Learning Goals
- Empower participants to be part of the change by creating an optimistic view of the future
- Show the power of community in renewable energy production
- Understand key features of sustainable, climate-neutral communities
- Engage creativity and collaborative problem-solving
- Show the power of community in renewable energy production
- Understand key features of sustainable, climate-neutral communities
- Engage creativity and collaborative problem-solving
Description
### Preparation
- Set up a space with a large box or bins of LEGO bricks
- Organize bricks so they're easy to access (large base plates helpful)
- Create groups of three participants each
- Clear working areas for each group to build
- Test projector or prepare printed hand outs with example energy communities
- Have facilitator guide ready for reference and real-world examples
- Prepare timer for each phase
### Optional Bridge from Previous Method
If following the Climate Game:
> "Now that we have seen the effect of energy choices at the household level, it is your turn to build your own future community. But this time, we're designing something bigger and more hopeful—a whole neighborhood or village that runs on renewable energy. Be creative!"
### A. Introduction (5 minutes)
**Facilitator Script:**
> "All groups share this big box of LEGO. Your challenge: Design a community that is climate neutral, resilient, and liveable in the future. This means it produces its own energy from renewable sources, can handle challenges, and is a great place to live. Be creative! There's no single 'right' design—what matters is your imagination and thinking about how communities work."
**Clarifying Questions:**
> "Are there any questions before we start?"
**What to clarify if asked:**
- Climate neutral = produces as much energy as it uses, from renewable sources
- Resilient = can handle challenges (storms, climate change impacts, energy shocks)
- Liveable = has everything people need (homes, food, transportation, culture, connection)
- Creative = use your imagination! Any design is okay.
---
### B. Collaborative Building Phase (20-30 minutes)
Groups build their communities with LEGO bricks.
**Key Facilitation Approach:**
- **No design is wrong**—imagination and engagement are key
- **Avoid judgment**—celebrate all attempts at creativity
- **Circulate and observe** but don't direct designs
- **Ask open questions** to encourage thinking:
- "Tell me about your community. What makes it special?"
- "How do people get around here?"
- "Where does the energy come from?"
- "How do people connect with each other?"
**Optional enhancements (if available):**
- Show pictures of real energy communities, eco-villages, or sustainable developments for inspiration
- Provide model wind turbines, solar panels, or water power structures if available (materials mention)
- Give example constraint cards: "Your community has limited flat land" or "It must provide food for 500 people"
**Time Management:**
- Give 5-minute warning before transitions
- Allow groups to finish their core design even if building time runs over slightly
- Some groups will build elaborate designs, others simpler—both are valid
---
### C. Group Presentations (10-15 minutes)
Each group presents their community design to the others.
**Presentation Structure:**
> "Each group presents your future community to the others. In your presentation, explain:
> - Forms of energy production you included (and why)
> - Social and cultural aspects (schools, gathering spaces, markets, etc.)
> - Challenges you addressed (climate impacts, resource scarcity, etc.)
> - How decisions were made in your group"
**Presentation Tips:**
- Keep presentations brief (2-3 minutes each) to maintain energy
- Encourage the designer to speak about their vision
- Listen for themes: What features appear in multiple designs?
- Note questions for debrief
**Facilitation during presentations:**
- Celebrate each design
- Ask follow-up questions to deepen thinking:
- "What happens when the sun doesn't shine?"
- "How do people get food?"
- "What would it feel like to live there?"
---
### D. Debrief and Reflection (10-20 minutes)
Connect designs to real-world examples and reflect on key themes.
**Real-world Examples:**
- Show examples of actual energy communities, eco-villages, sustainable developments
- Examples might include:
- Energy cooperatives in Denmark or Germany
- Eco-villages with communal resources
- Transition towns with local food and energy systems
- Indigenous communities with sustainable practices
- Ask: "Do your designs match any of these real-world examples?"
**Facilitated Discussion:**
**Question 1: Compare to Real Examples**
> "Looking at these real-world examples of energy communities, how are your designs similar? What's different?"
**Question 2: Common Features**
> "What features did we see across many groups? What does that tell us about sustainable communities?"
