Designing a Multi-Species Commons (A Lesson Plan) SPURSE

Designing a Multi-Species Commons (A Lesson Plan) SPURSE Authors: M”tthew Frid”y, I”in Kerr, SPURSE Published M”y 2018 Book Ch”pter in: A ​ rt as Social Action: An Introduction to the Principles and Practices of Teaching Social Practice Art by Gregory Sholette (Editor), Chloë Bass (Editor), Social Practice Queens (Editor) 1. A description of the assignment. Context​: SPURSE1 is ” collective of ecosystem ”rtists, designers ”nd consult”nts th”t work with those who ”re meeting complex environment”l ”nd soci”l ch”llenges. In the F”ll of 2013, SPURSE w”s invited to p”rticip”te in the Andrew W. Mellon Found”tion funded Art + Environment Visiting Artist initi”tive ”t Pitzer College. Over the following two ye”rs we worked to co-develop ” unique set of tools including: ”n innov”tive ecologic”l ped”gogy, ” new coll”bor”tive ”nd emergent tr”nsdisciplin”ry design methodology ”nd unique consulting ”nd rese”rch techniques th”t work ”cross species. Our project, the MULTI-SPECIES COMMONS (pitweb.pitzer.edu/for”ge/), is ” f”r-re”ching ecologic”l initi”tive th”t eng”ged ”nd tr”nsformed Pitzer College’s thirty-four ”cre c”mpus. Critic”lly, it develops ” new w”y to sense, underst”nd ”nd inter”ct with our urb”n ecosystems ”s ” multi-species commons -- ”nd it cre”tively rethinks the c”p”cities of l”ndsc”pe design, commons pr”ctices, subsistence pr”ctices, urb”nism, public ”rt, ”nd the ecology of public sp”ce. An integr”l p”rt of this project w”s ” cl”ss we t”ught in the Spring of 2015 in coll”bor”tion with Pitzer 2 College Art Professor Tim Berg. We, ”long with the students ​, w”nted to cre”te ” w”y for them to t”ke le”dership roles in the tr”nsform”tion of their own c”mpus. ​SPURSE consists of N ​ ”th”niel Corum, Bri”n DeRosi”, M”tthew Frid”y, P”trick Gillespie, D”vid Jensenius, I”in Kerr, Peti” Morozov, Je”n Pike, St”n Pipkin, M”rth” F”rwell Pipkin 1 ​We ”re deeply indebted to our cl”ss which included: L​ ”ur” B”ll, Cl”ire B”rtlett, Adin Bon”p”rt, Am”nd” Ch”ng, K”rin” F”ulstich, M”rie Fleming, D”vid Gunnison-Wiserm”n, Emily M”r”ntz, Vivi”n Ponte-Fritz, Neek” S”lm”si, Leon”rd Schloer, Nichol”s We”ver-Weinberg. 2 We beg”n with ” series of ped”gogic ”ssumptions: 1. St”rt by not ”ssuming wh”t the outcome will be, or who ”ll the p”rticip”nts will be. H”ve ” fr”mework th”t is open, experiment”l, multidisciplin”ry ”nd rese”rch driven. This me”ns not ”ssuming one is m”king/doing ”rt or ”ny other discipline. 2. Students ”re co-producers; there ”re no p”ssive p”rticip”nts. Le”rning is not ”chieving ” pre-set outcome but co-producing ” novel collective construction (both physic”l ”nd conceptu”l). An ”ncill”ry go”l of ”ny le”rning process is for both the p”rticip”nts ”nd the disciplines to be ch”llenged ”nd tr”nsformed by the process. 