So when Gail moved into her new home on Wilder Street in 2017, right around the corner from her mother’s home, it wasn’t too long before she started to notice what was just outside her front door and began to see its future differently.

At the end of her driveway, Gail sees a lot of traffic, car after car passing through coming down off Campbell Street heading north straight toward the Tennessee River; or racing up Wilder climbing up to Campbell Street and heading east. All getting somewhere in a hurry.

Wilder is a long stretch that begins at Campbell Street in Glass Farm, near the bottom edges of Sherman’s Reservation, and continues north intersecting with Wheeler, Taylor, Dodson, Curtis, Roanoke, North Hawthorne and all the way to Riverside Drive.

It’s not uncommon for a heavy stream of traffic to come through with drivers driving easily 15 miles above the speed limit in either direction, she said. It’s also not uncommon for these drivers to just see Wilder Street as their own twice-daily cut-through commuter route instead of seeing a place, a neighborhood of homes and of families.

Adding to the anonymity, there are no sidewalks nor crosswalks to signal that human beings live here, walk here, visit here, play here, and are also trying to use the road just to leave their driveways, walk their children to their grandmother’s, or simply cross the street.

City officials had already told residents that installing speed humps was not an option primarily due to Wilder Street being a major route for emergency vehicles. Traffic calming humps are a burden to firetrucks and ambulances needing to get quickly across town. But, in her short time living on Wilder, Gail says she has already seen her share of near emergencies. Without designated crosswalks at any of the intersecting roads across Wilder, pedestrians, including many children, have no sure place to cross the street and are forced to negotiate with fast moving traffic.

This summer, Gail decided to take the issue to the next meeting of the Chattanooga Urbanists (CURB), a community organization that “seeks to connect emerging professionals who are interested in how design and planning affect how the city looks and feels.”  During a CURB meeting that was taking place in the Glass House Collective office, CURB’s founding member and co-director Sally Morrow, an Urban Designer with the Chattanooga Design Studio, teamed up with Aaron Cole and Lauren Dunn, both with the Chattanooga AIA Extended Studio, and together took on Gail’s vision of slower traffic on her street.

For the next few months, Gail and the Extended Studio team stress tested some of the city’s new processes for handling requests involving citizen-lead temporary solutions for their streets. Other partners like Range Projects came on board to help create a reusable and large template that the team could use for their first installation.  Even the brewers at Velo Coffee Roasters provided hot coffee for volunteers.

The end result is a series of multi-colored painted dots down the middle of Wilder Street located at every intersection as a visual device to try to slow down drivers. On installation day 20 volunteers came out on a weekend before Christmas to help paint the large circles up and down the street. The coming weeks and months will tell how effective the tactical art project has been and what else can be done.

But so much more happened as a result of this experiment. For one thing, after going door to door to let everyone know that the road would be closed for the installation day, Gail was able to introduce herself to more of her neighbors than she ever knew before. And, when the street closed for a few hours, even the Wilder Street kids came out of their homes and met one another in the street as a safe and temporary playground, if just for a few hours, to play with their remote control cars.

Wilder Street residents now know that in teaming up with the AIA Extended Studio they have an actively engaged and informed crew of advocates who can help them navigate and develop new ideas to improve their streets.

“Getting the right people to talk to each other can sometimes have barriers. But this kind of process can help reduce those barriers, especially a project that is easily executed, temporary in nature, but impactful,” said Laura Dunn, with AIA Chattanooga.

Dunn also said she understands there can be frustration inside the neighborhood with how to work and communicate effectively with the city, often leaving many feeling left out or unheard. “Hopefully, this process will create more positive thinking, encourage more ideas, and knowledge that some one is listening,” she said.

The chance to work with the Wilder Street residents was also an opportunity to have that larger conversation about how our streets are used and who has a say.

“We want to highlight that city streets are the most abundant public space we have and they should be made more friendly for pedestrians,” Cole said.  Highlighting Wilder, a street widely used by commuters, brings up the other side of the conversation. “These are places where people live, so how do we respect, prioritize and give those people a little more say in how their streets are being used,” he said.

Whats more, now City officials know that there are many people who care, are watching, are willing to do the work, and want a say in the changes needed to make their streets safer.

“When it actually works it gives you a boost!,” Gail said

Thank you, Gail, for showing us how it’s done!

