Week 4 - Immersive experiences!

Week four was a dynamic week of collaboration and unforgettable local experiences. The momentum from our planning stages began to translate into tangible progress and exciting activities.

Our work on Monday consisted mainly of reporting, the more important of which was updating the staff at Les Jardins d’Haiti on our work. We met with our supervisor, Jean-Marc, to present our ideas and the surveys we developed. His feedback was invaluable, providing practical suggestions and reaffirming his support for our plans. He also confirmed the available gardening equipment on site, which was crucial information as we prepared for our hands on work scheduled for the following week. We also shared our progress with Emma, our Makesense coordinator, whose ongoing guidance helps ensure our project remains on track and aligned with the community's needs. She was most impressed by our survey which was emphasised in their design methodology and community engagement workshop.

In a continued spirit of supporting our friends in the other group, we joined the biodiversity team for a beach clean up on Wednesday. The destination was the stunning Îles du Frioul, where we arrived by boat from the Vieux Port. The walk to the cleanup site offered breathtaking views of the Mareille coast, from sailboats to pebble beaches, and from rocky cliffs to fish farms. We cleaned the beach for hours under the sweltering heat, finding weird samples of eppendorf tubes and glass fragments hiding randomly between rocky crevices. The highlight was visiting the Kraken, an impressive sailboat dedicated to traveling the world and cleaning trash from coastlines. Back at the MerTerre office, we helped sort and categorize the collected debris, a meticulous process that provides critical data for fighting marine pollution.

Later during the week, we met with Jerome, director of Centre Social Ste Elisabeth. This meeting revealed significant opportunities for collaboration that could greatly enhance the social engagement of the garden. Specifically, Jerome was exceptionally enthusiastic and kind, detailing every pitfall and challenge we might face and how we should approach them. He also offered to partner with us, and in extension, Les Jardins d’Haiti, to organize activities in the community garden and foster interaction between the elderly residents and the local community. This level of support from Centre Social Ste Elisabeth was something that I did not expect, and it undoubtedly raised our spirits for the rest of the week.

The week concluded on an incredibly high note. Thanks to the generosity of our coordinator Emma, we attended a football match at the iconic Marseille stadium, making it my first ever experience at a football game. The energy was electric, and witnessing the prowess of the local team firsthand was a thrilling immersion into the city's passionate culture. The chants and cheers sounded like volcanic eruptions with a bass boost, pumping me up with adrenaline. In retrospect, it was a wonderful gift from Emma which provided us a fun break from our project and a chance to experience local Marseille entertainment.

This week reinforced the importance of communication and the value of friendship and exploration. With our plans solidified and equipment confirmed, I am more eager than ever to finally get our hands in the soil and begin gardening.