, it seems less and less important to focus our resources and

visitors’ time on the delivery of pure facts.

Understanding patterns, making connections with one’s own life,

provoking curiosity seem much more significant. And sometimes

simply getting out of the way, resisting the temptation to mediate, to

interpret, to tell…

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We recently undertook a review of the Eden Project guides, observing

them at work, and as a result developed a kind of ‘triage’, a hierarchy

for the content they might deliver. Here are some examples to

illustrate the different levels.

At the bottom level is the meaningless

buzz of irrelevant information. One guide told us, ‘Spain produces

12 million litres of olive oil a year.’ This fact is only remotely

interesting if you are an olive oil producer. And if you are you

probably already know it. Delete.

Next comes information that carries a freight

of understanding or revelation. For example: ‘The amount of

government subsidy received by cotton farmers in the USA is greater

than the entire GNP of Burkina Faso, whose main export is cotton.’

Highest in the hierarchy comes stories that bring

human content, create empathy, carry an emotional charge of some

kind… ‘An Aid NGO was engaged in work in Senegal. In one village

the women had to walk 6 kilometres to the nearest safe well to fetch

water. The NGO sank a borehole right in the middle of the village.

Two weeks later it had been vandalised. They returned and repaired

the damage. Two weeks later it happened again. Mystified they

returned to the village to find out what was going on. The women

were vandalising the borehole. The 6km walk to the well was the only

time they had to themselves, away from the demands of their children

and menfolk. At the well they would rest, talk, tell stories, gossip.’

This story gives us that precious thing, a window on other people’s

lives, and a reminder not to assume that everyone else shares our

values and our conceptual framework.

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So this is the balance we try to strike between ‘sense’ and ‘sensibility’,

between information and experience. We don’t always get it right,

but it’s a very interesting process… And some visitors want factual

content. The gardeners who visit would like every single plant

specimen labelled. We choose not to label everything, on the basis

that we would end up with a veritable graveyard of labels. So we’re

experimenting with other ways of targeting this information –

booklets, people, web-pages, even audio guides.

On the other hand we are extremely opportunistic in our

appropriation of every available encounter or transaction

as a means of engaging and communicating.

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Much existing interpretation employs the values and approaches

in the left-hand column. Indeed if you want to educate to a specific

output (e.g. knowing how to re-wire a plug or the detailed processes

of photo-synthesis) you will need to use some of this more linear tool-

kit. However if you seek to create a fertile learning environment, the

right-hand side becomes more interesting.

This binary list was created by Dr Ian Russell, leading science educator and exhibit inventor.

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What do you remember about your childhood? Making dens, climbing

trees, playing outdoors with friends perhaps? What did it do for

you? Fond memories possibly but play has also helped all of us to

become more rounded citizens; happy, fulfilled, able to interact with

others, communicate, understand our environment and live, survive

and contribute to a positive society. Today more children play indoors

rather than out and take part in solitary rather than social activities,

children are suffering from stress, are less fit and parents are

concerned about safety … so how on earth can they learn the things

we learnt through play as children?

The situation is getting serious.

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Play occurs in all cultures and persists in the most adverse

circumstances; a drive to play is innate. However:

‘Children’s natural propensity to play has been impaired by the loss

of suitable public space, the impact of technology, such as television,

the personal computer and the motor car, and the changing attitude

of society towards children, reflected, for instance, in the increase in

parental anxiety about child safety. Play provision should compensate

for this loss.’ – Best Play, National Playing Fields Association,

Play Link, Children’s Play Council. (2000)

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Open-ended learning through play is linked to psychological,

personal and social development, as well as the acquisition of skills

and knowledge.

‘A Swedish comparative study of “standard” v “outdoors in

all weathers” nurseries shows significant differences in child

development: children were less sick, motor development was

more advanced, power of concentration was heightened, play

activities were more diverse, especially in the affective,

imaginative and social domains.’

– Natural Learning Initiative, NC State University.

Through play children explore social, material and imaginary worlds

and their relationship with them, elaborating all the while a flexible

range of responses to challenges they encounter. Good play

experiences support the development of autonomous adults, with

a strong sense of personal identity, who are effective in society as

parents, workers, informed consumers and active citizens.

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Without play children may lose the chance to develop their emotional

intelligence, independence, self-esteem and self-confidence,

acquisition of self-management skills and much more.

Eden aims to reconnect people with the natural world, and each

other, working towards a positive future for all. Our children will soon

be the decision makers in this world so it is vital that we provide

dedicated inspirational experiences for them on site. Eden is not only

a vehicle for education and communication but also explores ways in

which people learn and develop. We aim to share this knowledge with

educators, museums, science centres, botanic gardens, schools etc.

That is, all those involved in formal and informal education.

Research has shown that knowledge alone does not lead to behaviour

change and that changing values alone does not lead to

behaviour change. What does work is connectivity,

re-connectivity, experience and participation.

Play is the first step.

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Through play children develop a range of skills that equip them

for life; physical skills, language and social skills, positive attitudes,

increased concentration, tolerance, perseverance and much more.

Through play children learn how to learn, how to solve problems,

how to string bits of behaviour together.

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These were the interpretation principles we developed at Eden

Project, which informed our choices:

• Wewanttogenerate inourvisitors.

To provoke joy and curiosity. To break through cynicism.

• Wewanttomakeexhibitsandspacesthatwillgenerate

as well as excitement and inspiration.

• Wewilltrytoencourage ratherthanjust

transmitting facts, to illuminate connections between our daily

choices, and the effects those choices might have on the planet

and our futures.

• Wewanttheexhibitstobe andfriendly,

made of tactile materials. With such sensational cutting-edge

architecture, we don’t need to convince anyone that we are

modern/scientific etc.

• Wewantthevisitorstobeactive,navigatingthesiteintheir

own way, making their own joining things up.

Some things will remain unmediated.

• Wewanttheexhibitstobe provokingcomment

and conversation, not one person at a time interacting with a

screen or panel.

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• Wewon’tcoverthesitewithtext,whichcanactuallystoppeople

from experiencing things. Apart from the purely factual text (e.g.

plant labels) we will play with other forms:

• Wewanttotheexhibitsintothelandscapeand

planting, so that people don’t feel they are walking through a

museum or a sculpture park.

• Itiscounter-productivetomakepeoplefeelguiltyorpreached

at, so as far as possible we will celebrate the good things that are

happening rather than focusing on the bad.

• Nudgeratherthanbully!Howdoyoumakepeopledowhatyou

want them to if you don’t believe in bossing them around?

(The example given in the book Nudge is taken from Amsterdam

airport. You can’t ban men from peeing on the bathroom floor, but

you can encourage them to indulge in a little point-and-shoot play

byprintingasmallflyontheurinals!)

• willbeakeypartofourtoolkit.

• Theartwillbeaccessiblebutnotdumb;nobodyshouldbemade

to feel stupid by it. We will play with forms

(hence narrative automata,

storytelling, puppetry etc).

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• Thedeeperlevelsofinformationandunderstandingwillbe

delivered by – Guides, Storytellers and Pollinators.

• Wewillmakevisibleourownprocessesasmodelsforgood

practice – – local sourcing, use of recyclates,

water harvesting etc.

• Wewillcreateopportunitiesforvisitorsto

in a meaningful way, contributing their stories, ideas and opinions

to the mix. The most powerful and memorable experiences are

created when people place themselves in the frame. And after

all, if we are seeking behavioural change in order to live within

our means on our planet, then encouraging activity rather than

passivity is a vital part of our toolkit.

• Therewillbeanemphasison,ephemeral

installations, events and exhibits, expressing change

and seasonality.

• Wewillbeaplaceof,non-corporateand

without a party-line on controversial issues. Our tone of voice will

be questioning rather than assertive. We will not provide badge or

advertising space for sponsors, guarding our independent stance.

• willplayasignificantroleinthe

rhythms of our year.

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you can collect excellent data or narrative, and at the same time

enroll people in the most compelling way, by encouraging them to

contribute their ideas or opinions. We are increasingly becoming

involved in public consultation and engagement processes and

have been evolving a series of principles for creating

stimulating environments in which people feel more confident at

expressing their true feelings, opinions and beliefs:

• Mostoftheprofessionalandproprietaryengagementtoolsare

very direct – asking questions like:

They often only engage the usual suspects; the people who would

make their voices heard anyway. A sideways approach is more

creative and stimulates a broader response and we have found

is more likely to lead to community cohesion and a willingness to

change/work together.

• Differenttypesofengagementareappropriateatdifferentstages

in a project. is a great way

to kick off a consultation process. A community event that creates

cohesion and team spirit before dealing with the harder questions.

