The Civic Imagination Project

From the pampered potted ficus in the living room to the lonely dandelion pushing up through the cracked sidewalk, plants surround us. And still, many of us rarely take the time to actually stop and notice them.

 

What might we notice if we slow down and take in the plants around us? 

What wisdom might plants share with us if we took the time to listen?

How might we see the world differently if we centered plants in our imaginings? 

 

Are you curious? 

 

Well then, our plant-based civic imagination collection of four activities is here for you! Revolving around plants as the entry point into individual and group engagements, we invite you into the safe and welcoming space that our activities support.

 

Designed to take around 20 minutes, each of the activities described here offers a constructive and informal way through which individuals and communities reflect, observe and imagine, placing plants, nature, stories and the civic imagination at the center of the conversation. Here, plants, and the stories they inspire, become portals for us to notice, reflect, create, connect, and chart collective paths forward. 

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Want to be in conversation? Share your insights and creations with us here!

 

Each activity included here can be completed as a stand-alone unit. All of these activities emerged from brainstorming sessions led by members of the Civic Paths research group at the University of Southern California.

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