Capturing the Future
– Imagining scenarios
– Enabling individual and group actions
– Marking the event
The focus of these practical, creative workshops is managing change, addressing climate change, or envisioning a new scenario – or all three. But instead of pens and paper, participants are given tools that are sculptural, reusable and portable, such as aquariums and baskets into which they are encouraged to place objects and materials that trigger memories. The supportive space of these small workshops allows time for reflection and the sharing of hopes and ideas about future scenarios, as well as anxieties. These are then shared with relevant stakeholders, although in an ideal situation, stakeholder representatives would also attend the workshops.

A Pool for Life - day long series of workshops for the project Jubilee Pool Stories. Children floated their dreams for how the pool could look in the future. Photograph Florence Browne.
Jubilee Pool Stories: Penzance, Cornwall
In this summer workshop, children aged 6–11 years from St Maddern’s school, Penzance, spent the whole day at Jubilee Pool, which became an outdoor classroom. They learned about the history of bathing at the pool, and enjoyed swimming and making mini-pools. At the end of the day, the children were told about future ideas for the pool, then asked to write down their own wishes, which they placed in see-through bags in their mini-pools. These were put on display at the Newlyn Exchange public gallery in Penzance. Their work was also taken to the Society and Sea Conference in Greenwich in 2018.
Coral Communities: Fundo Island, Zanzibar
During this year-long project, I ran a two-day workshop with islanders focusing on resource-mapping and the resilience of the surrounding coral reefs in the face of climate change. Co-facilitator, Timur Jack-Kadıoğlu from Mwambao Coastal Community Network explains the activity: “Using a waterproof, woven ‘ocean basket’ gifted to the community by a Cornish artisan, villagers placed items that represented the best and worst aspects of their future, after which the basket was symbolically filled with seawater, embodying their intrinsic relationship with the coast.”

A Pool for Life - day long series of workshops for the project Jubilee Pool Stories. Children floated their dreams in relationship to how the pool could be in the future. Photograph Andy Hughes.

Exhibition of a Pool for Life, part of the project Jubilee Pool Stories. Children's work and their dreams for the future were exhibited at the second Greenwich Maritime Centre (GMC) international conference on the theme 'Society and the Sea' September 2018. Photograph Andy Hughes.

A Pool for Life - day long series of workshops for the project Jubilee Pool Stories. Children swam in the pool before talking about their dreams for the pool in the future. Photograph Florence Browne.

Zanzibar workshop on Fundo Island with the Coral Communities team and Mwambao Coastal Community Network. Using a Cornish waterproof basket (created by Geraldine Jones in Cornwall) the community were asked to collect water to symbolise their future - they first carried out Wudu - the theme of religion emerged from thinking about the future in this way. Photograph Mark Bryant.

Zanzibar workshop on Fundo Island with the Coral Communities team and Mwambao Coastal Community Network. Using an 'Ocean Basket' the community floated the best and worst objects that they felt represented their future. Photograph Timur Jack-Kadioglu.