In the spring of 2017, Melanie Stewart approached me with a radical project idea for her Creative Glassboro Collective. The group wanted to activate the newly opened Downtown Glassboro Park with a creative placemaking event to be held during the weekly SummerFest. I joined a team of artists and community members to conceptualize a large scale project with weekly modules that could be completed by SummerFest visitors, young and old.

First, Creative Glassboro built a wooden Tree framework, a central form for the creative projects the public would be engaging in. Then, the team brainstormed some common household materials that would be accessible to most attendees - plastic bottles and cups, newspaper.magazine/paper products, mismatched socks, spare buttons, even wine corks and bottle caps. I scoured the web and my crafting network for high impact upcycling projects that would not involve long, complicated steps. I themed these to the materials we would use weekly and put together basic tutorials for my team of volunteers to teach from. I also created themed Pinterest pages and social media posts to further engage and inspire attendees.

Each week, my small team of volunteer crafters and I would set up near the tree and engage attendees in crafting instruction while also discussing recycling, upcycling, and the impact of waste was having on our environment. As each craft project was completed, we assisted the maker in attaching it to our wooden "CommuniTree" which evolved and blossomed over time.