Rooted is an educational, after-school program targeted at children ages 6-10. We are focused on teaching children civic responsibility skills through the lens of nature. We aim to make nature an accessible experience and resource to every child. 

This project was created in collaboration with Kingsessing, Empower CDC, the Thomas Jefferson Landscape Architecture program, and two other graphic design students. The objective was to introduce urban green space to the community of Kingsessing. 

In this group, I contributed to the conceptual ideation of the grade-based journals. I created the poster series, the banner series, the dismal handouts, and the “swag” (shirt, gloves, folder).  

Our Process.

Our process with Rooted began when we first visited the neighborhood. This gave us an understanding of the existing infrastructure and green space and how we might begin to build on these resources.

The next step in our process was speaking to the community of Kingsessing and understanding what they view as the main assets to their community. We did this to ensure that we were creating with the community, not for the community. During these conversations, community members expressed that they believe the youth are the key assets of the community, as the youth will soon become the future of the community.

From this, we knew that creating a service for the children of Kingsessing would be the most impactful resources for the community as a whole. We began secondary research: target audience maps, asset maps, and idea generation.

Brand Developments and Deliverables.

In order to reach our goal of teaching kids civic responsibility through nature, we broke the education modules and activities into grade-based groups. We did this with the intention that the children will begin with first grade and this program will follow them as they mature, and be rooted in their future.

We decided to hold this program in the WC Longstreth Elementary School schoolyard, as this infrastructure is an existing asset of the community and offers a good foundation, especially and locationally, for Rooted to be held. We also decided that this program would need to be held after school to service every child in the community, not just the children attending WC Longstreth.

Each child that is a part of Rooted receives a kit with the materials they need for their educational modules and activities, based on their grade level.

The main element of the kit is the activity journal. This journal is an interactive piece where directions and prompts for each activity and/or learning module can be found. The children can also track the information they’re learning through Rooted in their journal.

Rooted is managed and mentored by young adults in the area. Each of these mentors receives an instruction guide that acts as a lesson plan.