A little info before we get started.
The Fremantle port is a big part of Fremantle. it has been the gateway to Perth and Fremantle for over 100 years and has a rich working history. As such it holds all kinds of memories, history and reflections for the people that have worked there and for the many visitors that hove gone there over the years gone by. However, unfortunately all good things come to an end. As time went by and Perth and Fremantle’s populations grew, more and more cargo began to flow through the port. As such the port authority began to realise that it needed more space for bigger ships, better cargo handling and an overall smoother operation. Because of these reasons, the port is being moved to North Fremantle where there is more room and better facilities that will allow greater success.
But the question is “What will happen to the old port?” and that is where we come in. In 2022 the yr7 Cohort is planning greater things for the old Fremantle port and the land and buildings being left behind. We have thought of innovative, sustainable ideas in groups to make the most of what is left behind. So that is what I will be talking about now and I will be explaining my journey throughout this fantastic opportunity. We will be talking about my strengths that I developed, my collaboration with my colleagues and more. So now that you know some background info, lets get started!
The beginning
At the beginning of this project we were split into groups. In those groups we thought of innovative ideas that could be used in the future development of the old Fremantle port. My first group had some brilliant ideas and we incorporated brainstorming to problem solve real life issues that are occurring at the port, such as erosion. To solve this problem and others like it, we thought of the idea of building a pier that goes out the end of the break water to stop waves that create erosion that harms the port beach. With all of these ideas in place we then put them onto a vision board to showcase our thinking and to explore ideas that could really change the future of Fremantle. We than presented our thinking at grand parent’s day but I was absent because of my broken hand playing footy.
Getting the main ideas
At the end of the start process we were put into different groups where we refined our earlier ideas and came up with a final presentation. Each group was given a section of the port which they will design and implement group ideas as a final design. The process of this part took some time but we got there. In the process we used a lot of collaboration skills as we had to share ideas and work together to make the design work other wise it will all fall apart. We had to share our skills as a group such as having the people who were better at technology work on the co space which was a new platform introduced to us through this project. We also had to use our organisation capability to organise time to work on our model and implement ideas into our section of the port. In the end this part of the design process was a really great opportunity for us to learn new skills and open up new capabilities and strengths for ourselves in the future.
The final presentation
The final presentation was the final part of this fantastic journey. With all of our ideas brainstormed, refined and developed we created our own vision of the future port of Fremantle. Now all that was left was to present. To get our message across each group set up a display of their vision and invited people to provide feedback, new ideas and positive comments. So therefore at our stand we each had our speech prepared focussing on our individual area of the port development.
We encouraged people to come to our stand to share their ideas with us, to give us positive feedback and to challenge our perception of the new development. Due to our good research and preparation we handled tricky questions and comments easily and relied on each group members expertise when required. We presented our showcase professionally because of the preparation, individual assignments and group collaboration.
During the presentation my expertise was public speaking as that is one of my strengths and my preparation allowed me to excel in this capability.
What capabilities did I gain from this?
The most important thing was to be able to work in groups and respect other peoples ideas so therefore exceeding in collaboration. Another capability that I gained during this Journey was organisation. To make any group collaboration work effectively you need to be organised and I felt that this was a valuable capability that I learned.
Another capability that I learned was the effective way we solved problems or problem solving in general. In any project there are always multiple problems that need to be effectively managed. This was a very valuable capability that I learned throughout the entirety of this project. Being an effective leader. being collaborative and communicating correctly all work together on a complex group project like this.
I feel that at the end of this project I have these capabilities and more and feel like a much better person having successfully completed this project.
Conclusion
This project started as an idea to develop the old Fremantle port. Once this port has been relocated there is going to be a lot of infrastructure and vacant land left behind that must be put to good use.
We were put into groups to work together collaboratively to come up with suitable ideas. We relied on each group members skills and input to formulate the final ideas. We then presented these Ideas and welcomed any positive feedback and input.
I gained lots of new capabilities and skills that will be used to better myself and inspire myself to work on bigger and better projects.