Check out photos from the day here .
Media coverage in the Times Free Press.

photo credit: AIA Chattanooga, AIA Extended Studio

Empower is now in its second year as a resource offering information about how residents can save money on their energy bills. Dawn Hjelseth, development director for green|spaces says, “we feel The Pool represents bringing a community together – pooling people together to create a really amazing experience.” The project is a collaboration with Public Art Chattanooga, and director Katelyn Kirnie says, “We are very excited to launch ‘The Pool’ in East Chattanooga, and provide access for all to this interactive, technology inspired artwork. The installation will also activate the former Harriet Tubman site and showcase its potential as a space that can have a positive economic impact on the community and bring people together.”

The color pattern is being selected by a group of Hardy Elementary students as a part of their Energy Club sponsored by Empower and facilitated by Glass House Collective’s Community Coordinator, Nikki Lewis. The kids are currently in the process of putting color patterns together and Lewis says, “they are very excited to have their creative choices used as input for such a large and public event in their own backyard, and we know they’ll be more engaged during the festival itself, if they’ve had a hand in designing the way it looks and feels.”

Friday evening will kick off the weekend with “Lyrical Lights,” a Hip-Hop and Spoken Word showcase featuring a talented array of local Chattanooga poets and musicians from 7:30-10:30PM. This event is being curated by Glass Street resident artist and owner of Studio Everything, Rondell Crier and three local poets: Genesis Greykid, Erika Roberts-Blackmon, and Josiah Golson.

Saturday afternoon from 3:00-7:30 will feature the 3rd Annual Gospel on Glass, made possible by a grant from the Tennessee Arts Commission and Hope for the Inner City will host their Open House and Plant Sale across the street. Once again Marcellus Barnes of Unity Performing Arts Foundation is organizing the program which promises to welcome in new choirs and soloists, while continuing to draw from faithful regulars from the last two years. So far performers include Larry Hurston and Genuine, Pastor Jo and Team Judah, Tiffany Coleman, Trent Williams, Jarvis Menifee and Peculiar Praise, Darius Ware and IPMC, Pastor Corey Prather and High Praize.

Sunday afternoon is featured as a time for families to bring out food, lawn chairs, and blankets to picnic together from 3:00-7:30. Food trucks will be on site.

Both Saturday and Sunday nights, as evening darkens around 7:30pm,“The Pool” colors will appear all the more vivid, creating a vibe for evening dancing with a DJ set until 10:30 PM each night. As Glass House Collective Executive Director, Teal Thibaud says, “often people who visit Glass Street or the surrounding neighborhoods come by day, and it’s a powerful statement of unity that we can play together and mingle outside in the evening with neighbors, celebrating art and the beauty of the neighbors here who make up this community.”

Following its installation at the East Chatt Festival, “The Pool” will spend the following two weekends in two other Chattanooga neighborhoods. Visit Empower’s website for more information about ongoing events, and acknowledgment of sponsors for “The Pool” art exhibit. The artist herself was excited to have her piece featured within neighborhoods where people can easily access it. “We are very excited to be a part of the Chattanooga community and especially these neighborhoods,” said artist Jen Lewin. “In the ten years we have been traveling the world with this installation, we’ve never had the opportunity to work with organizations like green|spaces and Glass House Collective and get deep into the communities to really interact with neighbors.”

If you are interested in being a volunteer, click here. If you are interested in being a food or product vendor, click here.

APRIL 21ST / 7:30PM – 10:30PM
LYRICAL LIGHTS: HIP-HOP & SPOKEN WORD SHOWCASE

APRIL 22ND / 3:00PM – 10:30PM
GOSPEL ON GLASS FEATURING MARCELLUS BARNES & UNITY PERFORMING ARTS FOUNDATION / LIVE DJ STARTING AT 7:30PM

APRIL 23RD / 3:00PM – 10:30PM
FAMILY FUN PICNIC: BOUNCE HOUSES, GAMES, VENDORS & FOOD / LIVE DJ STARTING AT 7:30PM

We were so pleased with his work, reminding us once again how important a solid team is, as we depend on one another to accomplish progress in this community.

Together we’re here on Glass Street, listening to our neighbors, planning and hosting meetings where crucial conversations and enlightening exchange can take place, fundraising and organizing those funds, pushing up sleeves and lacing up boots to get outside, clearing paths, building partnerships, telling the stories of people proud to be living here as they reach for improvements and resources needed to make their neighborhood shine.

Read more about who we are, and see the new photos here.

