NSWTR 2024 HR - Flipbook - Page 11
COMMUNITY ACTIVITIES
In groups of 2-5, start
brainstorming about the area
where you live. Ask questions
like: Who uses this area? What
do they do? What are the ways
wildlife uses the area? What
might they need? How might
we make their lives better?
1
i
tie
Co
m
un it y Act
vi
m
WHAT TO DO
s
Write out a statement that
de昀椀nes the problem of how
we can best share space with
wildlife in your area. You
might like to write out several
‘de昀椀ne’ statements and then
choose the one from the
group you’d like to work on.
2
COMMUNITY
HABITAT PROJECTS
I
n this activity, you’ll use human-centred design thinking to understand a
habitat loss issue in your area. You’ll examine existing habitat restoration
projects (such as possum boxes, Sydney seawalls) and design your own
idea for habitat restoration in your community. Put it to your community
or council and get some feedback on your idea.
WHAT IS DESIGN THINKING?
Design thinking is a smart approach to making things better. It’s all about
understanding and then focusing on what’s really needed in a situation.
Imagine you’re building a new zoo enclosure from scratch. Instead of
just building a zoo enclosure with cool features, you’d talk to lots of animal
experts and environmental scientists to 昀椀nd out what the animals that will
live in that enclosure really need. The aim is for them to have an enjoyable
and stimulating life where they thrive rather than just survive. During the
design process, you’d ask questions like, ‘How much space do they need?’,
‘What is their natural diet and habitat?’ or ‘Are they endangered in the wild
and, therefore, require space for a breeding program?’
Then, you’d take all those ideas and come up with a bunch of di昀昀erent
zoo designs with spaces best suited to the animals. You’d test aspects of the
design and make changes and keep improving until you have an enclosure
that’s just right for the animals.
Design thinking is all about empathy, creativity and problem-solving.
It helps make products and services that are useful and feel good. So,
whatever the end product, this approach focuses on making things that 昀椀t
speci昀椀c needs and desires best.
DEFINE
During the ‘prototype’ stage,
rough drafts or models
are created to test and re昀椀ne
potential solutions, allowing
designers to iterate quickly and
gather valuable feedback.
4
Testing allows you to try out
your prototype. You don’t
need a complete model for
this, you can sketch the idea
and run it past as many people
as you can. This can be other
groups working on the project,
people you see walking in the
area, scientists who know
about the habitats and biology
of the organisms in your area,
local council, conservation
volunteers – the more feedback
you get at this stage the better.
5
Once you’ve gathered
feedback, make changes
to your prototype. Consider
writing to your council,
working with conservation
volunteers or 昀椀nding other
ways to make the idea a reality.
6
USEFUL LINKS
DESIGN THINKING
EMPATHISE
‘Ideate’ is the fun part! Use
Post-it notes, or an online
brainstorming tool to write ideas
– lots and lots of ideas. At this
stage, there are no bad ideas!
3
IDEATE
SPECIES SURVIVAL – MORE THAN JUST SUSTAINABILITY
PROTOTYPE
TEST
JUNIOR WORM FARM ACTIVITY
(JUNIOR LANDCARE WEBSITE)
LIVING SEA WALLS WEBSITE
BUILD A POSSUM BOX ACTIVITY
(BACKYARD BUDDIES WEBSITE)
CONSERVATION VOLUNTEERS
AUSTRALIA WEBSITE
11