**Question 3: Possibility and Hope**
> "These designs are all optimistic. Is a climate-neutral, resilient community actually possible? What would need to happen?"
**Question 4: Personal Connection**
> "Would you want to live in any of these communities? Which one and why?"
**Reflection Summary:**
Highlight key learning:
- Sustainable communities are achievable and can be appealing
- Different designs reflect different values and priorities
- Common themes suggest universal principles of sustainability
- Communities have power to create change
- Individual and collective action create different results
---
## Key Learning Points to Highlight
- Renewable energy communities are a realistic and hopeful future
- Community-based energy production provides energy security
- Sustainable communities address multiple needs (energy, food, social connection, culture)
- Collective decision-making and shared resources are part of the solution
- Optimistic visioning can inspire action
- Different communities will solve problems in different ways based on local context
## Why This Method Works
- Creative play is highly engaging and accessible to diverse learners
- Building makes abstract concepts concrete
- Freedom to design allows personal agency and ownership
- Presentation builds confidence and communication skills
- Positive, future-oriented framing counteracts climate anxiety
- Collaborative group work builds community
- Playful learning creates memorable experiences
## Modifications and Extensions
### Time Variations
- **Short version (30 min):** Building + rapid presentations
- **Standard version (45-60 min):** Full activity as described
- **Extended version (90 min):** Add constraint cards, multiple design iterations, or deeper debrief
### Difficulty Adaptations
- **Basic:** Simple community with 1-2 energy sources
- **Advanced:** Complex systems with multiple technologies, resource flows, and social structures
- **Constraint-based:** Add challenge cards ("Tropical island," "Arctic region," "Very dense urban area")
### Multi-generational or Family Approach
- Combine different ages to build together
- Facilitator guides families to discuss intergenerational perspectives
### Integration with Technology
- Photograph designs from multiple angles
- Create digital map or 3D model of community
- Video-record presentations for later sharing
- Use to create promotional "real estate" video for the community
### Real-world Connection
- Partner with local urban planners or environmental organizations
- Display designs in community spaces
- Send designs to real energy community projects for feedback
- Connect to Module 4 discussions about citizen participation in planning
## Extended Activity Options
If you have more time or want to deepen learning:
### Option A: Model Integration (45-60 min)
- If Energy Experiments models are available, integrate one into each design
- Example: Add a working solar panel or wind turbine to the LEGO community
### Option B: Systems Mapping (45-60 min)
- After building, use string or drawings to show energy flows, food flows, and transportation networks
- Discuss how systems are connected
### Option C: Constraint Iterations (60-90 min)
- First round: Free design
- Second round: Add a constraint ("50% less land," "Feed 2x the people," "Extreme weather event")
- Discuss adaptation and resilience
## Notes for Facilitator
Recent research shows that when we play, we learn much faster than with conventional learning. Games and creative play help unlock new ideas and overcome complexity. Freedom to try out and make decisions in the group is essential to achieve learning goals, so try not to intervene heavily in group processes.
- Celebrate all designs equally—avoid ranking or judging
- Create psychological safety where participants feel okay being creative
- Connect to real possibilities—this isn't fantasy, it's informed by real projects
- Link to hope and agency—this activity works because it shows positive futures are possible
- Use debrief to connect individual designs to broader themes
- Close on an empowering note about community power
## Standalone vs. Integrated Use
- **Standalone (30-45 min):** Method 2.4 as a creative design activity
- **Follow-up to Climate Game (45-60 min):** Design at community scale what you calculated at household scale
- **Intro to Module 4 (45-60 min):** Show community-based solutions before discussing citizen participation
- **Extended learning (90+ min):** Combine with Energy Experiments integration or constraint iterations
- Set up a space with a large box or bins of LEGO bricks
- Organize bricks so they're easy to access (large base plates helpful)
- Create groups of three participants each
- Clear working areas for each group to build
- Test projector or prepare printed hand outs with example energy communities
- Have facilitator guide ready for reference and real-world examples
- Prepare timer for each phase
### Optional Bridge from Previous Method
If following the Climate Game:
> "Now that we have seen the effect of energy choices at the household level, it is your turn to build your own future community. But this time, we're designing something bigger and more hopeful—a whole neighborhood or village that runs on renewable energy. Be creative!"
