Sendit4theSea is a nonprofit organization located in Miami, FL that aims to educate people on the importance of the environment around them and what they can do to help before it is too late. We began this project knowing we wanted to create a immersive experience that focused on the dwindling population of mangroves within the Biscayne Bay Area as they have been seeing substantial negative effects due to the loss of the trees. We wanted to create something that was dynamic and could be used in several different ways to make it as accessible as possible. Together, we designed for a tennis court that was given to S4S by the City of Miami.
Upon connecting with Sendit4theSea, we had no plans regarding what we wanted to work on. I knew I fully supported their movement and what they were trying to do, and they were willing to take the help they could get. We began trying to indeitify some issues within Biscayne Bay as this was an area in particular they focused on heavily. From this, we asked ourselves: How might we solve the declining population of mangroves in the Biscayne Bay Area.
Collaborate with Sendit4theSea team to gather insights into their vision and objectives. Communicate with the City of Miami to understand the constraints and opportunities related, along with S4S in order to see what they wanted to do with the space.
I took the lead here and flew down to Biscayne Bay to one of SENDIT's cleanup events. Here, I conducted interviews and surveys to understand the target audience's knowledge and attitudes toward environmental issues. Identify potential user personas to tailor the immersive experience to diverse audiences. I also took note of the amount of pollution that we all pulled, along with the types.
Brainstorm ideas for the immersive experience, considering the unique features of the tennis court. Develop a concept that addresses the educational goals while maximizing the use of the space.
Create initial sketches and low-fidelity prototypes to visualize the design elements. Seek feedback from stakeholders, incorporating their input to refine the concept. I spent a lot of time using measurements that I had taken while there to try to figure out what size we should be making the boards, where are people going to be viewing them from, etc. I also spoke with several printers to see what kinds of materials were affordable and durable for outside use.
Explore interactive technologies (e.g., augmented reality, QR codes) that can enhance the educational experience. Ensure the technology chosen aligns with accessibility goals and can be easily maintained. We began exploring the possibility of creating visual data representations of the pollution pulled from all of the clean ups. Luckily they kept track of this data and happily shared it!
Integrate sustainable and eco-friendly materials into the design to align with the project's environmental focus. This directly influenced the design as we knew this court would be a temporary location. Because of this, I decided to make the designs modular. This way they could continue to be used at other locations or clean ups later down the road.
The culmination of the exhaustive design process has resulted in a transformative project for Sendit4theSea, positioning the nonprofit at the forefront of environmental education. Through collaboration with stakeholders and the City of Miami, a once-unused tennis court has been repurposed into an immersive educational space focused on the dwindling mangrove population in the Biscayne Bay Area.
Through comprehensive documentation and knowledge transfer, the Sendit4theSea team is empowered to maintain, expand, and integrate the project into broader educational programs, solidifying its role as a beacon for environmental conservation in Miami.
