[OSList] The Breakout Rooms in the River and the Park

[paul levy]

The invitation is to improve the parkland and the river running through it.

A hundred people from the local community come - from park rangers to girl
scouts, from local residents to environmentalists.

The Open Space runs from 9am Monday until 7pm Friday.

The facilitator opens the circle and refers to the agenda on the wall. The
breakout areas are not defined - just the times, and these only are
suggested, running from 7am to 7pm each day.

The market place opens. Someone gets up to offer a session. The park ranger.

I'm going to be dredging the river for rubbish on Tuesday for three hours
at 2pm

Someone else gets up. A local resident. I'm going to do some clearing of
the bushes near the playground. General tidying up, some pruning. The
gardener will be coming along to to help. It's tomorrow from 9am until
lunchtime.

Someone else gets up. The head of the Neighbourhood Watch scheme. I'd like
to lead a discussion on local security and then go knocking on doors with
leaflets about it. Thursday all day.

Someone else gets up. A local resident. Who wants to learn to fish? I can
take up to seven in my boat on Thursday from 3pm.

Soon there follow other sessions. Someone offers a talk on local wildlife
and identifying edible plants in the wood. Someone else wants to start a
petition for some new climbing equipment in the park. Someone wants to lead
a discussion about river safety at night. Someone else, a gardener,  wants
to repaint the tool sheds in the gardens and calls for help.

The programme fills up. The group breaks out.

We go to work.

The closing circle is on Friday. There space in the venue remains open and
there's a catch up circle on Wednesday for those who want to come.

On Friday, the closing circle takes the form of stories told of successes,
frustrations and there are a few slide shows of what we have all achieved.

All in all, more has been achieved in a week, on less budget. All of this
work would normally have taken a year to plan and carry out. The community
decide to meet again in three months time.
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