This will be particularly important for resource/sustainability issues

where collective action is essential to make a real difference.

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• Thequestionsandapproachesshouldbetailoredtotheoutcome

or audience. It’s good to devise questions that are open

and that require a response – ‘Your

community has been given a disused clay-quarry to develop. What

would you like to use it for?’ for instance.

• areagood

place to start engaging. Memory triggers imagination and

planning – and research has found that it employs the same part

of the brain.

• Forpublicengagement/consultation,peoplearegivingup

their personal – value and respect this. Don’t waste

people’s time.

• Explainclearlyandwhathappensnext.

• Don’tassumetoomuchaboutwhatpeopleknowaboutthesubject

youwanttoengagethemon(they’retheexperts!).Makethe

baseline context

and use understandable language.

• Don’tassumethatpeoplecanreadandwrite–notallcan.Include

and to appeal to a wider range of people.

• Createa –comfortable

and with familiar cultural references.

(in England), flowers, images. Create an inspirational environment –

aformalroomdoesnotinspire!

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• Planthesessionwelltocreatean

• Imagesandartifactsareusefulto

• Use techniques–

to provoke more creative, imaginative responses.

• isimportant–collaborationand

brainstorming sparks other ideas. It also reinforces the idea that

you can achieve more working as a team.

• ispowerful–itworkswellifrecordedas

direct quotes, video etc.

• It’svitalthatpeoplefeelliketheyare

Demonstrate you’re listening by and making

notes. We often take a laptop and scanner to

capture peoples’ images and memorabilia. is important,

treat the material you are given or loaned with the utmost respect.

• isimportant–it’ssometimesusefulto

have an independent third party in a debate between community/

council. Similarly, independent facilitation can be valuable.

• Thistypeofengagementtechnique(,)

may seem informal but the results can, and should, still be

recorded and evaluated.

• Celebrate–thiscreatesapositivemindset.

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At Eden, we started with possibly the most exciting challenge in

the world: to find new ways of communicating the intimacy of the

relationships between and . We made

an early decision to commission artists to create the exhibits,

rather than a corporate design house. This sowed the seeds for

a completely unique approach to interpretation, and did so for a

fraction of the price of a design company.

Unlike most other publicly funded projects we decided not to employ

a competitive tendering system. To get the best work and integrate

it well into the site, it was vital that artists engaged fully with the

ideas and mission, and were able to work closely with Eden science,

horticulture and landscape teams. We identified interesting artists in

a wide range of media, and gave them a small amount of no-strings

‘play-money’, usually in the region of GBP 600. The ‘no strings’ deal

meant that there was no obligation on Eden’s part to commission a

final piece of artwork, but equally there was no pressure on the artist

to deliver a polished proposal.

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The idea was to make the process as open-ended, open-minded

and creative as possible. The artists were then assigned to particular

exhibit ideas and areas of the landscape or Biomes, given a pack

of research material (including social, historical, horticultural and

economic data) and a scientist or horticulturalist to work with.

After an agreed period of time they would present the results of

their explorations. This proved to be a very productive process –

artists returned buzzing with ideas and often with multiple proposals,

designs and maquettes. We moved to full commission in around 70%

of cases.

A note of caution – commissioning a design company is relatively

simple; you establish the brief, budget and programme. You get what

youaskfor/payfor,nomore,noless.Workingwithartistsisdifferent!

Every artist has a different approach, methodology and timescale,

and makes widely differing demands on the client. Managing these

relationships requires flexibility, patience, energy and love. But we

believe the richness and quality of the work make it worth the effort.

We sourced artists initially from Cornwall and the South West’s wealth

of visual arts talent, and allowed the artists to make their own, very

personal responses to the ideas and spaces. ,

, , , ,

amongst many others, have helped to create the strong house style of

the Eden Project – its distinctive personality.

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Working with artists means that their exhibits tend to feel

handmade and friendly, human – they have handprints all over them.

They help to make our gobsmacking, awe-inspiring architecture more

approachable. Setting artists to work with scientists, horticulturalists

and landscape designers has often provoked artworks very different

to anything they had previously created and truly unique to the

Eden Project.

The decision to use artists has thrown up some interesting issues.

The independent voice of the artist tends to produce a less

authoritarian statement – it is

and can be . This has

positive value (especially at a time when public perception of science

verges on the openly hostile, mistrustful). It permits and encourages

debate. It can help to enrol the viewer; it invites participation,

active engagement.

When viewing much contemporary interpretation in other visitor

attractions, museums, science centres etc, the overwhelming

impression you come away with is of being sold something, being

sold an idea. It’s authoritarian, corporate – not corporate in the sense

that it’s got McDonalds or Nike written all over it, but corporate in

the sense that it uses a consistent visual toolkit, (logos, unified single

font text, machined finish on artifacts and exhibits, impressive IT)

producing a single organisational identity, a brand, and a tone of

voice which says,

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It seeks to deliver an unambiguous, one-size-fits-all message to

everyone. This position is increasingly inappropriate, because in the

minds of the public it is no longer true; .

Or rather ‘Scientists are too closely associated with political or

commercial interests for their work to be incontrovertibly regarded

as objective.’

At Eden we have consciously worked with artists to make

environments, exhibits and events that are complex, ambiguous,

unpatronising. Unlike McDonalds, we don’t ascribe much value to

consistency – ‘the same burger the world over’. Every person who

visits us will have very much their own experience, depending on

their age, ethnicity, whether they love or hate plants, art, modern

architecture, Cornwall etc. There is no formal corporate identity;

we use a plethora of fonts and handwriting to communicate with.

The tone of voice is not assertive or authoritarian. Rather than

saying, ‘This is how the world works,’ it tends to say, ‘I think this

is interesting...’

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We have used artists –

– to create the exhibits at Eden, because they are uniquely equipped

to make experiences that are sensual, emotional, awe-inspiring,

curiosity-provoking, beautiful, human and authentic. This isn’t just

decorative – we want to people so that they can hear and see

the ideas at Eden, to make connections about the choices they make

in their daily lives.

Eden is clearly not an authentic series of landscapes – it is about

as contrived as it is possible to be – a tiny rainforest, bite-sized

sunflower, tea and apple plantations, half an acre of prairie... But the

effort, the intention, the mission is authentic. We think this is what

turns people on. The Eden Project is about making money. It is

about entertaining or distracting tourists. It , naively, about

changing the world, about making a difference. To do this it must

illuminate the complexities of our relationships with nature, without

depressing people into inactivity, without proposing a ‘right’ answer

(there are no right answers), without telling people what to think.

And there is no one better fitted for this task than the Artist.

It is not useful, however, to expect artists to deliver information or

didactic messages (they are much better at proposing questions than

communicating answers); we have to find other media to do that, if

that what we want to do.

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• willoftendeterminechoiceofmedium–

a good starting point for selection of artists.

• .Seekartistswhosecreativejourney

is outward rather than inward, and who are comfortable with

collaborative processes.

• workoftenproducesinteresting

results. Mixing artists with scientists, environmentalists, landscape

architects creates lively cross-fertilisation of approaches and ideas.

• Givingartists canreaprichrewards,

especially if you are able to link them in to other disciplines.

This may not be possible if protocols require you to employ a

competitive tendering process – you can’t productively link 3 or 4

competingartiststothesamescientistorgardener!

• Giveartists –tootightabriefwill

cramp their style (you might just as well have commissioned a

design agency).

• Butbepreparedforthehigherlevelof involved–youmay

notgetwhatyouexpect!

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• It’simportanttoissuea or

when you move to commission, detailing timescales, budget,

preferred materials, expected lifespan, installation time on site,

liability, maintenance and copyright issues. If you want to use

images of the final piece in marketing or merchandising, this should

be covered in the agreement. Usually artists will own the copyright

on their work.

• artistsonsite,inmediaandonweb.

• artistsinanydecisionsconcerningtheirwork–

cleaning, repairing, relocating, decommissioning. It’s rude not to…

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We used these questions, printed on tiny cards, for two of our public

talks in Brisbane. These cards had originally been produced as an

experiment in creating a convivial conversation space during the Eden

Sessions, our summer sequence of concerts. The original aims of the

exercise were:

• Toopenhearts,engageminds,expandimagination.

• Gatherinspirationalmaterialforfurtherinterpretation.

• Toinformusaboutourvisitorsinamoreintuitiveway.

• Toresearchthekindofquestions/topicsthatworkbestforopening

conversations and provoking stories.

• Tohelpusselectindividuals,familiesandgroupsthatmightbe

ready to ‘play’ i.e. to participate in a more active, creative way in a

game, ceremony or theatre event.

