Notes from the Sea

Our project began as a way to get people to imagine new futures. We wanted to invite people to challenge their assumptions about the natural world. We believed that, through dialogue, we could help each other be more open-minded and mindful in our lives and in our work.

We invited people into an unfamiliar future: an undersea world, hundreds of years in the future. ​Workshop participants paged through a "field notebook" full of sketches and descriptions of several organisms that had adapted to a variety of environmental changes. After looking through the field notebook, they played a brief game to imagine yet more futuristic sea creatures. Many posted their new creatures on a physical or digital board, to inspire other participants.

A spirited discussion followed the activity: this way of looking at the natural world sparked a variety of emotions, ranging from optimism and empowerment to concern or even anger. Together, we asked participants to articulate the root cause of those feelings. Why did they feel optimistic, or concerned? The answers to these questions, and the discussions around them, led us to a set of core assumptions that people held about the natural world.

The success of this project has created a framework for critical conversations about the future. Participants found that articulating and comparing assumptions helped start conversations about better futures for our world.