Back in March I made two animations for the Rhode Island Land and Water Partnership, both about stormwater management and green infrastructure. I shared the first one, an introduction to stormwater and green infrastructure in Providence, RI, on this blog. The second one, about the Woonasquatucket River, is coming soon! And I am now in the process of making a third for the series, this time about stormwater about Aquidneck Island, in southern RI.
I had a bit of trouble getting started with this animation because I was not too familiar with Aquidneck, other than the occasional trip to Newport or Sachuest Point. Because the first two animations were set in Providence, where I have lived for the past six years, I could comfortably bang out a script and hit the ground running.
Though this has been a slower-burning process, it has been fulfilling to acquaint myself with another part of Rhode Island. I’ve learned that people in Aquidneck feel a great deal of owernship over their island home. They are proud of its history, its natural beauty, its iconic waterfront, its booming tourism industry and its pervading sense of community.
As the city grows, people in Aquidneck have expressed a desire for diverse, dynamic and mixed-use communities that promote quality of life while also highlighting and protecting the island’s natural resources, and fostering tourism and economic growth. I think with the recent onslaught of long winters, hot summers, severe storms and flooding events, climate change is starting to converge for people. My hope with this video is to show people that green infrastructure can satisfy their hopes and visions for Aquidneck’s growth, while also building the island’s capacity to handle stronger and more frequent climate disturbances.
Below are sketches from the storyboard (excuse my glaring inability to draw straight lines)!
INK-CHROMA 