It was not the intention to undertake any formal quantitative

evaluation of the results, rather to use them as an expanding resource

of ideas, narrative and information. Visitors completing a full set of

questions were given a stamped postcard to send to someone they

hadn’t contacted for a while.

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• What’sthebiggestriskyou’veevertaken?

• Youcanchoose3thingstoputinaboxthatwillvanishfromtheworldforever.

What are they?

• Youcanchoose3thingstoputinaboxthatreflectyouroptimismabout

the world. What are they?

• Wheredoyoufeelcalmest?

• What’sthefirstthingyouremember?

• Whatpersonlivingordeadwouldyoumostliketomeet?

• Whatdoyouknownowthatyouwishyou’dknownwhenyouwereyounger?

• Thehouseisburningdown–whatdoyourescue?

• Ifyoucouldchangeplaceswithsomeoneforaday,whowoulditbe?

(And what would you do?)

• Howwouldyouliketoberemembered?

• What’sthemostselflessthingyou’veeverdone?

• What’sthemostevocativesmellforyou?

• Whatbookhasmostmovedyou?

• Ifyoucouldinstantlyacquireoneskillwhatwoulditbe?

• What’syourtopnature-moment,somethingyousaworexperiencedthat

connected you to the natural world in a special way?

• Dyingwishes…Youcanhaveonelastdance–what’sthemusic?

You can have one last kiss – what’s the song? One last meal – what is it?

We framed these questions carefully so that visitors didn’t think we’re

embarking on a psychotherapy trip – we introduced them like this: ‘In

all the background noise, rush and fizz in our lives it’s sometimes hard

to focus on the things that matter.

We want to understand if there are common things that move us and

connect us. Please help us by answering these questions. Some are

daft, some are serious, and some just us being nosy. Answer all 16

and you get to send a message to someone you haven’t contacted in

a while.

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Sue Hill (far right)58.

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The objective of the workshop was to introduce Brisbane City Council

staff to a range of creative community engagement techniques and

exercises that have been successfully used by the Eden Team. While

the outcome of the individual exercises was not the objective of the

training, the exercises were all themed around sustainability and also,

over the day-and-a-half, took the participants through a process

which involved:

• Examininggeneralissuesaroundsustainability

(‘Coffee Trails’ exercise),

• Imaginingthefuture(‘Islands’exercise),

• Developinganactionplantoachievethevisionandalso

considering barriers along the way (‘Road Map’ exercise); and

• Considertheskillsneededtosucceedonthejourney(‘Super-

heroes’ exercise).

The workshop trained the participants in the use of a ‘toolkit’ of

approaches, principles and techniques that the Eden Project has been

developing over the last ten years.

The key message is that community engagement:

• Shouldbefunandenjoyableforalltheparticipants.

• Shouldhavea‘serious’purpose;notawasteoftime.

• Theprocessandoutcomesarepersonalandmeaningfultothe

participants; thought provoking leading to behaviour change.

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All activities and timings for the training workshop were carefully

planned well ahead of the event. This is important to ensure that

there was adequate time to achieve the objectives and that there

was adequate materials and equipment to carry out the exercises.

Planning ahead also meant there was opportunity for the ‘client’ to

comment and contribute to the programme. Prior to the workshop,

the programme was reviewed with the facilitators and changes made

in response to their comments.

Planned times are shown with (actual times in brackets).

Important to follow timings as closely as possibly but also allow some

flexibility. Aim not to cut back on feedback and ‘show & tell’ time.

Mix in exercises that can be done quickly which involve less feedback.

Change the scale and rhythm of the tasks so that participants don’t

get bored or tired by repetition. Alternate active with passive, large

groupworkwithmoreintimatetasks,sillywithserious!

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9:00-9:15 Warm-up: ‘Bingo’ All

9:15-9:30 Introductions & ‘housekeeping’ Jen/Loretta

Ground rules for the workshop Sue

9:30-10:15 ‘A Day Out….’ Exercise in groups

Feedback Groups & one to all

Conclusions Sue

10:15-10:45 MORNING TEA

10:45-11:15 ‘Coffee Trails’ Exercise in groups

(11:30) Show & tell Group present to all

Conclusions Sue

11:15-12:00 Engagement and interpretation

principles: Eden-style

Presentation – Sue

(11:30-12:15)

12:00-12:30 ‘Cat or Dog’ All

(12:15-12:30) Discussion Sue & all

12:30-13:30 LUNCH

13:30-13:45 Warm-up: Singing Sue

13:45-15:00 ‘Island Brisbane’ exercise Brief: Sue

Exercise in groups

15:00-15:30 (Work through) AFTERNOON TEA

15:00-15:45 ‘Island Brisbane’ - Show and tell Groups feedback to all

15:45-16:00 Tidy up and wrap up Groups with facilitator

16:00 FINISH

16:00-16:45 Groups feedback Facilitators

9:00-9:30 Warm-up: ‘Off-balance’, ‘Master &

Servant’, ‘Pass the Squeeze’

Sue

9:30-10:15 ‘Road map’ exercise

Themes, audiences and obstacles

Smaller group, together

10:15-10:45 MORNING TEA

10:45-11:15

(10:45-11:45)

‘Road map,’ show & tell

11:15-12:15

(11:45-12:15)

‘Superheroes’ and pledges

Show and tell within Groups

Individuals working in

original groups

12:15-12:30 Tidy up ‘How was it for you’ Groups

12:30 FINISH

12:30-14:00 Lunch and feedback from facilitators.

BCC actions and how to grow this.

Facilitators Jen/Lauretta

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Approximately 70 participants attended Day 1. This is a large group

for this kind of workshop, which works best with 30-40 people. A

larger group means that more of the ‘show and tell’ and feedback has

to take place in small groups rather than with the whole team.

In this case, participants were not given a programme for the day,

so they didn’t know what was coming or what would be expected of

them. This keeps the energy of the group higher, builds anticipation

and keeps the activities spontaneous.

It is important to work in beautiful and inspiring places. Our workshop

room was not very beautiful – without natural light, fresh air, breakout

space or outdoor work space. We did what we could to make it better

by decorating it the day before with saris, tablecloths and fairy lights

to make it appear less austere and more lovely.

Materials for the exercises were prepared but left covered so that

they weren’t a distraction. Tables were set out for groups of 8-10.

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At the start of an event, people tend to gravitate towards the same

familiar groups of people they know and work with. This is a simple

warm-up exercise to get people talking to a wider range of people.

They may even find out things they didn’t know about people they

workwith!

Everyone was given a 3x4 bingo card with statements, e.g. ‘…is a

vegetarian’, ‘…cycles to work’, ‘…has an outdoor dunny’ and so on.

Delegates have to find a different name to fill in each box and when

alltheboxesarecompleted–shout‘bingo!’andthegameisover.

Check if anyone else is nearly finished.

We only played this game for 15 minutes but it can be longer if

there are more squares. There are many variations to this game and

questions can be themed (e.g. ‘eco-bingo’). The results of the game

can also be recorded and used as part of a data gathering exercise to

determine the level of personal commitment/understanding of

an issue.

Warm-ups (we did several during the course of the workshop)

are important to set the tone of the day – keep it fun – and more

importantly, to maintain energy levels. Do a warm-up whenever

you feel they are needed. They don’t have to be complicated, just

involve everyone and play to your strengths as workshop leader.

Songs, games, clapped rhythms, whatever. It’s good to establish that

playfulness is vital for grown-up creativity.

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• Travelnaively–wewon’tbetellingyoutheplanfortheday.

• Youwillgothroughaseriesofactivitiesthatwillilluminatethe

way we do things at Eden. Some may be directly relevant to your

work, some won’t, some you will have to adapt to be more

relevant to you.

• Thetrainingwillbethroughexperience,thisisnotatechnical,

conceptual, theoretical exercise.

• Noneedtowritenotes(unlessyouwantto)asyouwillbesenta

manual with all the information in it.

• Therewillbesometimeforcriticismandanalysisbutitwillbeup

to you to work out how to take this forward.

• Yourjobistohavefun.

It’s useful to establish an agreed contract of behaviour at the

beginning of the workshop. The ground rules were developed by

all (except the first, which is easier for the workshop leader to ask

for!).Morerulescanbeaddedasthedayprogressesifnecessary.

They were written on a flip chart for easy reference throughout the

workshop. This group’s rules were:

• Nohierarchy,you’rehereasyou(thisisveryimportant).

• Turnoffphones.

• Sharematerials–playnicely.

• Listen–allvoicesarevalid.

• PLAY.

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To understand what we remember and why as a key to developing the

strategies for interpretation and engagement that are most likely to

lead to behaviour change.

