Connecting Communities – Yarra Ranges Shire

I created the game in 2022 after engaging the Yarra Ranges Shire Community over several months with prompted conversations in the Facebook group Connecting Communities – Yarra Ranges Shire.

People responded to posts that prompted the sharing of what they appreciate about where they live, work, study and play. Participants from every part of the shire were encouraged to participate and photos were submitted for me to place on the GO-TO cards that move players from town to town on the game board.

Yarra Ranges Shire has 68 towns, 60 in the Western half and 8 towns in the East. While I received many photos of some areas, there were significantly fewer photos of the more remote parts of the shire; therefore, the pictures on the cards are not paired with the places named on the other side. You are welcome to join the Facebook group to find out more about the places in the photos.

The symbol used to mark the towns was submitted by Oonah Health & Community Services Aboriginal Corporation. It represents people sitting around a campfire, coming together for a yarn in a place of belonging.

The game was published by the Star News Group in three issues of all six Star Mail newspapers in May – June 2022.

A PDF version was designed to be printed on A4 paper (which you can download below or from the Facebook group). It includes additional sets of cards (with even more photos) so the game can be played in classrooms.

The cards are also available in a larger size for those with vision impairment and for those who want to enjoy the photos at a larger scale.

The game board is in eight pieces so it can be printed at home in a big enough size for three players to place their pieces on the towns of Upwey, Tecoma and Belgrave at the same time. These are the closest towns on the board.

The History of the Game

The game (concept and delivery) was the brainchild of artist and writer, Jenni L Ivins, to support communities during the various stages of the Covid-19 pandemic. It was inspired by people playing a part together, with lock-downs, social distancing and masks to keep infection numbers down, and thoughtful acts of kindness to help each other through challenging times.

The first variation of the project was delivered remotely in Cardinia Shire, during the long months of lock-down in 2020. The prize-winning game, known as the A Part Together Game, was published by the Star News Group in the Pakenham Berwick Gazette and supported by Cardinia Council funding.

In 2021 a second version of the game was created with the community of Macedon Ranges Shire. It was published in the Midland Express, with Macedon Ranges Council funding and support.

As pandemic restrictions were further eased, I engaged communities of Yarra Ranges Shire to deliver this edition of the game, supported by Yarra Ranges Council funding.

Project Aims

The project has several equally important parts. The first was creating local connections (to people and places) through Facebook conversations, sharing stories of treasured aspects of living, working, and playing in the shire. People posted photos and information, indicating strong community spirit and values, and an appreciation of the environment and its inhabitants.

The second part was the community collaboration that informed the design during the creation stage of the project. Hundreds of photos were submitted, all of which had to be adjusted to fit onto the GO-TO cards.

Wanting the community to feel ownership of the game about their shire, Jenni selected photos from as many different participants as she could when choosing photos for the newspaper versions of the games. Other photos were included in the PDF versions.

The third part of the project is the people playing the game, learning about their shire and, if they took part in the creation stages, getting a thrill to see their photos in the game and the paper.

You can see the projects in the following Facebook groups:

Yarra Ranges Shire 2022 Connecting Communities – Yarra Ranges Shire
Macedon Ranges Shire 2021 Connecting Communities
Cardinia Shire 2020 A Part Together

Download your PDF copy of the game below

Click on an image below, to download the PDF of that set of cards.

 

Start with CCRS intro, instructions & participants. (Hover your mouse over the image to see the title.)

 

The 594 x 840 mm game board is for taking to a professional printer.

 

CCYRS game board for A4 printers is for printing at home.