For a year, we live and learn in a place surrounded by nature. Whilst we get to know every one of our fellow students’ names in no time at all, we probably still don’t know the name of the tree in the meadow in front of the house.
In our project, we wanted to strengthen the relationship between CIID students and their natural surroundings, whilst at the same time creating an experience that would transcend the time scale of a human life. We were particularly interested in how knowledge, connections and memories can be passed on across generations.
We developed a ritual in which each student is given the opportunity to choose a personal ‘plant buddy’ from the Astino Valley. The plant is eternized on a custom-designed tile. To do this, the imprint of a leaf from the respective plant buddy is transferred onto the tile and recorded alongside the plant’s name, the student’s name and the date.
In this way, each CIID cohort can leave its own mark on the natural environment. The tiles are then set into the ground in a continuous spiral, together forming a communal space. With each new cohort, the spiral grows – a collective archive emerges over time. This not only documents the personal connections between the students and their relationship with nature, but also the changes in the vegetation.
The spiral symbolised the ongoing accumulation of knowledge and memories. Our project aims to forge a link between past, present and future generations of CIID students, whilst encouraging them to be more mindful of nature and to see themselves as part of a wider ecosystem.
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