‘Think about a day out, an experience you’ve had in a public space

that made a great impression on you. It might be in a museum or

gallery, a theme park, an aquarium, a garden or stately home, a piece

of architecture, old or new, on the side of a mountain, in a city or a

forest. The important thing is that you experienced something that

stayed with you. It may have been so impressive that you wanted to

tell everybody about it, or so powerful and personal that you decided

to keep it to yourself...’

In groups of 5 or 6 everyone describes their experience to the rest of

their group – about 2 minutes per person. Choose one of the stories

from each group to tell everyone. Feedback method needs to be

tailored depending on the number of people participating.

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Eden and Sue have now played this game with thousands of people.

Everyone’s story is different but there are always consistent themes.

‘Raise your hand if you had any of these in your story.’ These themes

crop up again and again:

• –bignessandsmallness;thedinosaurskeletonin

the London Natural History Museum, seeing a whale rise to the

surface, the view through an electron microscope of human cells.

Scale of time too – finding a seabed fossil on top of a mountain in

the Sinai Desert.

• –colour,perfume,noise,light;standingin

the lavender fields at Grasse in France, the hot, wet smell in the

rainforest, the absolute darkness down a mine.

• –astrangelyold-fashionedword.Butpeoplerespond

to beauty very powerfully; silvery shoaling fish in the Aquarium

moving through the water like starlings through air, the ordinary,

heartstopping daily spectacle of the sun setting through clouds.

• –whethergeneralorpersonal;

the graffiti scratched into the walls at Robben Island, much of it

about love, the steam engine like the one that my grandfather

maintained ... understanding shared human-ness across boundaries

of language, time, race, culture.

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• –forhumaneffort,skill,imagination,whether

exercised by marathon runner, mother, engineer, artist.

• –atEden,

children are dumbstruck to see cocoa pods growing straight out of

thetrunkofthetree–‘Andthat’schocolate??!’

• –sheerwonderatthemysteryandscopeofnatural

processes and events, icebergs, calving, the moon eclipsing the

sun, lambing.

• –thisistheroomthatAnneFrankhidin,this

is the mark that Rembrandt himself made, this is the place where

John Kennedy was shot. The reproductions of the cave paintings in

Lascaux are exquisite but will never carry the emotional power of

the originals, the marks made by prehistoric men and women.

• –anyexperienceismade

more powerful and significant by the effort or risk required to

get there; the sunrise looks even more amazing if you’ve climbed

the mountain to see it, the whaleshark bigger, spottier and more

awesome if you’ve bobbed in a boat for 3 days to find one, the

mela more inspiring if you’ve discovered it yourself without help of

tourist guide or travel agency.

• …andevenmorememorableifyou’vejoinedin

thedancing!

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Nobody ever talks about the fantastic text panel, or the touch

screen technology.

They don’t talk about the ice cream.

They talk about experience. Real experience. And emotion.

This is the mother lode: our emotional connection to nature and to

each other.

These stories describe transformative moments in people’s lives,

when their relationships to their environment, their community,

their family or themselves shift and change; the most fundamental

learning experience.

Reflect about this in your practice.

What are the tools you generally use to communicate and interpret?

How enjoyable was it listening to stories of others?

Remember the power of narrative.

(Refer to 2.I for a summary of how the outcomes of this exercise have

been translated into Eden’s interpretation principles).

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This exercise takes an everyday product – a cup of coffee – and then asks

participants to connect it with ideas of environmental, social and economic

sustainability. It highlights the connections between people and places (near and

far) and how the decisions we make over something as simple as making a cup of

coffee have far reaching implications. It also highlights the complexity of issues

around sustainability.

Unpacking environmental, social and economic impacts in this way helps us

understand what sustainability means. If working with a community group,

this exercise will give you a very clear idea of their level of understanding of

sustainability issues which should inform where to pitch further discussion

and engagement. It helps to make the invisible visible.

[This exercise could also be carried out with any everyday object …

tea, wine, cakes etc.]

Consider a cup of coffee you’ve just had (this obviously works well after morning

or afternoon tea) and think about all the ingredients. What are the social,

environmental and economic impacts relating to the coffee, milk, sugar, water,

energy, the cup… Working as a group, map, write and illustrate the issues onto a

large piece of paper. Let participants know how long they’ve got to work on this

and keep track of the time, letting them know when they have 5 minutes left

to complete.

The next step is to share each group’s coffee trail with the rest of the participants

– “let’s hear about it” – a representative from each group gives a guided tour of

theirgroup’swork.(Alwaysgoodtoencourageapplause!)Displayeachgroup’s

‘trail’ on the wall for others to look at during breaks. Photograph or record the

outcomes as a record (less critical for the Training than working with a community

towards an objective).

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Who

Decides?

Economic

Natural

Social

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A1orbiggerpaper(e.g.flipchartpaper),thickandthintextas.Copiouscoffee!

The complexity of the trails revealed an extremely high level of understanding of

social, environmental and financial issues related to sustainability. You would not

want to patronize these participants with elementary information or exercises on

sustainability!

The environmental and many of the social and financial impacts of a standard cup

of coffee were quite overwhelmingly negative but could be balanced (among

coffee drinkers) by the social benefits of meeting friends for a coffee. It made

many of us wonder whether we should be drinking coffee so, by unpicking the

issues, it was influencing behaviour.

Sustainability is a complex issue and everyone is at a different point in

understanding it. There isn’t a right answer. This exercise helps us understand

where other people are in the process and how to help them have greater

understanding. At Eden, we use the compass points as a reminder of

N(nature/environment), S(social), E(economic) and add ‘W’ – who decides?

Who has the power?

This exercise demonstrates the necessary complexity of any thinking around

sustainability. People often want black-and-white answers (especially media and

politicians!)–what’shappening?

What is the answer? How do we communicate complexity? We need to develop

a matrix of possibility and understandings. A cup of coffee is part of our culture –

what would be the negative impacts of taking this away and not allowing people

the choice?

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A ten-minute game to spark a discussion on diversity; ways different people see

the world and also have different ways of absorbing information (learning). The

point is to understand the need to consider (in interpretation and engagement)

what you are telling people and how are you telling them. The importance of

targeting information to the audience; meeting people where they are.

Participants make their personal choices with as orange sticker on posters pinned

on the wall. In this case the choices were:•Picturesorwords •Lectureordebate•Walkorrun •Rainforestorbeach•Catordog •Soundorsmell•Headorheart •Backyardbarbieornightclub

But the choices could be targeted towards a specific theme or type of outcome.

At Eden, we used this game to work out how staff preferred to receive information

– staff meetings or internet newsletters etc.

There are no right and wrong answers. Were there any surprises? Gives us a strong

sense of our glorious diversity – one size does not fit all in relation to audiences.

This is a quick and fun way of getting good data; the outcomes are easy to quantify.

It is also a way of understanding more about who you’re dealing with. We didn’t

have time to pursue other themes but this exercise could spark a discussion about

how Council should approach its communication with the community, such as:

• Toneofvoice–‘professional’orcolloquial?

• ‘Nannystate’or‘Nudge’?Peoplereactagainstbeingtoldwhattodoby

government and public bodies, they need to be ‘nudged’ to do the right thing.

• Campaignsordebates?

• Tellorteach?

See also Ian Russell’s ‘Minds-on or Hearts-on’, 1:III.

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Jane Knight (left)80.

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We often work with the past as a way of understanding people’s

attachments, values and understanding of a place. Imagining the

future is, however, much harder and this exercise is a fun, absorbing

and revealing way of doing this.

The exercise is about creating visions of what a sustainable Brisbane

might look like in 20 years’ time (an Urban Eden?). What are the

impacts of our actions? The exercise:

• tapsintoparticipants’knowledgeonsustainability.

• helpsidentifyrecurrentthemesandrevealswhatisleftout.

• makessomething-morerealthanapaperexercise.

• requiresnegotiationwithinthegrouponwhatshouldbeincluded.

• requiresworkingtogethertofindsolutions.

• usesplaytoelicitseriousthinkingaboutthefuture.

[This exercise could be carried out for any scale project – school,

community, park, playground etc.]

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Work in groups of 4-5 to create an idealized State of Brisbane in 20

years’ time in a roasting tin with the materials provided. It may have

connections with wider region.

What will it be like? What will it have with it? You will need to

negotiate within your group – is it a rainforest paradise or nightclub

central? Picture a world, picture a better world, now put yourself in it.

Spend1hour15mins.onthis.Don’tspendallthetimetalking!

Save time for doing. Explore materials, this will give you ideas.

5 minutes before completion - give your island/city a name.

Show and tell – a tour of the city by the government representatives

from each city.

• Largebakingtrays,cheaptintraysorlargeseedtrays.Theyneed

tobebigenoughtobuildasatisfactoryislandon!Onetrayper

group of 3 to 6.

