The Forest Preserve of Cook Country approached Chris Rudd in the Spring semester of 2022 to work with him and his student to understand an issue as they had framed it: “How might we attract more BIPOC visitors to the forest preserve?”

Students in the Fall semester had conducted extensive research to better understand why BIPOC visitorship to the Forest Preserves of Cook County is low. Their research included staff interviews, on-site observations, and a series of co-design workshops. Their research highlighted the following four barriers: racial targeting and hate crimes, lack of transportation, lack of preparation and equipment, and lack of diversity. From this, we were able to craft a more focussed, accurate and empathy based problem statement; “How might FPCC make BIPOC folks feel safe and welcome in the Forest Preserve so that BIPOC folks can safely enjoy nature?”

We reached out to members of the BIPOC community in Chicago, building relationships by volunteering for non-profit organisations. We invited these community members to join us for a co-design workshop that we facilitated. At each workshop, participants shared their personal experiences and completed a series of exercises we designed to enable them to ideate and then prototype solutions that embodied the their lived expertise, values, and priorities.

As a result of synthesis from each workshop, a clear vision of an equitable and inclusive Forest Preserve crystallised, combining five identifiable principles; Historical and Cultural Education, Visibility and Representation, Reciprocity and Dialogue, BIPOC Partnership and Leadership and Accessibility. These themes enabled us to envision a path or paths forward. We crafted a vision statement, which we thought of as our North Star:
We envision a Forest Preserve where BIPOC folks are seen and welcome, relaxed and connected.

This North Star led us to create a three pronged strategy which we could communicate to the FFCP:

• Cultivate a relationship with the land – BIPOC folks cultivate a nourishing relationship with the land.
• Authentically welcome BIPOC visitors – BIPOC folks are seen, welcome, and wanted in the FFCP.
• Community-orientation – Future FPCC initiatives, policies, programs, etc. strengthen –and draw upon the strength of – BIPOC communities and existing networks.

Within the timeframe of a 14 week semester, along with the prototypes our co-designers had created, we were able to produce a set of cards that we gave to the FFCP after presenting our insights and principles to them. These cards highlighted all of the strategies and principles and amplified the voices of the BIPOC co-designers.

On the front they show an illustrated image of the vision, with a real quote from a co-designer. On the back they list the core strategy with the principles that feed into it.

My biggest takeaway from the project was learning to listen to the community rather than thinking as the designer, I hold the key to the solution. By working with the BIPOC community, the solution embedded real lived experience, an invaluable data source and provided an equitable focus to any outcome.

I learned how to design and facilitate workshops that would enable rapidly prototyping with individuals who were unfamiliar with design thinking. Embedding trauma-informed approaches was central to the workshops as the key focus of ‘safety’ within a marginalised community can often be triggering and it was important for us to learn how to create a safe space with our co-designers.

Understanding how to accurately translate the insights and principles we synthesised from the workshops without losing the voices of the co-designers was also something I had to learn. The presentation to the FFCP focussed on quotations from the co-designers alongside all of their prototypes.