While Covid-19 has limited the direct community outreach and education activities that Earth Team can do, it has also created room for out-of-the-box thinking. Instead of dismissing plans to educate their communities, interns are seeing the silver lining: moving outreach online means reaching a greater number of people. Using Zoom and other online tools, both Skyline and Arroyo Earth Teams set out to design educational games to be played not only by their friends, but also by people around the world.
Skyline Earth Team interns decided to create a game that teaches players how to sort waste correctly. They are collaborating to create the first game level using the online coding tool, Scratch. The team is continuing to work on designing and building the second level of their game.
Arroyo Earth Team interns chose to create a game to educate players about invasive species. The board, cards and rules will be shared online to be played by sharing screen while using Zoom or another video calling application. The game will also be uploaded to Tabletop Simulator, a paid game that enables custom board game creation and sharing.
Both Arroyo and Skyline Earth Team games will be available at the end of May. Check back to see how you can play their games!