Workshop 10:  Welcome to Greenville - Project Planet Love 1

Note: The Ambassadors will be asked in this workshop to set up their board games. DO NOT let them start setting up the game before you have completed the Passion Leaves exercise, otherwise they will get distracted. Have all the information and resources that they will need for the board game in a clip folder or gathered in some way on their tables.

Recap & Overview | 2 mins

Briefly reconnect the Ambassadors to their journey so far. Ask: "Who can remember what we explored together last week?"

Take a few quick responses. 

Say: “Last week, we all took part in our version of the famous court case for the Whanganui River in New Zealand, exploring the big questions raised by the trial. This week, we are going to start thinking about Project Planet Love! We will introduce you to some of the types of projects you can be involved in. We will also play a Bertha Earth board game that’s all about completing projects for the planet in a made-up town called Greenville.”

Explain: “Over the coming weeks, you'll get to develop an idea for your own project. We call these projects Project Planet Love, or PPL for short. 

Project Planet Love is about taking something you care about or enjoy and using it to take positive action for the planet. Everyone's Project Planet Love can look different. You might tell a story, make or build something, bring people together, investigate an issue, speak up about something you care about, or take practical action in your school or community. At the end of the programme, you'll have an opportunity to share your Project Planet Love as part of our Celebration.

“Later in the programme, we'll spend much more time exploring all the different project possibilities and support you in deciding what you'd like to do. Today, we're just going to give you a little taste of the different areas of interest and see which ones spark something in you.

“You're not choosing anything yet. We're just getting curious about what you might enjoy.”

Transition: “Grab your Storybooks, because it's time to create your Passion Leaves.” 

Passion Leaves | 4 mins

Invite the Ambassadors to draw three leaves in their Storybooks or give each Ambassador three paper leaves to stick into their Storybook.

Explain: “We're going to have a really quick look at nine different areas of interest that you'll get to explore much more later in the programme. You don't need to understand everything about them today and you're definitely not choosing an area yet. This is simply about noticing what catches your attention.”

Say: “As I read through the nine areas, listen for the ones that make you think:

• ‘That sounds interesting.’ 

• ‘I'd like to know more about that.’

• ‘That feels like something I might enjoy.’”

“Choose the three that interest you most right now and write one on each of your leaves. Don't overthink it. Go with what catches your attention today. You can always change your mind later.”

ON THE SLIDE: WHAT SPARKS YOUR INTEREST?

Read out the following nine areas of interest. The goal is that they end up with three areas of interest across their three leaves. 

🎨 ARTY ARTIVISTS

Love drawing, painting, designing, making or getting creative?
Explore how art and creativity can help people see, feel or think differently about our planet.

🎮 GAME CHANGERS

Love gaming, technology, puzzles or coming up with clever ideas?
Explore how games and tech can be used to get people thinking, learning and taking action for the planet.

⚽ PLAY FOR THE PLANET

Love sport, movement, being active or getting people involved?
Explore how the things you love to play can bring people together and inspire positive action for the planet.

🌱 GREEN FINGERS

Love plants, growing things, getting outdoors or getting your hands dirty?
Explore how growing, planting, and caring for green spaces can make a difference for people and the planet.

♻️ WASTE WARRIORS

Hate seeing things wasted or love finding new uses for old stuff?
Explore creative ways to reduce, reuse, repair, recycle and rethink what we throw away, from fast fashion, to the food we eat, to books and other items.

📣 COOL CAMPAIGNERS

Love sharing your opinions, standing up for what matters or getting other people involved?
Explore how marketing campaigns, petitions and using your voice can help change minds, decisions and even rules.

🌍 GREEN GATHERERS

Love bringing people together, organising things or creating experiences that everyone can enjoy?
Explore how events and gatherings can connect people and inspire them to care for each other and the planet.

💡 BRIGHT SPARKS

Love asking questions, investigating things, experimenting or finding out how stuff works? Do you have a big idea? Explore how science, ideas and problem-solving can help us understand environmental challenges and find possible solutions.

📖 STIR IT UP STORYTELLERS

Love stories, writing, photography, film, music, podcasts or making content?
Explore how powerful stories can make people think, feel, question things and maybe even inspire change

Say: “Remember: You're not committing to anything today. You're simply noticing what interests you right now.”

Ask them to pop their books away when they are done and focus their attention on the pack in the middle of their group table. Alternatively hand the packs out. 

