0.3 Part three: service project

Starting your community assessment

By now you have chosen a topic, and completed the reading and assignments related to 1 of these topics below:

• Early childhood education
• Literacy and numeracy for adult learners
• Environmental education
• Education through the arts
• Girls' education
• Conflict mediation
• Special education
• Community Teaching and Learning Centers

In order to prepare for the Service Project, complete the Community Assessment, which is a series of assignments in this section.The assessment begins and ends with art. Along the way, the community uses the art they've created to inform action by gathering resources andcreating tangible benefits. The Community Assessment helps to design a Service Project that is fulfilling a specific need on a local, national, orglobal level.

Stages

Here are the stages involved in completing your Community Assessment:

• Create a Metaphorical Map of Your Community: A Community Tree
• Create a Community Story
• Reflect upon Metaphorical Map-Making
• Generate Project Idea 1
• Generate Project Idea 2
• Generate Project Idea 3
• Choose a Project
• Seek Feedback from your mentor and cohort

Think of this Community Assessment as casting your net into the sea, then gathering it in and looking at what lies within the meshesof your net (work). You'll learn more about your community, and, in doing this assessment, ideas will be sparked for your Service Project.

Assignment 1: creating a metaphorical map of your community

Part One: A Community Tree

Invite a group of 8 people to join you for your community assessment - an accounting of the resources and desires of your community.Let each person know that they will be helping to co-create a project that will both assist your study and benefit the community. The program willbegin and end as a work of art. Along the way, the community will use art to inform action by gathering resources and creating tangible benefits.

In choosing these eight people, please ensure that the group reflects the diversity of the people in your community: (from young toold), occupations, interests, positions, etc. Each participant must be willing to commit to spending 5 hours with the group. You may wish to ask eachparticipant to bring a favorite food to the gathering or you may wish to have food prepared; begin by eating together. Sharing food will help to set thetone. Hospitality and comfort is key.

Once you have eaten and you are ready to begin co-creating the project, here's what you do:

1) Together, construct an outline of a Community Tree using whatever materials you can find locally. The tree might be drawn on paper, or it might be drawn in sand, oron the earth with an outline of twigs and rocks, whatever materials are readily available. You might mix media. For example there might be somedrawing and then other materials would be available to place on top of the drawing. You might even choose to be outside sitting under a tree andplacing objects or drawing things or painting the area as you go. (30 minutes)