• Bucketsofsoil,sand,rocks,pebbles,shells(andsheetpolytheneor

dust sheets to make sure you don’t make too much mess).

• Cutfoliage,twigs,grasses,nuts,flowers,seedsetc.

• Thincard-colours

• Colouredpaperandtissue

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• Corrugatedcard(cardboardboxesarefine)

• Interesting,clean,saferubbish–eggboxes,plasticpotsandfood

containers, foil, cloth etc

• Clay,salt-doughorplasticine

• Thinstring

• Thingardenwire

• Thickandthintextas–lotsofcolours

• Thumbtacks,pins,paperclips

• Blu-tak

• Maskingtape,gaffertape,doublesidedtape

• Scissors,craftknives(N.B.useacuttingboardifusinga

Stanley knife.)

• Bigrangeofmaterialsfrom‘ReverseGarbage’–bitsoffabric,

mosaic tiles, bits of wood etc. etc. Anything that looks interesting

and inspiring but the use isn’t too defined. Best not to use real

images e.g. magazine photos – the exercise is to make your own.

Setyourselfabudgetsoyoudon’tgettoocarriedaway!

You get the idea… adult playgroup … so add more delights to

thelist!

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Green River City

Organica

Yummavilia

Chillax

Sol

Brisneyland

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These were the fantastic island cities that were made during the

workshop:

A clean, green (vertical and horizontal), interconnected city.

Buildings move for optimal solar orientation and 360-degree views.

A multi-generational building – a nice and accessible place to

accommodate a growing and aging population.

A peaceful place to live in harmony with natural environment – with

a hand-made focus. ‘Living in peaceful places, listening to nature’s

voices, magic happens.’

An environmentally conscious city that integrates performance and art

into the fabric – with lots of texture and colour.

Living within an enormous city garden with its own bio-waste

treatment plant.

Post-Crash, the temporary dwelling place of a ‘back to basics’,

nomadic community who place high value on celebration, spirituality

and making hunter gathering fun.

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Almajaluste

Harmony

Slow Movement Community Sun CBD

State of Hope

Edenville

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An iconic city known for its excellent eggplant curry. With controlled

population numbers, it places emphasis on culture and Montessori

education.

An ultra-efficient and self-sufficient city with a tiny carbon footprint

Peace is at the heart of this safe, sustainable and culturally diverse

community. Emphasis is placed on connections and a socially

responsible economy.

With its optimistic outlook and sustainable principles, this place is

full of iconic features including a decorated water tower, the worship

‘rocks’ and a telecom tower.

Visit this exclusive and self-sufficient island by invitation only. The

residents have specific roles in the island’s running but still find time

to gather around the fire, drum and dance around a maypole.

In this sustainable place, focus is on the business and learning building

– residents attend school at the bottom and work up through the

university at mid-level.

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Reflection on the day is important for the workshop leaders to

evaluate the day and plan for Day 2. This was done in the original

groups with group facilitators pulling together comments:

• Enjoyedstories–inspiringtotaketimetolistenandshare.

• Informal,playfulapproachwasfun,energisingandtriggeredthe

imagination – new ways of thinking.

• Participantsenjoying‘doing’andthephysicalityofmaterials.

The visualisation made it more real; more imaginative than writing.

• Interestingphilosophicalideasincludingusememoryasawayof

moving forward.

• Thoughtbettertoexperiencetrainingthanreadinginabrochure.

• Lookforopportunitiesforsmall-scalepersonalencounter–

here’s a brochure.

• Optimismisgood.

• Coffeeexercise–personalencounter–behaviourchange

opportunity

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• BSQbreak-outareasareclinical–whynothaveablackboard?

• Authenticitywasthethingthatreallystoodout–buthardfor

Council to do when decisions already made.

• Onehourlunchtimeallowedforcross-fertilisationofideas.

• Enjoyedhavingsomanylike-mindedpeopleinaroomfrom

different areas of Council. Blur lines between disciplines

• ‘Nohierarchy’wasreallyappreciated

• Concernsthatthis‘approach’maybeperceivedasunprofessional

and ‘not Council’s way’? Tendency to strip out all emotion –

and enthusiasm.

• Isvalidationofthistypeofapproachactuallyneeded?

• Howtotakeoutfromhere?Ifnotyou,who–ifnotnow,when?

You are the change you can make through your job.

• IslandsrevealedastrongcommunityfocusandCouncilprocesses

often focus on the individual as customer. A strong yearning for

community and relating to people more as a collective.

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These exercises emphasise our shared human-ness – with lot’s of eye

contact, gentle physical contact and no experts.

Based on Aikido martial arts warm-up game. Find a partner. Place

your hands palm to palm, look deep into each other’s eyes, now try to

catch the other off balance. Top tip: it’s sometimes more successful to

giveinthantopush!

Still in pairs, follow your partner’s palm, keeping your face the same

distance and orientation, about 9 inches away. Have to look after each

other – roles will be reversed.

Everyone stands in a circle and holds hands. Send a squeeze

around the circle – how quickly can the group do it. We race against

ourselves.Focus!Likeelectricity.

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Themes were extracted from the ‘islands’ exercise on Day 1 (see

complete list in Appendix 4.3). These are now topics to develop in the

‘Road Map’ exercise. Participants select a theme to pursue by putting

a sticker on the wall – this is the group you will work in for the next

stage of the exercise.

Our themes for Day 2:

• Play

• Communityenergy(culture

,spaces)

• Biodiversityinthecity

• Greatsustainablehousing

• Fablocalfreshfood

• Transportandconnections

• Socialjustice

• Decisionmaking

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Who are the audiences (a nicer word than stakeholders and those who

have agency) for any engagement, interpretation or community work?

The aim is to tap into the wealth of knowledge of the participants and

identify specific audiences. It also attempts to ‘unpack’ the attitudes

these groups may have. The key message is that, when thinking about

developing engagement and interpretation techniques, one size does

not fit all.

Participants work in groups to identify different audiences and

identify overlaps. Try and characterize the attitudes/attributes of the

group identities.

Consider particularly issues around ‘inclusion’ and the need to

specifically engage with groups with disabilities who are unlikely

or unable to volunteer to get involved in a public forum. Similarly,

the need to develop specific ways to work with children and young

people. We did this very quickly as a brainstorm list of audiences.

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It is often surprising how many groups are identified as potential

audiences for any environmental education or awareness projects.

The list below (based on another project) illustrates the breadth of

knowledge and interests that exists, and they will all have a different

approach and level of understanding on sustainability. These, broadly

speaking, can be grouped into the following categories/sectors:

1. Government – local or national, politicians and officers

2. Influencers (e.g. NGOs and environmental groups)

3. Tourism (Tourists and tourism related businesses)

4. Media

5. Education

6. Commercial/corporations (e.g. shop owners, investors etc.)

7. Demographic (e.g. youth groups, families, elderly)

8. Community

9. Development related (architects, developers,

construction workers)

10. Minority groups

11. Occupation

12. Creative community

13. Health

14. Geographic

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Building on the work on Day 1, how do we get from today to the utopian islands

at the end of the room? We need to develop a ‘road map’. This exercise is for

groups with similar interests (based on themes above) to take the first steps

towards an action plan or strategy to develop a vision for Brisbane as an Urban

Eden and communicate it to the City. It is all about ideas generation and making

visible the steps on the road to practical, achievable change. Groups, having

identified ‘audiences’, next identify obstacles and devise means of dismantling or

circumventing them. In ‘real’ examples, this can also illustrate that the participants

have everything they need to write an action plan/strategy.

For each theme set a long strip of paper on the floor with a contemporary

dateline at one end and a realistic date in the future at the other. Place a

Utopian ‘island’ at this end. Theme groups identify stages on the journey towards

their idealized island.

Put actual physical barriers on the plan and then think creatively about how to

overcome them. Write, draw, model. Put in dates. While it’s important that there

should be serious content, don’t take the fun out of it – put in silly things

(e.g.sharkstocontrolpopulation!).Youarenotproducingapolicydocument.

The end result is a complex and very human graphic.

Show and tell: Each group talks through its ‘road map’.

Strips of butcher’s paper – A1 sheets cut in half and stuck together.

Use the same materials we used for the islands to make interesting and

entertaining obstacles and opportunities.

All the ‘road map’ stories were brilliant and have been summarized in the next

sectionforposterity!Again,thisisafunwayofseriouslylookingataction

planning. The activity was very absorbing, producing some very thoughtful

conversationsandsomewildburstsofcreativity!

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At Eden, we invite people to take things personally.

‘If not me, then who? If not now, when?’

