Environmental Creativity #DooFrudumpsdogdoo

September 29, 2013 — #DooFRudumpsdogdoo, Environmental design, kids' art, neighborhood, Tucson

message for dog owners

practical design

Our midtown Tucson neighborhood has pride of ownership issues. The landlords are not prone to take care of  rental properties and the residents have become used to a very low level of environmental pride.  Tagging of gang signs is chronic and dog owners leave waste behind everywhere.  Doolen-Fruitvale Neighborhood, or DooFru for short, has an elementary school, an art college, and a Boys and Girls Club all adjacent to each other.  I am asking the kids interested in art and design to enter a competition.  The DooFru Design Derby  will be an annual competition to design the best small enhancement to our neighborhood environment.  We want to create a positive artful outlet that says we care about the space in which we live. We don’t have a place for mural art or sculpture, but we can do small, individual projects that make a difference.

This year we are designing dog doo bag dispensers out of used plastic containers.  When filled with plastic bags, they not only remind dog owners to do the right thing, but provide the means with which to do it.  Some other neighborhoods have employed the bag dispensers with great success.  I walk my dog in one of these adjoining areas and have noticed a big improvement in the waste problem since they put up the bag dispensers.  We hope by involving kids and art we will have an even bigger impact to create a cleaner and more well cared for environment.  The kids from Boys and Girls Club have joined in many neighborhood clean up efforts, only to see the same trashy behavior arise.  I believe they can have a bigger influence than adults if they sincerely take on the #DooFrudumpsdogdoo initiative.   They can shame the adults and set a standard of awareness simply by making art for the good of the neighborhood.  My own design is designed to give the idea to the kids, but definitely not to win the derby. My #DooFrudumpsdogdoo lady is a neighborhood spokesperson in need of kids’ art.