– Glass House Collective hosted Glass Street LIVE, our annual block party with over 1,500 visitors throughout the day! We kicked off the day with the Wayne-O-Rama parade, explored Sherman Reservation with The National Parks rangers, danced to the music provided by Jazzanooga, watched the live mural paintings, covered a CPD squad car with bright water paints, watched skaters pull fancy tricks at the pop-up skate park, and enjoyed over 50 vendors and delicious local food trucks. Watch our official video footage from the day HERE!

– Wayne-O-Rama ignited a celebration of renowned artist Wayne White’s imagination, and we commissioned him to create giant puppets to march in our Glass Street LIVE parade. They depicted the Civil War Generals Sherman and Cleburne who faced off at nearby Sherman Reservation.

-We partnered with National Parks Service to feature our local 50-acre National Park, Sherman Reservation, shuttling guests up from Glass Street to the memorial battlefield as part of the National Parks Centennial Celebration, and to highlight our neighborhood’s open spaces.

– The former Glass House building has become headquarters for ArchWay on Glass: a venture to equip area youth with business skills through marketing and sales of local products.

– GHC’s How-To Guide and community process was featured prominently at the Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum in New York as part of their ongoing series, By the People: Designing a Better America.

– The New York Times chose to lead its article about the Cooper Hewitt exhibit citing GHC’s work as its featured example of tactical urban design in action.

– Our Active Trails grant partnership enabled Nikki Lewis, community coordinator to lead 21 outdoor education field trips engaging over 200 area kids on campouts, canoeing trips, stargazing excursions and hikes on nearby trails, as well as using public transit (CARTA) to visit landmarks like Lookout Mountain’s Point Park. Shout out to Outdoor Chattanooga for the partnership!

– Usher Raymond made a special visit to Glass Street, choosing to feature Studio Everything and local artists and kids in his TNT documentary feature that aired over Thanksgiving this year as part of State Farm’s Neighborhood Sessions.

– We founded the Glass Farm Block Leaders, a new community leadership initiative coordinated by Glenwood neighborhood leader, Dr. Everlena Holmes. 15 Block Leaders currently serve as neighborhood point people to share information and welcome new residents.

– Habitat for Humanity’s Neighborhood Revitalization Initiative (NRI) has chosen us as an official partner and the Glass Farms Neighborhood as the impact area for their work improving private residences. Their partnership directly correlates with our Residential Improvement lens.

– GHC and NRI hosted a Neighborhood Beautification Blitz on June 5th, where 10 homeowners received landscaping and residential assistance in one day, with over 20 volunteers.

– Habitat’s NRI team and volunteers have surveyed 149 residents around the Glass Farms neighborhood since beginning their focus here in September 2016.

–  Habitat’s NRI team has completed renovation for 3 homeowners, and they are processing 4 viable applications from interested homeowners heading into 2017.

– We commissioned local artists 2$ON and Charlie Newton to create 90 ft. panels of original artwork now installed on either side of the formerly broken and vacant billboard at the Glass Street and Dodson Avenue intersection. This sign was one of our How-To Guide Phase II projects and creates an eye-catching gateway focal point for the neighborhood.

– Local artist Zachary Reynolds of Woodwise designed and coordinated the efforts of local youth to complete 6 tables and 12 chairs fabricated from inexpensive plywood. This How-To Guide’s “Portable Street Furniture” project then provided seating during the September Glass Street LIVE event.

-Under Chris Woodhull’s leadership, Build Me a World, a non-profit focused on mentoring Chattanooga’s at risk youth, now shares building space at 2501 Glass Street with our GHC offices, and hosts Wednesday “Alive and Free” support meetings.

– Empower Chattanooga continues to host free cost saving energy workshops and have held 10 meetings this year in conjunction with our GNN meetings.

– We’ve partnered with Empower and Love Fellowship church members to serve food and engage residents at our pop-up family movie nights series at Love Fellowship. There were 13 movie Nights in 2016 and 520 people attended over the course of a year.

– In partnership with Hardy Elementary, Glass House Collective, Studio Everything and Empower Chattanooga hosted a Back to School Bash to give students a kick-off to their new school year.

– We hired Nikki Lewis as our Community Coordinator, Whitni McDonald as our Communications Coordinator, and Tara Poole as our part-time Director of Operations and Development.

