Armchair Activist has been getting a bit environmental lately, and now I’ve gone and got all fresky! In fact, I’m now a fresker!!
No. I have not lost the fresky plot. I have taken part in a Climate Fresk Workshop.
What’s It All About?
Founded in 2018 by climate change specialist, Cédric Ringenbach, Climate Fresk is a French non-profit organisation that works to raise awareness about climate change.
To do that it uses a workshop tool: A serious game of 42 cards, facilitated by a workshop leader. However, it is not a taught experience but a collaborative process where participants work together to understand the cards and make the connections between them to build a fresk. (Basically a storyboard of how climate change is affecting our planet and how these effects are interlinked).
The ‘game’ is based on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reports. It attempts to make the science contained therein more accessible to the public, so we all have a better understanding of the problems and what we can do about them.
Why The Heck Is It Called Fresk?!
Hold that thought!!! Originally called climate collage, the name was changed to fresk and I can’t for the life of me remember why, and google has not been forthcoming. I will return to this in the coming weeks…
What Happens In A Fresk Workshop?
The workshop lasts three hours and has three distinct parts:
First, participants work to link the cards in a cause-consequence relationship.
Second, participants choose a title and ‘decorate’ the fresk.
The final stage is a debrief and a discussion about how participants experienced the fresk; what they learnt, any questions as well as potential individual and collective solutions.
Armchair Activist Fresky Feedback
My biggest concern going into the workshop was my scientific knowledge, or lack thereof! While I’m very interested in science, this is the level I’m at - and by that I mean I’m learning a lot here!!! (Incidentally, my kids and I have only just discovered Theatre of Science. It is fabulous. She offers free weekly lives but if you’re a regular watcher she is definitely worth supporting on kofi).
I found the workshop informative AND some of the cards were pretty challenging to get my head around! That’s the advantage of the group, and fortunately I had several people in my group who had far more scientific knowledge than me! (Although I bet I can blow a balloon up with broken egg shells better than they can 😉 🎈🥚 - calcium carbonate - this features in the fresk... - I thank you Theatre of Science!).
I am hoping to arrange a Fresk for kids and I think that level would have been a perfect introduction for me!
Weird Science?
Apparently my scientific knowledge needn’t preclude me from training as a Fresk facilitator! Who knew? So watch this space…!
Armchair Activism
Simple Activism
Step It Up A Notch
Attend a Climate Fresk workshop either as an individual or encourage your workplace to sign up.
Serious Activism
Once you have attended a workshop, become a facilitator. (The link doesn’t take you exactly there as you need to have done the initial fresk workshop, so speak to your workshop leader about doing the training). If I can do it, you can! (Best I get back to the Theatre of Science, quick smart and in a hurry!)
If you like what I’m sharing and find value in it, please consider leaving me a tip. Leaving me a tip equivalent to buying me a coffee, helps me, as a small creator, to put food on the table and a roof over my family’s head. Thank you!