Date of Award

2023

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelors

Department

Humanities

First Advisor

Villada, Diego

Area of Concentration

Humanities

Abstract

New College of Florida’s 58th Street Campus Development Plan has been in development since 2020. The plan has been deemed a “high-priority project” in the New College Master Plan as it will complete the College Drive loop by creating a two-lane paved road connecting 58th Street and College Drive. The road would pave through an underutilized greenspace and cost the school over $.600,000. There are multiple species of trees and animals that live in the greenspace, and it is a prime outdoor space suitable for students, faculty, staff, and guests to connect with the Earth and with each other. This thesis proposes an alternate future for this greenspace, Paradisical Park, through the facilitation of a weekend wellness event, The Reetreet . Open to the students of New College, the Retreet had three intentions: 1) to create interspecies connection through the contemplative arts; 2) to create interpersonal connection through play, meditation, and vulnerable sharing; 3) to demonstrate and advocate an alternate use of the greenspace and its preservation through the performance of a possible present. The thesis also includes a series of poems titled the distance between you and me which charts the emotional journey of the process, exploring anger and grief.

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