– Nikki Lewis attended 18 neighborhood association meetings and collected over 200 surveys to assess residents’ input about extending trail and park access. We combined their input with leadership from W.M. Whitaker Landscape Architects and Trust for Public Land (TPL) and the Southeast Conservation Corps (SECC) to the table as partners to create a master plan that will eventually connect with the South Chickamauga Greenway via Billy Goat Hill.

– GHC, SECC and TPL and Sierra Club completed the Pennsylvania Reservation connector trail from Glass Street to Sherman Reservation, a 50-acre National Park in Glass Street’s backyard.

– Our partners with the SECC also completed the Fitness Loop connector portion of the trail following an old rail bed that completes the trail loop linking the Pennsylvania Reservation trail to Awtry Street.

– We commissioned artist Geoffery Meldahl to design and fabricate temporary sculptural wayfinding signage for the new SECC trails. Meldahl completed the signs at Studio Everything (fulfilling another How-To Guide project goal), and they are now installed at both ends of the Pennsylvania and Sherman Reservation connector trail.

– Residents and youth partnered with Rondell Crier to design and fabricate two coordinated functional sculptures: the Atlas Ring bike rack and Icarus Wing bike repair station. As bike transport is a main way users make it out to the open studio afternoons on Tuesdays and Thursdays, this How-To Guide project is as practical as it is beautiful and educational.

– We coordinated a Juneteenth commemoration program up at Sherman Reservation, featuring poetry, speeches, and music in honor of the holiday to mark the official end of slavery in America.

– Local businesses received access to a much-requested practical resource: Portable sandwich board signage any group can use to advertise specials and announce active presence on the street. Part of our How-To Guide Phase II effort toward “quicker, cheaper, and lighter” solutions, the signs were built by contracted residents, using inexpensive materials, and came in particularly handy during the Glass Street LIVE party.

– 17 Glass Street youth participated in this year’s Mainx24 Parade as part of the Wayne-O-Rama float waving and making the puppets dance that they helped to create earlier this year for our Glass Street LIVE parade.

– As part of our public space and streetscape impact area, we have expanded our footprint to include the Dodson and Glass Street intersection, and are working with city partners to attract a Save A-Lot grocery store to the intersection, along with parking lot improvements.

– We invited Kevin Smith, Monty Bruell, Carlos Hampton, and Vanessa Jackson to join our Board of Directors.

– We celebrated our Executive Director, Teal Thibaud’s acceptance to National Arts Strategies Chief Executive Program hosted at Harvard University.

– We hosted two separate Collective Investment Tours where we shared a meal and invited interested community members to visit us on Glass Street, and plan ways to directly contribute their time and money toward our work.

– We joined the fun with Alex Gilliam of Public Workshop leading Avondale Rec. Center youth through the design build process in partnership with green|spaces and AIA.

– GHC supported this year’s National Night Out at East Chattanooga Rec Center, a fun, safety-oriented community festival with 300 local participants dancing, sharing school supplies, face painting, and serving hot dogs.

– We supported a Community led Halloween Party held at the Avondale Rec. Center ballfields, serving 750 East Chattanooga neighbors, with plenty of candy for the kids!

– This year’s Community Christmas Party was completely resident-led and initiated under the leadership of Katie McCallister through the Good Neighbor Network, with support from the Glass Farms Block Leaders and Mark Making for usage of their space.

This list keeps us motivated to continue exploring creative avenues to better connect and foster new life here on Glass Street. We’ve grown this year! With your ongoing support we hope to continue garnering national attention for our work, inviting everyone to the table, and collaborating to create a place where we can thrive.

Here because we love it here,

Teal Thibaud

Executive Director

]]> http://www.glasshousecollective.org/2016-highlights/feed/ 0 http://www.glasshousecollective.org/20n-charlie-art-signs/ http://www.glasshousecollective.org/20n-charlie-art-signs/#respond Tue, 29 Nov 2016 02:29:19 +0000 http://www.glasshousecollective.org/?p=4088 Last Wednesday, as many of us tuned in to watch Usher’s TNT special about his visit to Chattanooga, we witnessed the power of art and mentorship in action right here on Glass Street. You may have recognized the powerful visuals featured in his scenes at Studio Everything with Rondell Crier and 2$ON (Kourtney Brown) and also over at SPLASH studio space with Charlie Newton.

