Pang & Harris PROJECT PROPOSAL BRIEF
A series of project that protests deforestation and encourages urban greenery. THE PROBLEM Every year more than 8.5 million hectares of tropical rainforests are being razed. Deforestation is a direct cause of the 6th mass extinction of planet Earth, an ongoing mass extinction with a rapid rate of 27000 species disappearing annually.
“With the current rate of extinction, 20% of all species would be gone by 2022. And if the rate of human destruction continues, one half of all species will disappear in 100 years.” -E.O.Wilson, one of the greatest biologists of our time
As these species vanish from the globe, the world will be a poorer and less colorful place. But do we care? So little action is taken that I doubt it. Why don’t people care? Perhaps it’s because we all live in our own bubble. We miss out what is really happening out there in nature, we don’t see and we don’t feel. We have no connection with nature and therefore no love for it. If one has no love for something, why should he care?
“I think that our distance from nature is already a cliché. City dwellers often have no relationship with animals or greenery.” -Edina Tokodi, creator of the “living graffiti”
So, the problem is there isn’t enough element of nature in the bubble we live in. We need more to remind us of worlds beyond our walls.
EXAMPLES A very good example will be Edina Tokodi’s Living Graffiti, where she would create images on wall using living moss or scrubs. Edina builds on her characteristic meme of shadows-of wild-life — the fuzzy and simple reminders for urbanites that there is a wilderness out there beyond our cities. “For me, the reaction of life on the street is also very important. I am curious about how people receive them, if they just leave them alone, or if they want to, take care of them or dismantle them.” Said Edina. -article by Abigail Doan, Inhabitat
OUR APPROACH
Our approach on raising environmental awareness is also using plants as the element. Since plants best represents nature and the issue of deforestation.
THE GREEN TIME BOM The idea is to design a device that could hold seeds in it, and could be hidden anywhere in the city environment without people noticing it. It will reveal itself as the plant grows up. It delivers the message: nature can occur anywhere, as long as we don’t stop it. The devise is to be made out of degradable recycled material (fast food paper bags etc.), so as the plant grows, the package degrades and disappears. The package is only needed to hold soil & water and protect the seeds while it grows, once the plant is big enough, it can sustain itself as the package fades away. These seed packets shall be largely distributed across the city environment, such as hanging from the walls of alley ways, hidden behind a sign board, stuck under public seating, and all sorts of unexpected places. This can also test the relationship between people and plants. Will people remove a living plant just because it is growing in the wrong place, for instance on a public chair? Or would people rather enjoy their presence? After all, who are we to decide where should a living plant grow and where it shouldn’t? Earth is a place for all life form to share. If this project is a success, another similar devise would be properly designed, and released as a product to be used as household item. It is a vessel that holds plants, but most importantly, it should make planting very easy. For instance, watering should be automatic, so the owner doesn’t have to constantly remember to water the plant. Easy planting encourages the laziest people to bring plants home. When everyone has plants at home, the connection between plants and human is improved. So the next time one sees a report on deforestation, he could feel the pain too.
The project structure: The informal urban practice of distributing seeds across the city, leads to the opportunity for a product that encourages urban greenery.
PRETTY FLOWER & UGLY MESSAGE The aim of this project is to directly deliver (or say force) the message to the public, and as a side effect, encourages planting. The idea is reusing beer bottles as vase with a message attached to it (basically a piece of paper), place pretty flowers in it, and display it on the streets. Those who like are free to take one home. The flowers are strong tools for attracting people, their desire for the flower would attract them to finally see the message (or the note attached to the vase). The message is a strong one, and could be rather depressing, it addresses some of the worse facts related to deforestation and the destruction of wildlife. It delivers the message: When we are busy enjoying life, never shall we forget the worlds beyond our walls. If no action is taken, the beautiful nature we are witnessing now would disappear soon. (hence the use of pretty flowers) If the reaction of the public is good, the next stage could be introduced. The 2nd stage would be to encourage people to plant these flowers in their garden (or in a pot) instead of just displaying it on the table until in dies. The concept stays the same, except the material for the vase is to be replaced. A biodegradable material, recycled news papers for instance, could be used to plant the flowers. The public could simply take one home and place it in their garden soil or flower pot, the plant grows and the paper vase finally degrades. The message (paper note) would be changed into a two sided one; one side addressing the depressing issues, the other side offering a solution (in this case it’s planting). One flower could trigger a person’s will of planting, who knows?
The project structure: The informal urban practice of ‘educating’ by message delivering, leads to the opportunity for a project that ‘encourages’ planting. First education, then encouragement.
THE MISPLACED PLANT This is a small project, simply testing the relationship between plants and human. The idea is to place plants in the “wrong” spot. For instance, on the public chair, in the middle of the streets, next to the tram stop’s timetable, etc. By observing the reaction of the public to these plants, we can see how people view nature. Do they find it annoying because the plant gets in their way, or do people rather enjoy the presence of it? I am certain there will be people trying to remove it because it isn’t the right place to grow plants. The question is, do we humans have right to decide where a living organism should grow or where it shouldn’t? We are not GOD! We have to respect life, no matter what form it’s in. It delivers the message: Numerous lives out there has been on earth longer than we humans do, they have every right to exist.
THE COMBINATION This project is the hybrid practice of the “ugly message” and the “misplaced plant”. The idea is to place plants in the ‘wrong ‘spot, again. But this time, messages (paper notes) are included. The misplaced plants draws people’s attention to discover the messages attached to it. They are free to take a paper note which again, addresses all the environmental issues. In this practice, pretty flowers are not used. Instead, more ordinary plants like grass and small yellow flowers are used to gain attention. It’s a contrast with the previous project “pretty flowers & ugly message”. This enables us to observe the hierarchy between plants. Are people only attracted to pretty flowers, or is an ordinary plant equally important to them? Again, the question is, who are we to say if one plant is better than the other? Who are we to judge life? We are not GOD! Life is equal, no matter what form it’s in.