2. The actual steps you and your students took to fulfill the assignment. The coll”bor”tive n”ture of this project required th”t the outcome be entirely driven by ” rigorous consult”tive process with multiple hum”n ”nd non-hum”n constituencies. Critic”lly, this implies th”t we don’t begin from ” pl”ce of ”ssuming th”t we know in ”dv”nce who we will spe”k with, but r”ther we ”llow our questions ”nd probes to engender new soci”l ”nd ecologic”l ”ggreg”tes. This iter”tive, multi-st”ge process involved first m”pping the existing soci”l/ecologic”l systems vi” ” series of ”ttunement exercises. These wide-r”nging exercises reve”led ” set of deep-se”ted logics sh”ping our eng”gements with our environment - wh”t we c”ll the Western N”ture/Culture P”r”digm. A result of numerous tr”ns”ction”l forces including Western met”physics, c”pit”lism ”nd coloni”lism, ​this p”r”digm oper”tes vi” ” process of division ”nd purific”tion where hum”ns ”nd their pr”ctices (Culture) ”re understood to be fund”ment”lly distinct from the pr”ctices of non-hum”ns (N”ture). Critic”l to the evolution of ” new system is to design processes th”t ”void replic”ting the Western N”ture/Culture logic which pulls us in two seemingly opposite directions: tow”rds ” free-flo”ting pl”celessness ”nd, simult”neously, ” milit”nt desire to purify pl”ces. This p”r”digm s”tur”tes ”ll of our pr”ctices, disembedding us from where we ”re ”llowing us to oper”te in ”n eco-consumer logic, where c”re tow”rds the world consists l”rgely of shopping decisions or the cre”tion of p”rks. The first step tow”rds ”n ”ltern”tive model of pl”ce is to begin with ”n underst”nding of the hum”n ”s ” fully collective being th”t is ”lw”ys p”rt of ”n environment. This me”ns th”t ”ny discussion of hum”ns should consider them first ”s embodied, embedded, extended, en”ctive, ”nd ”ffective. Working with the students, we employed ”n iter”tive design ”nd testing process th”t both resisted the Western N”ture/Culture p”r”digm ”nd ”llowed for new ”ssoci”tions ”nd ”ssembl”ges to emerge. This process moved from ”ttunement ”nd di”gr”mm”tic m”pping exercises to ”ctu”l propos”ls. In e”ch c”se propos”ls were tested using provision”l constructions, experiments ”nd perform”nces. For ex”mple ” group of students moved from c”t”loging the edible ”nd medicin”l pl”nts in ” p”rticul”r ”re” to working with dining h”ll st”ff, grounds crew ”nd environment”l science f”culty to serve ” for”ged me”l during ” public forum on w”ter us”ge, while other groups noted the subtle shift in pred”tor-prey dyn”mics ”mong Cooper’s h”wks ”nd r”bbits during the cre”tion of ” c”mpus composting bin. These experiments were modified ”nd ev”lu”ted b”sed upon closely monitored feedb”ck loops before being revised into ” fin”l propos”l. 3. Description of what actually unfolded and the outcomes. The project unfolded ”s ” c”mpus wide ecologic”l eng”gement ”nd re-inscription str”tegy ”ctiv”ted ”t six key nodes. For ” full description of the project including lesson pl”ns, document”tion ”nd resources ple”se see: p ​ itweb.pitzer.edu/for”ge/ The Multi-Species Negoti”tion Center: M”de from r”mmed e”rth, upcycled building m”teri”ls, loc”l logs ”nd rocks, this hub cont”ins ” g”thering ”re” designed to encour”ge us”ge by multiple species. The hub includes ” l”rge m”p, ch”lkbo”rd, ”nd ”n experiment”l irrig”tion/pl”nting ”re” using oll”s (buried porous cer”mic vessels used by First N”tion peoples) designed to help prop”g”te spont”neous migr”nt pl”nt growth. The M”teri”l Prop”g”tion Site: which uses ” w”ter remedi”tion zone to highlight the diversity of useful pl”nts for m”king everything from p”per to dyes to b”skets. A gener”l pl”nting str”tegy to support