There is something really powerful in a group of strangers coming together to do something good- and quick! Guerilla Gardening kickstarted a movement of people coming together to make spaces more beautiful and create a community vibe. Since then we’ve seen guerilla pedestrian lines, guerilla bike lanes and many more more one-off do-good and often mischevious events.
Crop Mob is quite similar in ethos to guerilla do-gooding minus the guerilla bit. Groups of volunteers flash mob sustainable farms to help them accomplish more than they would have alone. Using a Google group for the technology, volunteers get notified of upcoming mobs. Crop Mob began in North Carolina and is spreading across the US.
In the UK, Scotland’s got its own Crop Mob like service. Flock Local is a web-based service that lets people know about ‘flash’ volunteering opportunities (many of which involve planting, picking up rubbish and conservation efforts) in a neighbourhood near them. Once volunteers commit to a flock, they can connect to their social network of choice and recruit others to come along.
(Spotted on Springwise)
Katherine Hui is currently the Social site editor at Green Thing, a web-based public service in London that inspires people to lead greener lives through creative content.
Before this, she worked as the Development Manager at Social Innovation Camp, an organization that encourages people to use web and mobile-based technology to mobilise social change. She oversaw 300 ideas submission and helped build 20 prototypes – five of which have gone on to get further funding or investment.
Katherine’s came over to the UK form Canada in 2007 for an MSc program at the London School of Economics. Before arriving in London, she managed a small environmental start-up in Vancouver called the Canadian Climate Change Alliance.
Katherine is football mad. She is a loyal supporter of Arsenal FC, plays for Islington Borough Ladies FC and coaches for Gunners in Islington in her spare time. Her second favourite hobby is kite surfing and she can sometimes be found chasing the wind.
