Catalyst Grant Final Report
Erie Canal Museum Skill Share Workshop
Please provide a brief narrative explaining your project and its outcomes.
In an effort to bolster community resiliency, comradery, and solidarity the Erie Canal Museum hosted a series skill sharing workshop, where presenters from community partners will teach the basics of how to do a variety of useful skills that also would have been practiced by canallers of the past, present, and future. We hosted skill shares on gardening, bike repair, orienteering, zine making, and cyanotype/paper making. This series was very popular, with most events filling up registration or coming close. The one challenge we had was that a presenter for a foraging workshop had an unexpected life event that prevented him from hosting that shkill share. Post-events surveys were overwhelmingly positive as well.
What is the most remarkable accomplishment or finding of your project?
People are very interested in learning practical skills and there are some great teachers available in our community. The connection between those two groups needs to just be established further.
How did your project differ from what you originally proposed?
We had to fit in the cyanotype/paper making workshop to make up for the cancelled foraging workshop.
Please provide a brief summary of your evaluation activities and/or results, if available.
We sent out post-event surveys following each workshop. Of the responses we received, 75% gave the top mark for satisfaction in the program, with all other reponses but one providing above average satisfaction reponses. Likewise, participants reported learning in a meaningful way to them at a similar rate.
Anything else you’d like us to know?
We have continued this series into 2026 due to its success!
Derrick Pratt
Director of Education, Erie Canal Museum
Are you interested in applying for a Catalyst Grant? Check out the grant page for the rules & requirements!
