Design Brief: Memory Garden
Design a small memory garden concept that could help preserve a specific cultural tradition, skill, or story while creating meaningful connections between generations.
Your garden should intentionally use sensory elements (smell, touch, sight, sound) to trigger memories and facilitate the sharing of cultural knowledge.
An Example: My Grandfather's Memory Garden
To help spark ideas, here’s a design I created based on my own experiences. I focused on memories with my grandfather on his farm, and chose elements that connected to those moments:
- A small pond - Recalling the dugout on the farm where frogs lived and my cousin would try to catch them
- Wheat and grain plantings - Representing the fields where my grandfather took me on tractor rides
- Lilac bushes - Which grew abundantly in Manitoba and provide a distinctive sensory connection to that place
I didn't choose these elements by accident. Each element connects to specific memories and values my grandfather passed down to me, including his balance of frugality and generosity that I learned from our trips to the donut shop and his later financial support.
Design Process
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1
Select a Tradition or Story
What story, skill, or tradition do you want to preserve? Who shared it with you? Why is it important?
This could be from family members, community elders, mentors, or other significant figures in your life.
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2
Identify Sensory Triggers
What sensory elements are associated with this tradition? How might they trigger memories and stories?
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3
Design Your Memory Garden
Instructions:
- Drag elements from the palette onto the garden board
- Drag placed elements to rearrange them
- Double-click an element to remove it
- Your design will automatically save to your browser
After designing your garden above, please describe its significance and the elements you chose below:
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4
Explain How Your Design Facilitates Intergenerational Connection
How will your garden help older and younger generations connect? How does it preserve the tradition you chose?
Consider how Nestor shared tales around campfires, or how my grandfather's farm became a setting for passing down values. How will your garden create similar moments of connection?
Success Criteria Checklist
Use this checklist to evaluate your memory garden design:
"Mightiest were these of men reared upon the earth... with those men could no one fight of the mortals now upon the earth." — Nestor, in Homer's Iliad
Like Nestor preserving the memory of heroes past, your garden will preserve the wisdom and traditions that matter to you.