### A. Introduction (5 minutes)
**Facilitator Script:**
> "All groups share this big box of LEGO. Your challenge: Design a community that is climate neutral, resilient, and liveable in the future. This means it produces its own energy from renewable sources, can handle challenges, and is a great place to live. Be creative! There's no single 'right' design—what matters is your imagination and thinking about how communities work."
**Clarifying Questions:**
> "Are there any questions before we start?"
**What to clarify if asked:**
- Climate neutral = produces as much energy as it uses, from renewable sources
- Resilient = can handle challenges (storms, climate change impacts, energy shocks)
- Liveable = has everything people need (homes, food, transportation, culture, connection)
- Creative = use your imagination! Any design is okay.
---
### B. Collaborative Building Phase (20-30 minutes)
Groups build their communities with LEGO bricks.
**Key Facilitation Approach:**
- **No design is wrong**—imagination and engagement are key
- **Avoid judgment**—celebrate all attempts at creativity
- **Circulate and observe** but don't direct designs
- **Ask open questions** to encourage thinking:
- "Tell me about your community. What makes it special?"
- "How do people get around here?"
- "Where does the energy come from?"
- "How do people connect with each other?"
**Optional enhancements (if available):**
- Show pictures of real energy communities, eco-villages, or sustainable developments for inspiration
- Provide model wind turbines, solar panels, or water power structures if available (materials mention)
- Give example constraint cards: "Your community has limited flat land" or "It must provide food for 500 people"
**Time Management:**
- Give 5-minute warning before transitions
- Allow groups to finish their core design even if building time runs over slightly
- Some groups will build elaborate designs, others simpler—both are valid
---
### C. Group Presentations (10-15 minutes)
Each group presents their community design to the others.
**Presentation Structure:**
> "Each group presents your future community to the others. In your presentation, explain:
> - Forms of energy production you included (and why)
> - Social and cultural aspects (schools, gathering spaces, markets, etc.)
> - Challenges you addressed (climate impacts, resource scarcity, etc.)
> - How decisions were made in your group"
**Presentation Tips:**
- Keep presentations brief (2-3 minutes each) to maintain energy
- Encourage the designer to speak about their vision
- Listen for themes: What features appear in multiple designs?
- Note questions for debrief
**Facilitation during presentations:**
- Celebrate each design
- Ask follow-up questions to deepen thinking:
- "What happens when the sun doesn't shine?"
- "How do people get food?"
- "What would it feel like to live there?"
---
### D. Debrief and Reflection (10-20 minutes)
Connect designs to real-world examples and reflect on key themes.
**Real-world Examples:**
- Show examples of actual energy communities, eco-villages, sustainable developments
- Examples might include:
- Energy cooperatives in Denmark or Germany
- Eco-villages with communal resources
- Transition towns with local food and energy systems
- Indigenous communities with sustainable practices
- Ask: "Do your designs match any of these real-world examples?"
**Facilitated Discussion:**
**Question 1: Compare to Real Examples**
> "Looking at these real-world examples of energy communities, how are your designs similar? What's different?"
**Question 2: Common Features**
> "What features did we see across many groups? What does that tell us about sustainable communities?"
**Question 3: Possibility and Hope**
> "These designs are all optimistic. Is a climate-neutral, resilient community actually possible? What would need to happen?"
**Question 4: Personal Connection**
> "Would you want to live in any of these communities? Which one and why?"
