Corona virus cannot stop this community!
Community development faces unique challenges these days, but the desire for extended connections seems to be growing while we are physically distanced. Opportunities to connect with neighbors have not diminished just because we are at least six feet apart. Lauren Sinclair updated City Repair with all the activities that her St. John’s neighbors are doing to build connections and support one another during the pandemic. It was uplifting and inspiring to read about all the community action happening during a time when it is easier than ever to slip into isolation. Here is the list of actions taken by Lauren and her neighbors that she emailed us.
Neighbors surprised Lauren’s family with this thoughtful artwork outside their house.
Share pets with a middle schooler whose dog just died. 💔 She now takes neighbors' dogs for walks and cuddles our kitties.
Collaborate on grocery runs to reduce the amount of exposure during quarantine.
Sew masks. Neighbors shared scraps of fabric, old t-shirts, sewing machines, and time to sew beautiful masks for neighbors and our neighborhood helpers.
Share backyard spaces. One little boy likes to visit our chickens, so we keep the back gate unlocked for him. Another neighbor suggested building cut-throughs in our fences... and several families are considering it! We're also sharing tools and materials to avoid trips to the store.
Share garden space. I'm digging a new cut flower garden in the planting strip between the sidewalk and the curb, for cut-your-own flowers. Inspired by a neighbor a few blocks over: @smallyardflowers A few other neighbors are eyeing an overgrown public right-of-way as garden potential for the whole street! Everyone is sharing flowers, starts, and eggs. :) More neighbors are spending time in front yard gardens, which is leading us to more conversations (from a safe distance of course).
Support mason bees! The neighborhood kids have been learning about my new mason bees and watched a few hatch last month. Now we all alert each other with photos and videos when we find one in our yards. They're like shared pets!
Bike parades! On our first bike parade to Kelly Point we had a party of 7... then another family joined the next weekend and we biked to Smith and Bybee, which was a first for our 2nd grade neighbor… and now we’ve learned that the city is blocking parts of a nearby greenway, so we’re planning a shorter, safer ride that can include the youngest bikers on the street. :)
Reclaiming the street: skateboards, bikes, and sidewalk chalk are out more than ever! Adults are doing workouts on the sidewalk and in driveways… I’ve definitely been challenged to exercise by my amazing neighbors’ workouts!
the start of a sharing garden.
On top of these activities, her community is progressing with their placemaking plans and have a great rough draft of their design for an intersection painting. I spent a few minutes chatting with Lauren about her neighborhood because I wanted to glean some thoughts, ideas, or techniques to share with blog readers. Here are some insightful points she made.
Community can take many forms. Every person and every place offers unique opportunities.
It’s fine to find a community to plug into but finding an opportunity to build community is even more rewarding.
Community is a strong foundation for hard times. When disruptions to normalcy occur (like Covid-19), community is a good insurance to have. This is a great opportunity to learn the strengths and weaknesses of your own community. Foster positive relationships now and see them pay off in hard times.
Your neighbor to the right can connect you to their neighbor on the right and grow community outward like ever expanding concentric circles.
Consider the needs and boundaries of your neighbors as well as your own. People have different amounts of time, energy, emotional and mental bandwidth for community building.
Don’t overextend yourself. Not only will you burnout, but it can be off putting.
Always try to ensure that the first couple interactions with an unknown neighbor are positive. Be the first person to introduce yourself, offer help, share tools or baked goods or something from your garden. That way you’ll have a good foundation for whatever lies ahead… whether it’s a community crisis, a tough conversation, or a request for help.
I’d love to hear more stories or examples from anyone who would like to share. Email me at art@cityrepair.org
Wells Wait