Partnering With Jones Valley Teaching Farm
Project Reflect partnered with Jones Valley Teaching Farm (JVTF) in Birmingham, Alabama, to explore how joy could serve as a transformational tool in their work with students, staff, and the local community.
Through interviews, reflection exercises, and program planning sessions, Angie and Kalina Yang guided JVTF leadership through a joyful design process, which supported the team in understanding how to intentionally create space for joy and design experiences that amplify its impact. The engagement included research, stakeholder conversations, thought partnership, and coaching, all aimed at building leadership's capacity to support their team in recognizing and harnessing the power of joy.
This work aligned with JVTF's curriculum redesign efforts, offering an opportunity to weave joy more deeply into the organization's programs and practices.
Building Toward Joyful Impact
The goal was for JVTF leadership to develop conscious competency in the joyful design process and be equipped to guide staff and community members in this approach. Together, we co-designed experiences that centered the joy of students, staff, and community members in everyday programmatic activities.
Leadership also focused on cultivating a work environment that reflected the values and approaches embedded in their updated curriculum. By aligning the internal culture with the student experience, JVTF can continue to cultivate connections between how staff work and how students engage.
Inspired by the concept of joyful world-building, the work included:
Establishing goals for impact
Articulating current baselines and historical context
Building a vision for what would emerge when goals were achieved
Defining key outcomes to measure and track progress
Developing resources to support the team's learning journey
The partnership builds on the Jones Valley’s strong foundation and commitment to transformation through food, farming, and education.
This was one of the activities we used with the team to better understand how joy is expressed.