**Reflection Summary:**
Highlight key learning:
- Sustainable communities are achievable and can be appealing
- Different designs reflect different values and priorities
- Common themes suggest universal principles of sustainability
- Communities have power to create change
- Individual and collective action create different results
---
## Key Learning Points to Highlight
- Renewable energy communities are a realistic and hopeful future
- Community-based energy production provides energy security
- Sustainable communities address multiple needs (energy, food, social connection, culture)
- Collective decision-making and shared resources are part of the solution
- Optimistic visioning can inspire action
- Different communities will solve problems in different ways based on local context
## Why This Method Works
- Creative play is highly engaging and accessible to diverse learners
- Building makes abstract concepts concrete
- Freedom to design allows personal agency and ownership
- Presentation builds confidence and communication skills
- Positive, future-oriented framing counteracts climate anxiety
- Collaborative group work builds community
- Playful learning creates memorable experiences
## Modifications and Extensions
### Time Variations
- **Short version (30 min):** Building + rapid presentations
- **Standard version (45-60 min):** Full activity as described
- **Extended version (90 min):** Add constraint cards, multiple design iterations, or deeper debrief
### Difficulty Adaptations
- **Basic:** Simple community with 1-2 energy sources
- **Advanced:** Complex systems with multiple technologies, resource flows, and social structures
- **Constraint-based:** Add challenge cards ("Tropical island," "Arctic region," "Very dense urban area")
### Multi-generational or Family Approach
- Combine different ages to build together
- Facilitator guides families to discuss intergenerational perspectives
### Integration with Technology
- Photograph designs from multiple angles
- Create digital map or 3D model of community
- Video-record presentations for later sharing
- Use to create promotional "real estate" video for the community
### Real-world Connection
- Partner with local urban planners or environmental organizations
- Display designs in community spaces
- Send designs to real energy community projects for feedback
- Connect to Module 4 discussions about citizen participation in planning
## Extended Activity Options
If you have more time or want to deepen learning:
### Option A: Model Integration (45-60 min)
- If Energy Experiments models are available, integrate one into each design
- Example: Add a working solar panel or wind turbine to the LEGO community
### Option B: Systems Mapping (45-60 min)
- After building, use string or drawings to show energy flows, food flows, and transportation networks
- Discuss how systems are connected
### Option C: Constraint Iterations (60-90 min)
- First round: Free design
- Second round: Add a constraint ("50% less land," "Feed 2x the people," "Extreme weather event")
- Discuss adaptation and resilience
## Notes for Facilitator
Recent research shows that when we play, we learn much faster than with conventional learning. Games and creative play help unlock new ideas and overcome complexity. Freedom to try out and make decisions in the group is essential to achieve learning goals, so try not to intervene heavily in group processes.
- Celebrate all designs equally—avoid ranking or judging
- Create psychological safety where participants feel okay being creative
- Connect to real possibilities—this isn't fantasy, it's informed by real projects
- Link to hope and agency—this activity works because it shows positive futures are possible
- Use debrief to connect individual designs to broader themes
- Close on an empowering note about community power
## Standalone vs. Integrated Use
- **Standalone (30-45 min):** Method 2.4 as a creative design activity
- **Follow-up to Climate Game (45-60 min):** Design at community scale what you calculated at household scale
- **Intro to Module 4 (45-60 min):** Show community-based solutions before discussing citizen participation
- **Extended learning (90+ min):** Combine with Energy Experiments integration or constraint iterations
Preparation
- Set up a space with a large box or bins of LEGO bricks
- Organize bricks so they're easy to access (large base plates helpful)
- Create groups of three participants each
- Clear working areas for each group to build
- Test projector or prepare printed hand outs with example energy communities
- Have facilitator guide ready for reference and real-world examples
- Prepare timer for each phase
- Organize bricks so they're easy to access (large base plates helpful)
- Create groups of three participants each
- Clear working areas for each group to build
- Test projector or prepare printed hand outs with example energy communities
- Have facilitator guide ready for reference and real-world examples
- Prepare timer for each phase
Topics
Renewable Energy
Future Visions
Systems Thinking
Materials Needed
- LEGO sets or loose bricks (diverse elements for creative building)<br /><br /><br />
- Projector or hand outs for presentation<br /><br /><br />
- Facilitator guide with presentation<br /><br /><br />
- Fact sheets on energy communities<br /><br /><br />
- Fact sheets on renewable energy forms (solar, wind, heatpumps, etc.)
Contributor
INFORSE-Europe