Meaningful connection

Activity concept

If one had never thought about pollinators before yet ends up being invited to a participatory process on this topic, one might struggle to find a connection – and possibly a motivation. The point of this exercise is to explore personal entry points into the topic. Through stories and objects from their daily life, participants are invited to discover and share the ways pollinators are already meaningful to them. The same thing can be done for other particularly important topics of the process. E.g., if a workshop is connected to a redevelopment of a local park that would make space for pollinators, the exercise can explore the locations, activities or memories that already connect participants to this place.  

Stage: Opening, Noticing

Format: In person, Online, Hybrid

Work Modality: Large groups, Plenary

Location: Outdoor, Indoor

Duration: 45mins

Topic(s): Pollinators

Preparations

As a 'homework' ask participants to find and bring an object (or its photo) that they associate with pollinators (a jar of honey they eat for breakfast, a butterfly costume their child used in a school play, a flower from their garden).

Tools

Post-its, Pens, crayons etc..., Tables and chairs

Team

Facilitator / moderator, Note taker

A facilitator should make participants feel comfortable to share personal stories.

Process

The activity starts with everyone sitting in a circle, each holding the object or the photo in front of them. The facilitator should invite each person to tell their story. A fun alternative is to put all the objects in the middle and then ask people to pick up one object (not theirs) and say what they think it represents, then asking the person it belongs to for their story. This way you can already start seeing the differences in experiences and associations. In both cases, the person speaking or a note-taker writes a summary on a post-it. After all are done speaking, invite them to put all the objects/photos as well as the post-its with summaries in one place, where they can stay through the rest of the event as an inspiration.

This is also a great exercise for online meetings. In that case, it can be more spontaneous and can also work as an energiser and a screen break. Invite participants to get off the computer, leave the room, walk around their house for 5 minutes and find an object that for them connects to pollinators. Then come back and tell the stories, as described above. Participants can take photos of the objects with their computer camera and then all these can be placed on a digital whiteboard.

Depending on the time you have and the number of participants, this exercise can be done in groups or in the plenary. 

Compatibility

Stories tend to be very rich in capturing feelings, emotions, values, relationships etc. As such, they can become one important resource that can be used in >Sense-making activities. For instance, personal stories can reveal in what ways pollinators are important for us, as such giving us basis for mapping the ways we value pollinators.