Flora Tales

Title: Flora Tales
Creator: Gregory, Onika
Description: Midterm for Yards, Yards, Yards (Fall 2024)
Language: English
Subject: Nature; Urban Ecology; Community Engagement; Empowerment; Experience
Abstract: “Flora Tales” uses plants as a metaphor for the people of Harlem.
Many plant species establish social connections through mycorrhizal networks; a phenomenon in which multiple plants of the same or different species are connected through the joining of a fungus or of fungi to their roots. This network enables plants to do anything from sharing resources to warning each other of danger.
A makeshift speaker was designed to not only amplify the voices of Harlem, but also act as a “fungus” to establish a network, allowing people to record their own voices and also hear the voices of others in the neighborhood. Users are encouraged to talk about their personal relationships (or lack thereof) with the plants of Harlem and/ or personal experiences in the neighborhood.
The goal of this project is to strengthen connections between the people of Harlem as well as between the community and local plants in hopes of establishing a more cohesive urban ecology.