Bringing the birds and the bees back to Chester
What does your city mean to you? To us, Chester is not just about a great community, but a collaborative one, always striving to be better. What counts as ‘better’ is usually up for debate, but I’m pretty sure that after our Chester SuperTrees hack last month, everyone that was there can agree that Super Steve (Hughes) and his Super Trees are definitely going to make this city an even better place to live.
We had a chance to catch up with Steve, founder of the Chester SuperTrees project, since the hack, and we thought we’d update you all on how our member’s fantastic hard work has pushed the project further…
The Asks
The four challenges given to our volunteers on the day were:
- How do we convey the SuperTrees project online?
- How do we make the project SHOUT?
- The roundabout space — landscaping, learning, storytelling, creative design ideas?
- Any advice on the nitty-gritty -funding, fundraising, planning permission, regulatory challenges?
The life of Ryley
Photographer and videographer Sam Ryley has put his creative skills to work, and has put together a fantastic video showcasing the project and GFN’s involvement. If you haven’t had a chance to watch it yet, please take a couple of minutes to watch it and share it with anyone you think might have an interest in the project…
Take it to market
Throughout the day various people worked on the marketing ideas, which eventually turned into a fully detailed, 18-month plan, that Steve would be able to kick off at pretty much any time. Not only has he found it incredibly informative, but he has also based his entire project plan around that timeline.
He is very keen on using our Crowdfunding idea but has never attempted anything like it before, so if anyone has any experience and would like to help him out with that, get in touch with him here.
Round and round the garden
Thanks to the team that helped with landscaping and learning about the space, the project now has a fully detailed roadmap for planning permission, some great, community-driven, ideas for the space, and a jumping-off point for the landscape design.
Steve has been able to carry on working with a few volunteers from the day, so we’d like to thank them for getting in touch with him and helping keep all your ideas alive.
Charity starts in Chester
Who knew there were so many avenues for fundraising in Chester? Well, we didn’t, but it’s a good thing our GFNers did. Steve has managed to secure more funding since the hack and has even more meetings lined up, so he is well on his way to reaching his targets.
But we know from experience that these types of ventures always need more, more, more! So, if anyone else has any ideas or connections that could help with fundraising then please drop Steve an email.
Developing into something incredible
We are always blown away by the creatives that come to our hacks, but this time the developers, designers, artists, and copywriters really brought their A-game.
The final branding and web design were not only inspired by the project, but also by the work of the two artists we had on hand; Christine Evans (aka Artist on a Bike) and our junior GFNer for the day, Archie.
The work that these guys did has given the ChesterSuperTrees project an identity, and, with the continued work of the developers, and online presence and hub of information for everyone.
The final word from the bird
Before every GFN Chester event, we always remind ourselves that no matter how much we question whether something is going to come together, it’s our wonderful GFNers that always bring it. This time our volunteers took the challenge above and beyond what we could have ever thought of and we know for a fact that Steve has been inspired and driven by the whole experience…
“I have to say a huge thank you to everyone at GFN Chester who committed their time and expertise for the Chester SuperTrees project; the quality, ingenuity and simply volume of work generated have progressed the project no end.”
“As I wasn’t technically part of the hack I can only go off what I observed on the day and everyone’s reluctance towards having any kind of lunch and the speed with which everyone got ‘back to it’, is a relatively small detail, but I think perfectly exemplifies everyone’s outstanding attitude towards the project.
“Thank you all once again, on behalf of the project and Chester as a whole.” — Steve Hughes, Chester SuperTrees.
If you would like to continue to support the Chester SuperTrees, or would just like keep up to date on the progress, then email chestersupertrees@gmail.com to become a friend of Chester SuperTrees.
