the other media group worked with Urban Roots and the Great River Passage to walk a group of eight Urban Roots youth and one youth mentor to create the podcast River Stories. Last summer, the same three organizations came together working with youth to create a photography and storytelling exhibit.
This year, due to the risk of COVID-19, the summer sessions were held virtually. The youth discussed a range of potential projects and landed on doing a podcast where they would interview community members about their relationship with water and the natural world.
Visuals
We partnered with six local artists to create a visual for each story you just heard. All of the artists listened to the podcast, were given a general concept by the youth, submitted three possible images, the youth voted and below you will find the finished products.
“I go through the woods a lot. It’s quiet and peaceful. I like to hear birds chirping too…I like to just walk, keep my mind open, clear…I like to have
a career in nature because that means I get to be more active. I like seeing animals.
I like the sound
of the river.” - Muhamud
“I love that the Twin Cities [has] a lot of good public green spaces around the river…Now with COVID, I’ve been going on walks with my parents because that way we can be outside and spend quality time with each other.” - Marcos
“We like to plant things like corn…I go outside a lot. I go to my garden a lot. I enjoy going there and caring for my plants. I like being outside a lot, it’s very relaxing.”
- Yeng
“I grew up in Laos as a very young child…the Mekong River in Laos and the river here and the many bodies of water here is an important part of our community.” - Kazua
“I was picking up trash in the neighborhood, I
think I had a good affect on the community because... other people were driving past...them seeing me picking up trash they might have the thought to...be more cautious of what they do with their trash.”
- Aaron
Meet the team
Artist: Xee Reiter
Abdul Sesay
Ahmed Farah
Desire Negron
Gustavo Ibarra
Jimale Mohamed
Kajia Tynu Lee
Michael Muaj Moo Vang
Najma Mumin
Willie Yang, youth mentor
Angie Tillges, Great River Passage
David Woods, Urban Roots Conservation Program Manager
Hlee Lee-Kron, the other media group