This exercise is a light-hearted way for participants to think about how

they can make changes and contribute to the development of

an Urban Eden. The aim is:

• Foreachdelegatetolookatthemselvesandreflectonwhatthey

can do to make a difference.

• Toempowereachdelegatetotakethingsforwardina

positive way.

• Tomakedelegatesrealisethatoftentheycanmakeadifference

and the barriers, voices etc are often invisible barriers that are easy

to overcome.

• Foreachdelegatetofocusonwhattheycoulddointheir

professional or personal life to take responsibility for taking the

initiative forward and write this down as a pledge and share

with each others, leading to a higher commitment to

behavioural change.

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You have 10 minutes to make a model (an avatar) of yourself; you as

a super-hero. You’ve just done the ‘Road Map’ exercise – think about

what attributes you need – what do you need to achieve your utopian

vision?

Your super-hero self can be drawn, modeled, sculpted and will have

the powers to overcome barriers. Give it a name.

On a ‘speech bubble’, your super-hero writes a message or motto for

the future.

Introduce your ‘super-hero-you’ to the rest of the group.

Take your super-hero home or back to the office – put them on

FaceBook!

play doh, natural materials, paper cut into speech-bubble shapes.

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Some of the feedback from Facilitators at the end of the

Training Workshops:

• Cross-pollination–workingacrossteams–wouldbewelcome.

Why not start now? Find ways to do this.

• Incorporatemulti-sensoryapproachintoworkwithnew

communities where language may be a challenge.

• Bringingstakeholdersonboardwithnewapproaches.Challengeof

convincing them that ‘emotional’ does not mean ‘unprofessional’.

• Importanceof‘thirdspaces’.Makecitysquaresintotrulysocial

spaces for all the community.

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• Connectedgreenspacethroughcity–fromforeststobeachandocean,

dramatic vegetation, 60% vegetation cover.

• Roofgardensandverticalgardens

• Self-sufficientandflexiblebuildings–energy(solar,wind),water,growsfoodto

reduce food miles, work and live in same building, drying clothes out of doors

• Cleanriverasacorridorforbiodiversity(withfish),transport(sailing,nomotors)

and recreation (fishing, sailing)

• Lowcaruse–nosingle-usevehicles,solarpanelroadsandelectriccars

• Betterpublictransport,lotsofopportunitytowalkandcycle.

• Contactwithnature–attractwildlifeintocitiesparticularlyiconicanimalslike

koala, kangaroo, possums (marsupials generally).

• High-densitylivingbutwithlotsofgreenery/openspaceandcommunityspaces

around buildings

• Greatcommunityspacesatheartofcity–multi-functionalareaswithchildcare,

performance (drumming), story telling, dance and fire.

• Artintegratedintoeverydayliving(flags,play),colourandtexture.

• Multi-generationallivingandspacesaccessibleforallagesandabilities

• Citygarden/farmprovidingalltheneedsofthecommunity–fruitorchards,

vegetation, hops & vineyards, animals particularly low impact ones like chooks,

ducks, goats (for food & fertiliser), permaculture

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• Spiritualretreats–placesforquietreflection,tolerantofdiversityof

belief, iconic.

• Livingwithalow-carbonfootprint

• Everyoneconnected.

• Sustainablefeatures,likewatertowers,arebeautiful.

• Technology–foreducationandcommunication.

• Everyoneemployedandhasaroleinsupportingthecommunity.

With opportunities for trading.

• Backtomoreprimitivetimes–nomadichunter-gathererlifestyle,oraltradition,

• Retreatfrommodernworld–keepingtheworldatbay,controllingwhoyousee

and when.

• Populationcontrol–byrestrictedaccess,populationcontrolbysharks!

• Sociallyresponsiblebanking

• Peace

• Lowimpactgovernment–empoweredcommunities.

These were used to develop the ‘Road Map’ topics on Day 2 of the

Training Workshop.

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2009 – people make a pledge for more sustainable housing – think tank – learning

from nature (waterfall) – natural materials to build from – sustainable energy

– money and financial will – people on ‘left’ – investment in growing more –

showcase of (shiny) sustainable buildings around the city – helpful city council

staff to help through bureaucratic quick sand – green space is woven through the

whole and increases as the amount of sustainable housing increases – regulatory

framework changes with help of accountants (beans) and lawyers (beans with

glasses) – people rally outside court house with ‘yeah’ flags and green business

is supported and founded on a solid (rock) foundation. By 2029, standard houses

are very unpopular and most people live in sust. housing with vegetable gardens,

trees, community spirit, compost, water and birds & bees.

In 2009, decision makers can’t make tough decisions but there is a growing grass

roots movement that will help to make more palatable; seeds planted 30 years ago

are now beginning to sprout. The grass roots and people that know the power of

their spending dollars are now influencing the corporate sector and overcoming

barriers. With the pervasive impact of urbanism, productive areas around the city

are being lost – increasing monocultures and people are moving across the land.

A major election takes place but special interest groups polarise the outcome,

which is negative. This makes the lobby groups stronger and, combined with a

climatic event, results in a cataclysmic event. Mass refocusing – our Noah’s Ark –

people have to decide what is really important to them. Some say ‘hang it’ – party

and continue to consume. Others decide the Amish had it right after all... some

new paths take us the wrong way – to dead ends. Saved by a charismatic leader

– a woman with purple hair. New vision: break down materialism, more spiritual.

Citizens Deliberative Council established – collaborative decision-making. Future

may look more chaotic and complex – based on networks – leading in 2029 to a

spiritually driven democracy.

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Bad food – huge and growing population – ‘house me, feed me”. Policy barrier

– development encroaching on agricultural land – a slippery slope, landslide.

Farmers and activists unhappy. Natural disasters – floods, fire – and other things

outside our control. Family dynamics – fast food, eat on the go – priorities around

time. People realise that it may be better to teach kids to cook than to take them

to soccer. Macca’s and multi-nationals – $$$ in packaging – need to learn business

speak to talk to them in a language they understand. Many decisions based on

ignorance and fuzzy logic – what is good and nutritious? What’s in it? Take time

to find out. We are losing knowledge of how to grow – teach me how to grow,

how to use food in the right way, cooking fresh. Increase in development and

support for community gardens and city farms – esp. important as smaller housing

lotsleavenoroomforveggiepaths(onlyroomforalemontreeforyourvodka!).

Policy to conserve agricultural land. Everyone wants to learn more and be part of

the solution. They want to be informed and are no longer happy to be ignorant on

issues related to fab, healthy food.

Biggest challenge is the lack and varying levels of knowledge. Low diversity –

but knowledge and awareness increasing due to initiatives in schools and

institutions – the seed of knowledge is sown. Lack of communication – media,

give community a voice to communicate with government (represented by a

megaphone). ‘Bridge’ to overcome government barriers. Amount of ‘green’

increases, level of education increases. This has an impact on the $$ side and

procedures put in place to safeguard biodiversity. Private property owners have

‘green/purple’ trees for ‘grey’ wildlife. Bulldozers break through business barriers.

Community awareness increases which leads to increased awareness among

shareholders and pressure on big business. Environmentally friendly business

parks developed. The Aussie dream is a big backyard, however people learn

to live in higher density environments with shared open space and more critters.

Community – seeds to grow. Wildlife corridors represented by the ‘rainbow

serpent’ and also involve tribal ancestors. Everything is linked – humans,

wildlife and high-density living.

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‘Road map’ set in city of Bitumane. Lots of confusion and disagreement –

some think they know where we should be going and everything is based around

bitumen. Forward-looking vision developed, an alternative to bitumen, but people

keeplookingbackfondlyatbitumen.Getoutofreverse!High-densityliving,

broadband, local work and schools that you can walk and cycle to, great public

transport with vehicles running on alternative fuel – an alternative economy to

bitumen. By 2010, alternative energy cars developed but hydrogen needed – do it

nowinpreparationforwhat’scoming!Anewinfrastructureisrequired.Mayorand

Chairs being lobbied by forward thinkers – change the city plan. City fleet – need

to walk the talk – all hydrogen. Development and industry increase as Bitumane

has a great vision – a booming, high-density city. National Transport Forum take

notice – if Bitumane can do it – all of Oz can. National commitment to changing

transport – much easier and more viable if everyone does it – this influences

purchases which shun the past. Green vehicles become cheaper for all – means

early adopters don’t bear the costs. Broadband network improves and Bitumane

is more attractive – lots of social networks on-line but not at the expense of face-

to-face meetings. Bikes are everywhere as it’s much nicer to be on one – only

drawbackisthatyoucan’thearthehydrogenvehiclescomingupbehind!By2019,

high-density hubs so better services. By 2024, rail upgraded forming an extensive

network so you can go anywhere in the city (expensive so this has taken a while).