Each artist’s finished piece was completed and transported the same week as Usher’s September visit, for their planned installation in a large double-sided sign frame located near the junction of Dodson Ave. and Glass St.. The whole project was made possible by a generous CFGC grant, combined with supplemental funding from TAC.

These powerful works of art, which are both currently installed on an old sign structure in East Chattanooga on Glass Street, each convey a distinct, yet complimentary message of emotional response to challenges facing local youth, threatening what could otherwise be a life of talent and artistic benefit to our communities. As both 2$ON and Charlie conveyed in conversation with Usher, an expressive outlet of creativity during youth has proved to be a lifesaver for both artists: a reality Usher could relate to on a personal level, and wanted to bring awareness to during his visit to Chattanooga.

The formerly vacant sign frame provided the ideal space for a pop-up exhibition in the middle of the neighborhood, going up just before the crowds came out to join in the Glass Street LIVE block party celebration. Area resident Niko (Orlandus Stamper), helped install the artwork, and the property owner Toni Gaines was very supportive of the project.

Part of what makes this exhibition extra meaningful for GHC is its representation of mentorship between 2$ON and Rondell Crier, director of Studio Everything. When asked about the excitement of meeting Usher, 2$ON kept a balanced perspective: “I’m just really about meeting people into the art they make, and it was cool that he (Usher) came back here. Honestly, though, I’m just as inspired by the people I know personally who are making things too, and investing time in me, like Rondell.” The young artist has come a long way, to the exciting stage of showing in his first solo gallery exhibit, Extraterrestrial at UTC’s Apothecary space.

As Rondell expressed so beautifully in his congratulatory post on Facebook:

“All congrats goes to 2$ON! He walked into the studio two years ago determined to pursue creativity in many ways. This is evidence that when you make yourself and your resources available others can put them to use in very positive and meaningful ways.

Share Your Resources!
Invest in People!
Develop Humanity!”

When our artists are acknowledged as leaders, the whole community shines. Thank you 2$ON and Charlie, for contributing great work right here on Glass Street. If you haven’t already, be sure to drive by and take a look! And thank you again to the Community Foundation of Greater Chattanooga for generous funding toward this project.

Last week we joined our community in giving thanks, even in the midst of challenges and loss. As we gathered with family to celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday, the Glass House Collective team was grateful for some specifics, and want to share our list as we gear up for tomorrow’s #chagives campaign. Here is a list of the top 5 things the Glass House Collective is thankful for this year:

1. Our Kids. To celebrate the creativity going on here on Glass Street, Usher Raymond chose Studio Everything as a site to film part of his edition of State Farm’s Neighborhood Sessions. We were so excited to tune in together to watch as the TV special aired Wednesday, November 23 on TNT! The kids who work with Rondell Crier at the studio were so excited when he came for the surprise visit! The special highlighted Usher and State Farm’s efforts to revive music and arts education in Chattanooga.

2. Our Neighborhood. The more we get to know our neighbors, and listen to real input from them about priorities, the more we have to be thankful for! Glass Street is just one thoroughfare in the midst of East Chattanooga, but during big events like Glass Street LIVE or at regular Good Neighbor Network meetings, we keep catching the signal that this is a community ready for life to surge! We’re also thankful to appreciate brand new views of this place via aerial footage captured by Kelly Lacey during Glass street LIVE, as well as new access to Sherman Reservation on fresh cut trails by our friends at the SECC!

3. Our Partners. We firmly believe in our success depending on fostering solid partnerships, which is why we’ve recently devoted time away from our regular work day to team up with Habitat for Humanity’s volunteer crews as they focus in on the Glass Farms neighborhood for their Neighborhood Revitalization program. We also hear the excitement from local kids talking about the business learning happening on Wednesday evenings over at ArchWay. Recent guests touring to learn more about how to partner with us asked many questions about both ArchWay and Studio Everything, as they explored how best to lend their resources to our work.

4. Our Inspiration. We’re thankful for work with inspiring artists right here on Glass Street, like Rondell Crier, our Studio Everything partner paving the way for mentor-relationships with budding artistic craftsmen like 2$ON and Christian and Amari. We also thrive on the infusion of life from seeing the work of outside artists and urban designers paving the way forward in the arena of community engaged design. Friends like Public Workshop’s founder Alex Gilliam who came from Philly to design and build with kids at the Avondale Rec Center, and artists like Wayne White and Mimi Pond who have been working for months to create the awe-inspiring Wayne-O-Rama. The relationships these and many other artists foster here at GHC make ripples that continue to energize our specific work in this specific place.

