By incorporating a material practice within an approach that is socially engaged, my research examines if and how community can be built and developed through the use of alternative economies. Through public participation, I am questioning if the act of collaboration can alter one’s relationship with and understanding of art and maker. / October 2015

The biology and the patterns of wild environments and their organisms have solutions to the many environmental, social and economical challenges that we are facing globally. As an emerging designer, I believe that the tendencies of the ecological environments can be analyzed, mimicked and implemented by designers into different socio-cultural systems. In my design process I have been exploring practices that promote food sovereignty as a right that every living being should have. The results of my exploration is a guide to help to learn about and from wild edibles to deepen our connection with nature. My design includes my own process and iteration as well as one designed for those who are interested in exploring foraging practices.This project recognizes the different spheres and complexities of sustainability. It analyzes how our cultural and social practices impact the ecological environment, while, at the same time, it brings practical examples to understand the effects that our economy has on the overall well-being of the ecology, and suggests that we all can be beneficial participants as and in nature.The title “We grow wild” refers to the plants, which grow wildly in parks, hedgerows, paths and forests, as well as it encourages to rediscover the wild nature that re-emerges in us through active participation in the ecological environment we inhabit.