Important Note: The game instructions are linked below to help you understand the game and support groups if they get stuck. You do not need to read these instructions aloud or explain them to the Ambassadors. The fun of it is them working out the rules together and asking questions if they get stuck. 

Welcome to Greenville instructions

The game is unusual in that Ambassadors will not get a playing piece each. Regardless of the number of Ambassadors on a team, all Ambassadors collectively decide how all playing pieces should move, with a different Ambassador each round taking responsibility for physically moving all the pieces on behalf of the team. This removes any need for players to be associated with a particular playing piece and strongly reinforces the practice of Ubuntu.

Introducing Welcome to Greenville | 5 mins

Form Teams and Set up the Board

Divide the Ambassadors into teams of 3-6, depending on the number of game boards you have available. Once the Ambassadors are sat in groups around the tables, ask them to set-up their game boards.

Explain:  “To set up the game board, place the red, yellow and blue Ambassador counters onto their same-colour starting spaces. Place a diamond (or different coloured counter) onto the “8” on the Time Tracker. Put the die next to the game board.

Say: “We’re going to play a game called Welcome to Greenville. The Bertha Earth Ambassadors in Greenville have lots of Project Planet Loves they want to complete before their Celebration, but they can’t do it alone. They need your help!

“There’s one really important rule: this isn’t a competition against the other people in your team. You need to work together. Think back to Ubuntu: I am because we are. You’ll need to use that today.”

Then: “On your table, you’ll find the game and instructions waiting for you. As a team, read through the instructions and work out how to play.”

Understand the Game | 5 mins

Give them a few minutes to read the rules and understand the game.

Before starting, ask the whole room:

• “Does everyone understand what you're trying to achieve?”

• “What happens when you land on a heart?”

• “What happens if you don't complete a PPL during a round?”

Clarify only what they haven't understood. Important things you may need to clarify are:  

• More than one PPL can happen in the same round

• You can’t make another PPL happen on a heart that is already circled

 
Play the Game! | 12 mins

Say: “Right, Greenville needs you. You have 10 minutes. Let's go!”

Go around and support the Ambassadors as they play, offering helpful hints where useful. 

Helpful Hints (useful to offer when observing Ambassadors in play)

• If your team can’t make a PPL happen in the current round, try to position your Ambassadors so that they can make one (or more) PPLs happen in the next round

• Don’t spend all your movement points into moving just one Ambassador

Pausing Gameplay

You can pause the gameplay at any moment of your choosing. This might be in response to energy levels within the room, where the group needs refocussing, or based on how effectively young people are collaborating.

Consider using reflection questions if you want to support groups in thinking  through their collaborative play strategies:

• “How many PPLs have you been able to complete as a team?”

• “How could you work together to complete more PPLs in different colours?”

• “How might you better share the movement points to help you do this?”

You can also use “Breaking News!” to offer greater or lesser challenges to the teams.

If any of the teams are finding the game difficult, reveal this breaking news:

“Greenville School has just reported that the school hall will not be ready for the Ambassador Celebration in time. Move the time tracker one space to the left.”

If any of the teams are finding the game easy, reveal this breaking news:

“The Mayor of Greenville has heard about your inspiring work and is coming to the Celebration, but has asked that it be moved forward to fit their busy schedule. Move the time tracker one space to the right.”

The Ubuntu Challenge

If the groups appear to be dealing well with the complexity of the game, you can add this additional challenge:

“Get the red, yellow and blue Ambassador to one uncircled heart on the game board and make any three PPLs of your choice happen at once! You can only perform this action once and it must be completed before the Time Tracker runs out!”

NOTE: you can decide whether to offer these additional instructions to individual teams or to the group as a whole.

Embed the Learning | 5 mins 

SUGGESTED questions to focus on, you can pick your own that might feel stronger, just keep an eye on your time to make sure you close off this session properly.

Gather the Ambassadors into a circle and ask:

• ‘What helped you work together as a team?” 

• “Why was team work important in the game?”

• “How did we practice Ubuntu today?”
  
  

OR you could take more of a Project Planet Love focus. 

• “Are there any PPL’s  (Project Planet Loves) in the game that interest you? 

• If you had to come up with your own PPL Project  Card for the game what might that look like? 

The 3-2-1 Reflection is split into two parts. If you have time, complete both. If not, choose Part 1 or Part 2, based on what you feel will best serve the needs of your group.