Earlier this year, Moraga resident Adam Fibrich spent two days with a small group of kids who had never heard the words “urban design” before. Adam, a student at The College Preparatory School in Oakland, helped lead an “Urban Design for Kids” camp for children of migrant farmworkers at Hijas del Campo in Brentwood, Calif. 

    The program was organized by Adam and his friend Qadir in partnership with Growth Notes, a youth-led education nonprofit founded by Orinda native Claire O’Connor, now at UCLA, and hosted at Hijas del Campo, a grassroots group that supports farmworker families.

    The camp drew about eight children, from early elementary through middle school. Many walked in quietly, sitting close to siblings or hanging back from the tables. By the end of the first morning, they were leaning over big sheets of paper, arguing (politely) about where to put parks, schools, and soccer fields in their “dream cities.” 

    One group imagined underwater neighborhoods protected by giant bubbles; another created a long, skinny town tracing the route they take to work in the fields.

    On the second day, the group shifted from drawing to building. Students learned how architects think about structure, function, and beauty, then used simple materials to build models and connect them into one shared city, complete with roads and gathering spaces. Kids who had barely spoken on day one, were standing up to explain their designs to the group.

    For these students, many of whom rarely see their own communities reflected in planning and design, the camp offered something small but memorable: the chance to redesign the world around them, and be heard while doing it.

    For more information about Growth Notes, visit www.growthnotes.org.