Applied Cartooning: The Flower District Zine Project

Once Upon a Brownfield is an 8 page comics zine created in collaboration with Martha Kuhlman and the Providence RI organization The Flower District, a non-profit which is dedicated to the environment and the community.

The comic takes the reader through the history of the land that is the organization’s present day location in the Olneyville neighborhood, illustrating its industrial past, the organization’s plans to remediate the contaminated site, and the future creation of a community environmental hub.

The zine is available in both English and Spanish versions.

This project was funded by a Brownfields Cleanup grant from the Environmental Protection Agency.

Concept and story by Martha Kuhlman, Shannon Brawley, and Erin Achenbach

Layout and design by Martha Kuhlman

Artwork and formatting by Elise Dietrich