Tara Falconer
Grounding
Connecting to Nature to Better Yourself and the Planet
Grounding is a series of design outcomes that aim to inspire an appreciation of all that nature can offer us for our health and well-being to instil a greater sense of ecological consciousness in readers.
Ecofeminism looks at the connections between environmentalism and feminism, with many suggesting that empowering women may be the key to greater climate action. Grounding hopes to encourage women to love and care for themselves by connecting to nature and its healing powers. In turn, we can gain strength through self-care and a deeper appreciation for all that nature provides us, making it more difficult to take actions that harm it.
Grounding is an accumulation of several elements including a prompt card set with forty different ways to connect with nature, a publication that offers more research and ideas into each prompt, and a nature token set that brings the graphic set to life to get creative with. The graphic set has been inspired by nature, specifically how we can experience it using the five senses.
The imagery and quotes have been sourced by young women in Aotearoa and share glimpses into what nature means to these anonymous participants. Much of the content has been handmade to reflect this idea of connecting to nature, over man-made technology, with hand-embroidered bags, natural fabrics, handmade paper, collages and more. Overall, the content aims to be personal, resembling a journal or scrapbook with many voices, like the voices of nature and women that often go unheard.
Grounding hopes to encourage readers to take time out of their busy days to remember what is really important. It chooses gratitude and optimism over fear and negativity with these topics of environmentalism and feminism, promoting the idea that small changes do matter and the first step towards activism is caring.
