Gather and Participate
Leveraging the gardens to attract curious neighbors, Latham Street Commons hosted three different mash-up events throughout the summer to prototype the vision of leasing out space within The Commons to local providers of community resources.
June, 05: the Roaming Garden, woven fabric mural, stormwater systems
June, 22-26: kids (from the preschool next door) tour LSC and learn about art and nature by tasting, touching, and smelling all kinds of vegetables grown on the rooftop
July, 03: HPV vaccines, rent a chicken, free haircuts, harvesting vegetables
August, 07: The final mashup of the summer was an exhibit, designed and built by our team to reflect on summer events and apply what we learned to the future of the Commons
Each event included activities to not only engage the community and gain a deeper understanding of their needs and desires, but simply to have a great time together.
Library Card Notes to the Community
One of my favorite activities at the mashup events was a station where neighbors wrote anonymous notes of encouragement/”words of wisdom” to their community on the back of library cards. The notes were later delivered door-to-door with fresh produce in a design probe called the Roaming Garden.
