This outdoor workshop employed a site-responsive facilitation framework centered on observation, sensory awareness, and participant-led narrative development in public space.
At the outset, participants each received a compact workbook containing a sequence of written prompts. Participants were then invited to wander the park at their own pace, allowing observations, sensations, and associations to emerge organically in response to the environment. Prompts directed attention toward subtle spatial details, bodily awareness, and everyday encounters within the landscape rather than toward predefined landmarks or outcomes.
Participants recorded brief written responses as they moved. The structure supported individual rhythms of engagement and encouraged unstructured exploration within a shared timeframe.
Following the walking phase, participants reviewed their notes and expanded selected fragments into short narrative, poetic, or reflective texts. This expansion occurred individually or through informal exchange, without performance requirements or prescriptive narrative goals.
Facilitation emphasized holding time and space rather than directing content. The workshop required minimal materials, no installation, and no alteration of the site, allowing it to adapt to different outdoor contexts and participant groups.
The workshop demonstrated the framework’s capacity to:
- function within open, public outdoor environments,
- support self-directed exploration across age groups,
- generate original written material through attention-based prompts,
- remain portable, repeatable, and site-responsive without reliance on infrastructure.
ALANA QUESTELL 