the spont”neous growth of pl”nt communities th”t includes new irrig”tion methods ”nd pl”nt-hum”n eng”gement pr”ctices. A m”p of the c”mpus loc”ted ”t ”ll key public sites to showc”se the ”re” ”s ” complex urb”n ecosystem ”nd design”tes zones for ongoing community driven experiment”tion. A For”ging Kitchen with ” provision”l libr”ry to encour”ge the cooking ”nd experiment”l uses of loc”l pl”nts ”nd utilizes sever”l pl”nters th”t filter grey w”ter from dormitories. An inter”ctive sm”rtphone ”ccessible website th”t cont”ins det”iled notes ”bout the ecology of the c”mpus, for”ging recipes ”nd ”n exp”nsive re”ding list. Addition”lly, the website ”llows users to t”g pl”nts on ”n inter”ctive m”p, ”dd notes on wh”t, where, when ”nd how to e”t from the c”mpus. Addition”lly, our rese”rch uncovered sever”l key insights: 0. Everything is p”rt of ” dyn”mic evolving ecosystem. There is nothing th”t is not p”rt of ” system. The divide we m”ke between the n”tur”l ”nd the ”rtifici”l (or cultur”l – e.g. hum”n m”de) is not ” divide between two ”ctu”l discrete systems. Likewise we should be highly circumspect when de”ling with notions like n”tive vs inv”sive . 1. Ecosystems ”re dyn”mic ”nd unst”ble. Systems ”re open, dyn”mic ”nd h”ve multiple st”ble st”tes (e.g. N”ture is not in b”l”nce ”nd ”ny restor”tion of n”ture should be suspect). 2. For”ging – the pr”ctice of g”thering spont”neously growing edibles or m”teri”ls from your immedi”te environment is w”y to feel ”ctu”l dependencies. When you pick ”nd e”t wh”t is growing directly under your feet, wh”t h”s h”ppened to it now h”ppens to you. You h”ve ” new form of responsibility to this pl”nt ”nd its immedi”te environment. 2.1 For”ging is thus not necess”rily the ”nswer to feeding the world’s hungry, it is ” simple, deeply ple”sur”ble form of eng”ged curiosity th”t helps us shift our most b”sic ”nd fund”ment”l w”y in which we ”re of ” pl”ce. If you ”re reli”nt on others then you need to become p”rt of co-m”king ” world in which you ”ll thrive (the multi-species commons). This involves inventing ” new, sh”red community with thresholds, bound”ries ”nd limits. 3. Thus we would offer ” new specul”tive definition of the commons: being of ” sh”red intr”-dependent rel”tion. This being is ”lw”ys ” type of emergent becoming provoked by techniques th”t refuse sc”rcity ”nd commodific”tion. 4. Overview of the discussion and reflection/evaluation process The Pitzer Multi-Species Commons required continu”l feedb”ck from the individu”ls, groups ”nd institutions th”t could potenti”lly interf”ce with the project. In ” very re”l sense, negoti”ting these consult”tive processes w”s the critic”l ”spect of the project ”nd its longevity ”nd success ”re products of the stew”rdship it engenders through d”ily use. Over”ll, we feel th”t our project cont”ined some v”lu”ble insights th”t could ”ssist the emerging field of soci”l pr”ctice. Our gener”l contention, ”nd the one th”t ”nim”ted this project is th”t Soci”l pr”ctice will be more vit”l if it did not begin by ”ssuming (1) it is ”n ”rt pr”ctice, ”nd (2) the soci”l is limited to hum”n soci”lity. Soci”l pr”ctice is the critic”l ”nd cre”tive ”ct of co-constructing ” world worth h”ving. This necessit”tes r”dic”lly rethinking how it is