I haven't done this activity before but here is something I created based on the Prune the Future activity that is available from Gamestorming.
In the original version of the activity, which is written up as a paper-based activity, a person would ask participants/students to create a large tree that represents "current states" and "multiple categories of the future". It's meant to help people think of current reality/future desired state stuff.
An image of the hand-drawn version from Gamestorming is here.
So, translating this to a community-building activity and changing somewhat the prompts to reflect that, here are some proposed instructions:
"Tree of Me" Introductions Activity
Create an image of a tree, using materials of your choice, as a metaphor to depict who you are in life and what is important to you. You may wish to create your tree using markers, glue and paper (and take a photo of it to share) or using an online mindmapping tool such as Coggle. You may wish to draw/create a digital image.
Depict elements of your life on your tree image, using these parts of the tree:
- "The roots": Where did you come from? What contributed to making you who you are today?
- "The trunk and lower leaves": What grounds you? What shows up a lot in your life? What things are part of your life right now that are important to you?
- "The upper and further reaching leaves": What does the future look like for you? What are your dreams and things you'd like to still accomplish? Where is your life leading you? (Hint: Using question marks or another way to indicate the future elements will help us "read" your tree.)
Your "Tree of Me" is a metaphor for you. Where have you come from, where are you right now, and where do you want to still grow? In this activity I invite you to "go out on a limb" in sharing details and future plans with each other as we begin to get to know each other.
Post your Tree of Life image in the forum with no more than two or three short paragraphs of explanation. Let your image do the talking most of all.
Next, branch out and respond to each other's posts about their trees. What roots connect you to each other? Where are your trunks growing similarly? What fruit of your labours may be related? What future potential do you see in others that you could help grow or blossom?
Note: I tried this myself to see if it would work and came up with the Coggle attached. Looking forward to your thoughts and ideas!
Beth