4/7 - 4/11 Week in Review

Reflecting on our first session at the Rondout Community Garden with Nina from Sky High Farm and Lissy 

Hello Friends,

Word of the week: Consideration

The week before Spring Break was a cold and busy one, reminding us of the importance of consideration, for each other, for our shared spaces, and for the changing seasons. Despite the rain and chill, the fellows stayed warm in spirit and resilient in action.

We kicked off the week with a surprise snowfall on Monday, then got right to work with meal prepping and personal praxis split between the YMCA and Kingston Ceramics. That afternoon, we regrouped to canvas the streets in front of UPAC, gathering community input for the Midtown Linear Park redesign. You can still take the survey here to share your voice! While the weather wasn’t on our side, the fellows showed deep consideration for community voices, cheerfully engaging passersby even when responses were hard to come by.

Back at homeroom, we moved our planned outdoor picnic indoors and enjoyed a cozy lunch together. With bodies warmed and spirits lifted, we made our way to the Rondout Community Garden, where we worked alongside Nina from Sky High Farm to shovel, mulch, and clean up the space. The physical labor was a welcome way to reset and reconnect with the land and one another.

At CPW, we continued preparing for our upcoming exhibition and explored the work of photographer Tatyana Fazlalizadeh for inspiration on how to curate and center story through image. We also welcomed this week’s Table Talk guest, Rev. Donald J. Mapes Jr., a lifelong Ulster County resident and community leader. His belief in the power of diversity and unity offered a powerful message as we reflect on the collective strength of our cohort.

Arts with Aurora was hands-on and creative: we folded our personal zines and officially launched into yearbook design. Fellows began working in Canva, exploring color palettes, text styles, and layout options as they thought about how to visually tell the story of our year together. It was a playful and intentional dive into theme building and collective reflection.

At the Hudson River Maritime Museum, we had a productive session in the woodshop: installing the rudder, daggerboard trunk, and mast step, as well as rounding out the mast, boom, and yard. We’re getting close to painting and can't wait for the grand reveal! 

Hope you have a wonderful week in consideration for yourself, for others and for all that you're holding.

Have a good weekend,

Place Corps Team 

:)