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Ripple Effects projects have the goals of helping people learn more about the ways the world is changing in response to climate change, develop empathy for others, and appreciate and advocate on behalf of nature. In a Ripple Effects project, young people take photos of water in their world, write reflections on those images and what they mean to them, and then those images and reflections are published or circulated some way in the local community. If you are interested in starting a Ripple Effects project in your community, here are the central elements and some suggestions for making the project a success. There are additional resources on photography, writing, and environmental education can be found on our Ripple Effects Resources and our Art, Education, and Sustainability Resources pages.

Key Elements of a Ripple Effects Project

A Ripple Effects project has three key elements at its core: Photography,  written reflection, and some kind of publication or circulation. These elements have several purposes both for the participants in the project and the community. They draw on the different advantages and qualities of the different modes of communication to engage people in a variety of ways of thinking about the natural world and their role in it. In addition, publishing or circulating the photographs and writing in some way offers young people a way to experience having their voices heard in their communities at the same time it provides community members with insights into the perspectives of young people on issues of sustainability and conservation.

Here are the three elements for a Ripple Effects project, the reasons we find them useful for young people, and some suggestions about the process at each step.

Photographs – The first step is to have students take photos of water in the world around them. The goal is to encourage students to slow down and take notice of the world around them and see it in ways they may not have considered before. Photography is a way of re-seeing in the everyday world, and creating art, that is also accessible to most young people today through their mobile phones. One of the advantages (also called an “affordance”) of visual modes of communication, is that they have a direct impact, emotional immediacy, and can be read across language barriers. Photography offers young people a way to practice using visual modes of communication to create a message or impact.

We focus on water because water is all around us, all the time, and an ongoing, and essential part of our world and culture, wherever we are. The photographs can focus on large, well-know bodies of water, or drops of water in a backyard. The images can focus on the beauty of the natural world, or the threats and tragedies of water that is spoiled or under threat.

Some tips for process

• Brainstorm about the variety of places they can find water in their lives and communities.

• Talk about the concepts of focus, background, and lighting in photography and how that influences how we see and feel about the images we see.

• Encourage them to take a number of photographs so they can see the differences and consider what kind of image and idea they want to communicate to others.

Written Reflection – After the students choose photographs they like, they write a reflection about the image, focusing on

• Why they took the photo and how it makes them feel

• What they would like for others to understand about nature, community, and their reasons for taking the picture from looking at the image.

The reflection process is essential for the ways in which students make meaning during the project. While images provide information quickly, writing is an essential way to communicate more complex, interior thoughts to others. Writing is an important way to reflect on our world and our lives. When we write, we think, and these reflections will not only help young people explain their ideas to others, but they will help them explore the meanings of the images more fully for themselves. We would also encourage informality, creativity, and the use of prose or poetry for the written reflections.

Some Tips for Process

• We strongly, strongly urge that these reflections not be graded, so that experience does not become associated with grade pressures or trying to please teachers.

• Starting the writing process with informal, freewriting, is a good, low-stakes way to get students to started with their writing. Just have people begin by writing down ideas or lists of ideas as quickly as possible without worrying about editing or correctness and let them see what ideas they generate.

• As they write their reflections, ask them to imagine who the audience will be in the community or school and how they might reach that audience most effectively.

• Engage in small-group peer feedback sessions that focus, not on correctness, but on what is clearest and most engaging to the potential audience.

Publication or Circulation – Publishing or circulating the images and written reflections is a key part of a Ripple Effect project. Having a real audience makes significant differences in the motivation people feel for their work. Knowing that their images and words may find a real audience can provide young people a sense of being heard, when, so often, young people feel they lack a voice agency around issues of the environment and sustainability. Circulation of publication can take many forms, from online websites or social media accounts, exhibitions in libraries, community centers, or schools, to creating zines or other kinds of publications. Circulation or publication also offers community members potentially new ways of understanding their young people and their concerns.

Some Tips for Process

• In addition to reaching out to libraries, community centers, or schools for potential partnerships, consider whether conservation groups, water companies, news media, literary organizations, or photographic societies, might be possible collaborations and venues for publication.

• Events and social media can offer ways to publicize the project and the exhibitions

• Ripple Effects International can always provide a venue for potentially publishing photos and writing.

Permissions and Circulating Photos and Writing

It is important to find out what legal and ethical permissions are necessary for circulating and publishing the work of young people. These permissions can vary by location. If you want to have Ripple Effects International link to or archive any of the works from your local project you will need to provide us with documentation of having obtained the necessary permissions.