Streets are now green corridors and all the critters have returned.

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People have forgotten how to have fun. Biggest hurdle is tunnel vision and middle-

aged men who don’t know (or have forgotten) how to dance. Need to change

this. In offices – break-out spaces with games – more interaction – more fun.

To overcome ‘3 o’clock-itis’ (the time of the day when energy is low and meetings

are worst) instigate a compulsory playtime – siesta for those who don’t want to

play. ‘Dress-up days’ – pirates, princesses. Bring a plate of food to share with

others. ‘Bring your dog to work day’ – animals enhance the work place. Free

massages and healthy food – everyone gets a foot massage. Work together. Leads

to street parties – any excuse will do – everyone cooks a duck and competes for

thebest!HopscotchonALLfootpaths.Funwithnature–communitygardens.

Needtogetoverthehurdlethatimprisonsusinfuzzylogic.Letoutplay!Zero

harmisbanned–takerisksandletloose!Compulsoryforeveryonetoplay–

leads to more balance and happiness. To infinity and beyond... Play Police?

(toenforceplay!).

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A big topic. Public apathy and disempowerment. Build networks – to share –

Community festivals. Amid the ‘fog of illiteracy’ – teach so don’t have knowledge

to think for themselves. Barrier – political will – don’t support community

interaction. Need to put energy and funds into play and fun – community spaces.

Some poor people are isolated and homeless – don’t trust each other. Community

to care more about others – safer and more integrated communities. Fences

become bridges. Discourage driving – encourage talking on public transport. Fear

of what and who we don’t know is a major barrier. There are beacons of hope.

Interaction and bonds develop between children and elderly. Flag of achievement

– happy communities, sharing, excited about the future.

Inclusive – about everyone benefiting from change. What happens now? – avoid

people with problems – we walk away. Walls between neighbours – move forward

without connection. Self awareness – value system. Barriers – own comfort zone,

technology, apathy, layers of different worlds, prejudice/racism, no compassion.

Need a transformative experiences – play, shamanic journeys, lots of them…

connection with nature through community gardens – come out of comfort zones

with lots of support. A ‘giving back’ revolution – shifting power structures (which

now reinforce separation). Place, space, people. Social and personal. New form of

governance with more inclusion. Cyclic – not just about and end point. This is hard

to start – arise from chaos. John Allen, bio-naut. – chaos is a beautiful thing – this is

when things happen. Statis – a nuclear bomb won’t shift or create change. Time is

linear – everything is chaotic. Future is dark? – we don’t know. But dark is womb as

much as grave.

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There is no shortage of lists of ‘how to

be green’ around today. Look up a few

- bookshops and magazines and the

Internet are crawling with them. Gather

all of the ideas you can. Make your list

of what you can do, and do it as soon

as you can. Give your house a makeover

- fit insulation, change your light bulbs,

whatever you can afford. Drive less, fly less, if

you can. Get a more efficient car, if you can. Join

something, become a member, support something.

Do what you can to support others, buy Fairtrade

or Organic or whatever you can. Do all that you

can - why the hell not? Everything you can do really

does make a difference because it all adds up, and

because it also makes a testament of what you

believe is right.

And when you have made your list, also think

about what you can’t do - or won’t do if you are

really honest. If you are typical, there will be a lot

on this list - things that you can’t do because you

can’t afford it, or can’t afford the time, or that just

confuse you, or that you don’t really fancy because

you are not sure what it commits you to, or things

that just sound too deadly, deadly dull (like living

‘sustainably’), or things that actually you don’t

believe will really make a difference anyway, or that

sound just, well, stupid, or where you have seen

conflicting advice, or things that you would really

rather not think too much about just at the moment

because they are pretty damn scary and mostly you

just want to enjoy what you have.

If you feel that any of that rings a bell, then

read on....

Sometimes it is hard to believe that there

is anything worth looking forward to. The

list of things we should be worried about

is a long one, and getting more and

more complex and confusing as well. It

can be really hard to know what to do

sometimes, and it can be really hard to

know how to stay positive about it. The problem

is that if we don’t believe in possibility, in the idea

that we are still in play for good things as well as

bad, then we will be frozen in a paralysis of quiet

despair. We have to have hope, because only with

hope will there be any action.

Can you choose to be hopeful? In some ways you

can. It depends partly on attitude and partly on who

you choose to talk to, what things you choose to

read about or watch.

Beware the cynics who see nothing good in other

people, and don’t be fooled by news that mostly

talks only of the bad things. Remember how many

amazing good things that happened in the last few

decades, and how few of them anyone predicted.

If Hope equaled Certainty then it wouldn’t be hope.

It doesn’t mean underestimating the problems and

having a dimwitted conviction that somehow things

will be okay if we sit with fingers crossed. But it also

does not mean underestimating the possibilities

and surprises and the resourcefulness of people

when faced by crisis. Most importantly hope is the

fuel for doing something – and it only works if you

do something.

Tony Kendle, Eden’s Foundation Director, hates Top Tens. So he wrote these…

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‘Whoever has the most when he dies, wins.’

- Other People’s Money

Our lives are full of stuff these days. We

all know it’s supposed to be a good

idea to have less stuff - and sometimes

looking over a cluttered house you

really wonder why you do. But we also know that

jobs depend on making and selling stuff and every

year if sales fall then it’s the threat of recession.

We know that sometimes when people in poor

countries make stuff for us its bad because it’s

exploitation, and sometimes it’s important for their

economies and helps them get out of grinding

poverty. We are encouraged to buy local food,

but mostly the farmers that feed us live in other

countries and who knows whether we could actually

feed ourselves without them. There is a difference

between trade and consumption, and not all stuff is

bad stuff, but it can be really confusing.

Information is another kind of stuff. We are

surrounded by it, we have more of it than any

other generation that has ever lived; we can know

more about the world than ever before - 24/7.

But in a funny kind of way, perhaps because it is so

fragmented, it makes it harder to understand what

is important and how things really work.

Sometimes you just have to stand back from the

complexity of the world and think about the simple

things that really matter.

A good education would mean that you know

enough about your life to understand what sustains

you, and what you need to care about to make sure

that the things you need stay healthy.

We also need to understand the core things

because we don’t know if the complex systems of

the world will continue to work well. If you don’t

know how to plant a seed, or if you don’t know

why you should, then it may not matter. It may

not matter that we all forget, and that none of our

children understand how food production works.

But it’s a gamble to assume that we won’t need

those skills in the future - and how lucky do you

feel? That is why the Eden Project runs programmes

like Gardens for Life, and why we focus our exhibits

on understanding the different things that we

depend on, daily.

And don’t forget as well - education also can lead

directly to radical change. At a time when so many

people are worrying about population growth and

see the sheer numbers of people as the main cause

of environmental problems, it is worth remembering

that time and time again the world shows that

simply raising education standards and life

prospects, especially for women, is the best form

of population control.

We do what we can - but there is so much

we can’t really control. Is there any point

in changing our light bulbs if new power

stations are built in developing countries

that are just rubbish, or if population in

poor places seems totally out of control?

Everyone is running around talking about ‘personal

behaviour change’, as if it will solve everything.

If climate change is ‘the biggest challenge facing

civilisation’ and all we can do is change our light

bulbs, isn’t there a fundamental problem? Surely it

makes more sense to just go to the pub and enjoy

life while you can? Of course personal behaviour

changes matters - but on its own it doesn’t matter

enough and other things are needed as well.

One thing you can do is increase your reach by

working with or through other organisations.

Some people get the chance to travel and

make a real difference themselves, e.g. through

organisations such as Earthwatch, or you can

support the work of WaterAid, or anyone else that

you fancy.

Don’t forget that your money already goes around

the world and things already happen a long way

away because of the choices that you make at

home. Your wallet is your weapon. Make buying

choices that help good things happen - or invest

in social change through things like Eden’s

Carbon Fund.

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One of the reasons it is great to do

everything you can do is that it lets you

get angry at other people. But rather

than get angry at the people who haven’t

done just what you have, why not think

about what really stops you (and anyone)

from doing more and who controls

those things?

You won’t find any shortage of people who will

tell you that you should drive less - but can you?

Once you have got the kids to school, is there time

to cycle or walk to work? Is it just too far away?

Too dangerous? What about the people too old to

cycle? No public transport that works or that you

can afford? Who decides this transport policy?

Most importantly, who decides to design towns

and cities in ways where the places where we live

and the places where we work and where we go

to school and where we shop are all a long way

from each other? And if the same people start

talking about road charging, and there is no sign

of public transport, or urban design, getting better

and getting cheaper - then getting angry seems to

be one of the few options until they show signs of

change as well.