5. Our Community. The list of organizations participating in the #chagives campaign this Giving Tuesday is a great reminder that we get to participate and do our work within a caring and responsive community, taking care of one another when painful tragedies hit home. It was great to celebrate and feast alongside partners at Causeway as a part of their citywide One Table feast. We also shared info and resources about how to best support those in our city hit with loss last week with the Woodmore Elementary bus accident and the Art120 building fire.

Happy Thanksgiving from Glass House Collective!

Additional Note:

Please remember to reach out tomorrow! Many are hurting after unimaginable loss, following the Woodmore Elementary Bus tragedy last Monday 11/21. According to the Times Free Press lines to donate blood were out the door at all area locations, directly following the accident. In the midst of grief, we’re thankful for a community that cares and responds. Here’s United Way’s list of the best ways to continue offering help and support.

Alex is high energy, and his drive was infectious for kids hungry to experience the satisfaction of participation in a process that brings a tangible, built installation to life: something they can actually climb around on, and hang out underneath: what they nicknamed, “chill spots.” But way before the “chill spots” were constructed in front of the Chattanooga Public Library in conjunction with the wrap-up of the AIA Convention, these kids spent days getting comfortable with power tools and familiar with the collaborative process of imagining together what they wanted to build given their possibilities and limitations.

Teal Thibaud came out to join one of the kids’ building groups as they played with what shapes bore weight, and could reach the highest pinnacle. She has been impressed with Public Workshop, based in Philadelphia, for a while now, and enjoyed working and playing with a person whose mission so closely aligns with that of Glass House Collective. “The mixture of bringing some degree of vision and structure to these kids, mixed with an openness to allow them to discover and give input along the way is really key,” she says. “It’s so affirming of the groundwork Studio Everything is laying, while infusing some fresh perspective and ideas as well.”

Rondell Crier, Studio Everything’s mastermind, was out working with Alex also, and brought him into the studio at various points to meet some of the GHC kids who have been gradually learning to responsibly employ similar tools and processes, rather than just talk about abstract notions of “collaboration” and “design.” It’s been another strong reminder that our neighborhood youth are ready to lend their voices and hands at every level of the place-making process.

We echo the clear message they caught from Alex: this is your city: build it.

• Be sure to scroll down Public Workshop’s Facebook Page  for super affirming comments about Glass House Collective and Studio Everything. Thanks Alex!
• Browse our GHC Facebook Album displaying the process that went into designing and building the “chill spots.”

During lunch, the group had an opportunity to peruse GHC pamphlets and make introductions, explaining each person’s connection to and interest in GHC’s work. Team members, Zach Atchley, Nikki Lewis, and Teal Thibaud each gave an overview of various moving parts within the collective structure of artist led, community driven projects.

After answering some key questions about gentrification issues and concepts surrounding place-making. The whole gathering made their way down the street to visit Studio Everything, where Rondell showed samples of work crafted by community youth who spend time in the workshop after school on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. After pointing out sculptures, street art, and park space along the way, the group arrived at the ArchWay building to hear from Michele Peterson regarding her vision as the building’s new owner and a valued community partner with GHC. Currently, her focus is on sharing business and marketing ideas with kids interested in entrepreneurship.

Our goal is to lead future participants in a walk up to Sherman Reservation via the new GHC initiated trailhead. If you would like more information about participating in an upcoming Stakeholders Tour, feel free to contact Zachary Atchley via e-mail: zach@glasshousecollective.org

Each day we had six adult leaders there to ask questions of the young visitors, and to provide prompts and answer questions from the kids about the monuments, canons, signs, and wildlife they encountered. Overall, the visitors seemed to enjoy the outing both days, although both groups had questions about why the access road seems blocked because of the gate preventing vehicles from driving up.

It naturally turned out that Wednesday’s group focused more on plant life, while Friday’s groups were more interested in the history. Both days, visitors remarked that they could sense the battleground feeling of the place, and described what they would enjoy about returning during various seasons throughout the year. They were particularly eager to come when they’d be able to see the view, during the bareness of winter.

Nikki Lewis, as leader of both activities, compiled the written and drawn impressions from the visitors to gather the voices of the kids. She hopes to convey to the community youth that progress is a slow process, but one they can affect.  Keeping an open flow communication with the kids will allow the community to understand that their input and vision matters regarding future park design.