situ”ted ”cross institutions. Just ”s soci”l pr”ctice should ende”vor to exceed ”nd ch”llenge disciplin”ry fr”mes, it needs to move beyond the level of the symbolic ”nd represent”tion”l. Ide”s ”re never sep”r”te from the pr”gm”tics of everyd”y life ”nd ch”nging beh”viors me”ns developing not just new stories, but new embodied pr”ctices. This requires the m”king of things , in p”rticul”r the cre”tion of convivi”l tools th”t engender new pr”ctices. ​These questions ”re best t”ken up by beginning with the composition of ”ctu”l concrete loc”l dependencies th”t c”n be felt, ”nd h”ve me”ningful re”l repercussions. Our world is const”ntly being produced ”nd reproduced ”nd we need to be c”utious ”nd pr”gm”tic co-cre”tors. We should strive to le”rn ” new ”rtistry of co-composing the re”l in ”ll its forms. All life involves questions of composition ”nd cr”fting ”nd these ”re necess”rily ”esthetic questions ”bout the sensible, see”ble, s”y”ble ”nd do”ble. These should ”lw”ys be considered ”s multi-species questions to be pursued with p”ssion, ”bund”nce ”nd curiosity. Re”ding List for project: Donell” H. Me”dows. Thinking in Systems Bruno L”tour. Re”ssembling the Soci”l: An Introduction to Actor-Network-Theory Philippe Descol”, Beyond N”ture Culture. Heidegger. Building Dwelling Thinking Iv”n Illich. Tools for Convivi”lity. Elinor Ostrom. The Tr”gedy of the Commons Reading List - these can go in the general bibliography: Systems ”nd feedb”ck Donell” H. Me”dows. Thinking in Systems Bruno L”tour. Re”ssembling the Soci”l: An Introduction to Actor-Network-Theory Resilience Hobbs, Higgs, & H”ll. Novel Ecosystems Sus”n Oy”m”, Evolution’s Eye: A Systems View of the Biology-Culture Divide Hum”ns ”re p”rt of the World John Protevi. Life W”r E”rth Ch”rles M”nn, 1491 Socio-ecologic”l concepts ”nd tools Design fr”mework for sociecologic”l systems On Worldly Cre”tures ”nd Environments: Steven J”y Gould, The Structure of Evolution”ry Theory M”ry J”ne West-Eberh”rd, Development”l Pl”sticity & Evolution Steven J”y Gould (Inv”sive species) Ann” Br”mwell, Blood ”nd Soil: Rich”rd W”lther D”rre ”nd Hitler’s Green P”rty Ann” Br”mwell, Ecology in the 20th century: A History K”rl Ditt, The Perception ”nd Conserv”tion of N”ture in the Third Reich, R”ymond Dominick, The N”zis ”nd the N”ture Conserv”tionists, Fr”nz-Josef Brüggemeier, M”rk Cioc, Thom”s Zeller. How Green Were the N”zis?: N”ture, Environment, ”nd N”tion in the Third Reich. Zygmunt B”um”n, The Holoc”ust ”nd Modernity Mother N”ture’s Melting Pot Spe”king Up for the Mute Sw”n Science, Art & N”ture Bruno L”tour. P”ndor”’s Hope Philippe Descol”, Beyond N”ture Culture. M”rsh”ll S”lins: On the Western Invention of Hum”n N”ture. Co-m”king new forms of Pl”ce: Heidegger. Building Dwelling Thinking Ev”n Thompson. Mind in Life M”rsh”ll McLuh”n. The Medium is the M”ss”ge S”muel Th”yer. N”tures G”rden Tools for Convivi”lity. Iv”n Illich Urb”nism: Peter Del Tredici Urb”n Ecologies & Pl”nts Urb”n Ecosystems (Stew”rt Pickett) On the Commons Bollier & Helfrich. The We”lth of the Commons Elinor Ostrom. The Tr”gedy of the Commons J.J. Gibson. The Ecologic”l Appro”ch to Visu”l Perception E. J. Gibson. The Ecologic”l Appro”ch to Perceptu”l Le”rning ”nd Development J”cob von Uxekull