It’s the same with recycling and energy and just

about anything that matters - we need to do what

we can so that we can point to governments and

companies and big organisations and demand that

they change with us, and give us real choices.

Don’t let anyone, including yourself, think

that we all know the answers to how

everyone needs to live, and all we have

to do is SHOUT LOUDLY enough so that

‘they’ finally listen. For one thing, the

challenges that people face across the

world may be much the same, but the

responses that fit different cultures and different

places are not the same.

Secondly we have no idea what will work in the

future (even assuming we know what will work

today). The world changes, moves, things are

discovered that can’t be forgotten, events happen

that can’t be erased. The question is not so much

how we can get behaviour change, as how we can

get the best from the unavoidable change that is

happening all around us.

The one thing we are sure of is that the 21st

Century will be a time of radical change. We can’t

begin to anticipate the surprises that will come -

good and bad, the revolutions and transformations

we will live through. Whether we have reached peak

oil or not is not just a function of how much we find,

it’s a function of how much we will use. Both are

guesses. Scientists wrestle to try to make climate

predictions, but it is hard enough to predict the

weather next week - there are real uncertainties.

But a change in climate only matters because of

how we live, and how it will impact on us - and

how we will live in the future is also changing and

unpredictable. Put them together and we only

know one thing for sure - all bets are off.

And in the face of that time of radical change,

which will be a white-knuckle ride, the best things

we can do will be to cultivate the skills and the

values that will get us through. We need to be

prepared to think differently about things, to foster

our creativity and our imagination. So an important

point is: don’t think you will get all the answers

from top ten tips.

The best ideas can come from anywhere. Think of

your own ways of making a difference. The most

powerful question in the world is often ‘Why?’ If

anyone assumes that things can’t change, or have

always been done this way so they will be done

that way in the future - ask why. You will find that

sometimes this takes you to some surprising places.

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And this is a simple skill you can work on. Read

books that are different to the ones you know you

like, see different films, meet different people and

have different conversations - not all of the time but

some of the time. And that doesn’t mean ploughing

through dull and dreary stuff.

If it makes you lose the will to live then bin it - but

somewhere out there are ideas that you have never

thought before, things that will make you stamp

with joy because they solve a problem for you, or

open a new possibility, or just make you smile and

feel better about other people.

This wild ride ahead will ask something else of us

as well - humanity, and an understanding of our

responsibilities to others. It’s a time when we are

going to need each other. It’s a time that we need

to remember who helps us live the way we do,

but it’s also a time when those relationships could

change quickly and we may need to redraw the

maps again.

If we don’t understand why we need each other, if

we don’t have a stake in the well-being of others,

we lose the underlying support for justice. We also

run the risk that they will lose their concern for us,

and the world becomes a little bit more dangerous.

The globalised world we live in means that some

of the common bonds and some of the clear

understanding of the reasons why we need each

other have become much less clear. It’s much harder

to know what we do for each other anymore, or

even what the people in our neighbourhoods do

for themselves. The people who do things for us

are people we never meet, never even hear their

names. We have much better opportunities to find

friends who share common interests, and develop

new cultures, than ever before, but we have less

chance to learn about why we need people who

don’t think like us, less chance to develop trust, less

chance to hear ideas we haven’t already had. Even

in our families we live ever more individual lives. It

doesn’t help to see a stabilising UK population if we

then all sit in separate rooms, needing a TV each.

In the face of this change we believe we need

to get back to an understanding of how strong

communities are forged - a theme we have been

exploring with our Time of Gifts programme.

Ultimately communities rely on the trust that there

will be mutual care and mutual support

when it’s needed. Traditionally this

trust was forged, and symbolised,

by gift-giving. Not the ‘here’s

yours, where’s mine’ gift giving of

Christmas, but sharing bounty when

you had it. It’s not the same as

barter - you gave when you could

and you may never get anything

back, but you have invested something in

other people and trusted that they will be

there for you.

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The other thing that is changing rapidly

in our lives is that people have much less

contact with nature. It’s particularly a

problem for the young. In one generation

the degree to which children are allowed

to play outside has gone into free-fall.

All sorts of weird problems result. There

are health issues such as allergies and heart disease

through to psychological problems. Children don’t

play together in the same way, or learn to explore

and have adventures. They increasingly find nature

alien, and see land and earth as something to stay

away from because it makes you messy.

And maybe that helps to explain why courses such

as horticulture get almost no students these days,

and why we are heading towards a time when if we

needed to start growing our own food again it will

only be retired people who know how, if anyone.

People can’t care about what they don’t

understand, and don’t have some sense of

connection to. If we stop caring about the land we

have lost something fundamentally important for

our future, as well as made our lives today a little

bit sadder and narrower.

Sustainable development is a territory

to be explored and that exploration will

never end. It is not the case that one

day someone will work out the answers,

and then we will be able to go home to

catch up with what’s on TV and resume

our lives - it is our lives. There will always be

new horizons, new battles, new ideas and a lot of

new mistakes. We have to get past the idea that

trying to live sustainably means that we have to get

everything ‘right’, because it’s more complicated

than that. Sometime we will just have to do what we

can, and expect to have failures as well as victories.

Not only is the search for perfection misguided,

there is something that is so off-putting about it,

so judgmental, so full of people ready to write

Top Ten lists about what other people should do.

A perfect world sounds really quite spooky, and

some of the worst of times have been when people

have tried to force perfect social orders on a messy

human world.

We have to allow for our feet of clay. Fear of not

living up to the expectations (our own and other

people’s) is one of the reasons we don’t start. What

will happen the day when you come home from the

pub and have an Indian takeaway and suddenly you

just can’t, really can’t, be bothered to worry about

recycling all the bits and you throw it all in one bin?

Can you live with your own weakness? You might

even feel the guilt nagging you now, just thinking

about it.

We will not always live up to the ideal - but actually

so much of what real sustainable development is

about relies on recognising our human fallibilities

and learning how to work past them, and

pretending we don’t have them is no answer at all.

We will make mistakes - but actually we learn more

from mistakes than from successes.

Most important of all, we make mistakes because

we act, and strive and struggle and aim high - and

that is what makes us human.

‘Living a sustainable life’ is like dieting or

giving up smoking - it feels just so much

easier to start next week. It’s hard to find

the willpower to start today because,

well, it’s going to kind of suck all of

the joy out of life, and it’s going to be

harder to do the things that make it possible to get

through the day. Actually none of that is true. But

when people talk about what we ‘must do’, what

we have to give up, living with less, stopping this,

ending that - especially when it’s talked about in

such a pompous, worthy, self-righteous kind of way

– it’s easy to believe that the future has no fun in it.

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And the language makes it worse. Have you ever

read a Sustainable Development Report that hasn’t

made you wish the end of the world would come

quickly? Some people’s conversations are full of

‘sustainable this’ and ‘sustainable that’ - will we all

have to talk like that in the future? Will we have to

say words like ‘biodiversity’ instead of ‘life’? Where

is the adventure in those words? Where are the

worlds of possibility we could create?

The hope comes from the fact that there is plenty of

evidence that consuming less, throwing away less,

having less useless stuff, has something to do with

happiness, and no evidence at all that people who

live with less than we do have less fun. In fact the

opposite seems to be the case. Grinding poverty

of course means devastated lives, but there

comes a point as societies get richer where just

having more and more starts to make people

unhappy again.

Rich cultures, rich experiences, music, laughter

and fun and just enjoying life more - these are the

foundations of a better future, not the enemies

of it.

It sounds like some bollocks that you would see on

a poster in a hippy shop, but actually it was one of

the great social insights of the 20th Century, and

led to a new approach to revolution and positive

change that is still growing in strength. If you can

embody in some small way the values and actions

that you believe the world should be based on,

then in a small way you have already succeeded in

creating change - and big changes could follow.

That takes you back to number 1.

Do everything positive you can - but not because a

list has told you to. Do it because it’s who you want

to be.

The best ideas can come

from anywhere. Think of

your own ways of making

a difference. The most

powerful question in the

world is often ‘Why?’

If anyone assumes that

things can’t change, or have

always been done this way so they will be done

that way in the future - ask why. You will find that

sometimes this takes you to some surprising places.

And this is a simple skill you can work on. Read

books that are different to the ones you know you

like, see different films, meet different people and

have different conversations - not all of the time but

some of the time. And that doesn’t mean ploughing

through dull and dreary stuff. If it makes you lose

the will to live then bin it - but somewhere out

there are ideas that you have never thought before,

things that will make you stamp with joy because

they solve a problem for you, or open a new

possibility, or just make you smile and feel better

about other people.

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