In the spring of 2008, 17 students in the Eco-art class at UW Tacoma came together to brainstorm what our campus could look and feel like if we used our dreams of ecological sustainability, social justice and a thriving cultural life to frame our vision. During the last month of the quarter we brainstormed, walked the campus and the, as yet, undeveloped land and buildings, imagining what we would like to see there. Coincidentally, at the same time, administrators had been working with a group of architects and designers to put forth their own dream for the campus. They invited students, faculty and staff to some input meetings, although it seemed that the plan was already pretty fixed for what the campus was to become. It was more defined by a business model of what would generate income, than a true green vision.

The eco-art class decided to bring their finished draft of our Green Map that included a day care center, organic food gardens, an art building, a wailing wall for returning Vets and their families, other public interactive art projects, massage stations and bike paths, to the last meeting of the administration with the campus community.

We walked the large scrolled map up the hill to the meeting, and shared our dreams. The administrators and architects seemed startled to see us, but we were able to create a meaningful dialog, with many of the students speaking their minds with administrators for the first time. The draft of our Green Map was then put on display in the atrium of one of the main buildings on campus for several months with the hope that more students and members of the campus community would share more ideas and leave them on the map for others to read. One member of the class was going to facilitate that process, but her life got too complicated and this part of the project has been put on hold. We hope to initiate a new Green Map process with future Eco-art classes.