Having Serious Fun with Guerrilla Geography
To a visitor at Wakehurst, it might have appeared a bit strange...
... seeing a person hugging a tree, having a conversation with ducks, making chicken noises, avoiding crossing straight lines or gazing at bushes.
But it was all in a good cause.
The people doing those things were taking part in a fun challenge set by Daniel Raven-Ellison, as part of his outdoor workshop about Guerilla Geography and community building.
An Outdoors Workshop Designed for Fun, Sharing and Practical Stuff
I loved this workshop at Content Rising for several reasons:
1. It was held outdoors in the beautiful gardens of Wakehurst on a lovely sunny day
2. We got to do something ‘silly’ and fun as a group (that also challenged our thinking and perceptions of nature and place)
3. Rich discussion about place, nature and community, the opportunities and the challenges. Meeting and hearing from different people.
4. Hearing more about the inspiring National Park City initiative, from London to Adelaide, from Cardiff (currently emerging) to Chattanooga, Tennessee (the latest city to achieve NPC status)
5. Discovering the ambitious Slow Ways crowd-funding project. Slow Ways is a citizen-made walking, running, wheeling, cycling and horse-riding network for Britain and Ireland. The network has shared almost 10,000 walks, together with reviews, advice and guidance.
6. Meeting and spending time with Daniel. Love the concept of guerrilla geography, making use of geography for community building, campaigning and practical change for good. And so impressed with the vision, energy and heart Daniel brings to his different projects.
(Footnote: After the event, I was going to say “Come on, Scotland, why no National Park City?”... only to discover Glasgow is currently ‘nominated’ and awaiting approval. Yay! Would love to connect with anyone involved in that)
RESOURCES:
https://buildstories.slowways.org
https://www.nationalparkcity.org
https://www.glasgownationalparkcity.org
QUESTIONS & TALKING POINTS:
Q. When was the last time you spoke with nature?
Q. What is the green space you love to return to, again and again?
Q. Could YOUR city become a National Park City?
Q. In what ways might you use geography in a ‘guerilla’ way to help build communities, resilience or the nurture of nature?
