Special Projects
This page offers a glimpse of some of the projects I have taken on throughout my career and education. Please do not hesitate to reach out if you have any questions, or are interested in program delivery in any of these areas.
In collaboration with Jillian Griffin Consulting, I developed an action-oriented Active Living Strategy for the Town of Westville in Nova Scotia. We developed our framework and goals based on provincial strategies and programs, and developed actions based on citizen survey results and community-partner feedback sessions.
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The Kentville Plays Kit Project was initiated in response to COVID-19. Community partners working with low-income youth, families and seniors reached out to the Town of Kentville expressing growing concern for their clients throughout lock down.
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Three sets of kits were designed for four cohorts of youth (age 12-15), youth (age 16+), families and seniors. The project was budgeted at $20/kit, with partner organizations ordering for clients and paying a full or subsidized portion of the cost.
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Over 400 kits were ordered for more than 130 community members/families. I was tasked with designing the 11 manuals, sourcing materials and building the
kits within budget over a span of 6 weeks in spring 2020.
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The lens of Leisure Education was used to promote continued
growth and progress, with activities from kits 2 and 3 building on
that of the previous kit. Participants were guided through
new ways to use and reuse the same materials, and towards
physically active and artistically expressive forms of recreation
that encouraged use of natural materials and connection with the
outdoors.
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The four sets of kits can be found below. Please let me know if you have any questions about the project, or would like more information on how it was executed.
Youth
12-15
Youth
16+
Family
Senior
This was an incredibly rewarding project, and I would be happy to have a more in-depth conversation on its delivery with anyone who is interested.
Interprofessional Health Education Workshop
Recognizing Recreation: Making Time Meaningful
As part of graduation criteria, students studying health professions at Dalhousie University are required to complete Interprofessional Health Education (IPHE) credits each semester throughout their degree. These events are meant to promote understanding and collaboration across the disciplines of health to prepare students to navigate the increasingly multidisciplinary field. As a recreation management student, I noticed that when my peers and I introduced ourselves at these events, we were often met with confused looks from other aspiring health professionals. Students from other faculties (and sometimes our own) didn't seem to understand how recreation was relevant to the healthcare sector. With overwhelming research surrounding recreation's positive influence on the health of individuals and communities, this feedback indicated a need for a reflection-based education workshop focused on recreation and its role in healthy living.​
Evaluation Results
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Event Poster
Having just completed my Leisure Education course, I approached professor, Dr. Susan Hutchinson - who was also the coordinator of the IPHE program at Dalhousie, and asked if it would be possible to create a leisure education-based workshop to be run for the School of Health and Human Performance. This resulted in a directed study with Dr. Hutchinson where I was able to create and implement the Recognizing Recreation: Making Time Meaningful Interprofessional Health Education workshop.
Inspiring Leisure
The following video was created as a final project for my Leisure Education class with partner Brodie Parker. The purpose of the project was to create a video that inspired people to participate in recreation throughout their communities. Dealing with the stress of exams at the time, our video emphasizes the importance of utilizing recreation as a coping tool when we are distressed, as that is when we most need to exercise our right to leisure.
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Throughout the video we address some of the things that prevent (or that we sometimes think prevent) us from pursuing leisure and recreational experiences - especially for new students, like having the confidence to participate in an activity, or having someone to go with.
I believe that the key to addressing healthcare crises lies in prevention and that recreation is a direct preventative measure. Educating the public (and government officials) on the importance of recreation and leisure throughout our lives is a crucial step towards changing conversations and attitudes towards its importance.
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I am personally interested in creating a campaign surrounding participation, and addressing real and perceived barriers to recreation for a wide variety of audiences. If you're interested in creating content similar to the video above (with perhaps higher production value) please get in touch!