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Education Garden Design Project
As a cohort of ASI students you will work together to help design the 2022 Education Garden Space. This project will encompass all 10 weeks of your summer semester with the end goal of providing a functional and attractive farm educational space that will be used by the Merry Lea Environmental Education and Outreach team for their public programs.
The Education Garden will be your central space for learning and experimenting in your Crop and Soil Management Class. It will be our outdoor, living classroom where we will work together and gain the skills needed to successfully complete this ambitious project.
Located right outside your cottages, the education garden is laid out as two main circles, each containing 8 raised beds. There are also two beds of strawberries, a bed of blueberries, a bed with gooseberries and a honey-berry bush, two herb spiral, another two beds with flowers, and two sculpture, one surrounded by flowering bulbs. There are three gates that enter the garden, one from the North, East, and West.
The project is broken down into seven parts that will walk us through a permaculture design process of a garden space and will culminate in a presentation to stakeholders that have a vested interest in this garden space.
This year, each ASI student will choose one regenerative agricultural topic that they would like to highlight and will demonstrate this concept in one raised bed in each of the circles in the garden. Other beds will be planted and maintained by Kaeli, the Merry Lea Sustainable Farm Manager and her farm crew.
I. Stakeholder Interview [15 pts] - This will be the first graded portion of your project.
Due in class: Thursday, June 9th from 9:00-10:00AM
The Stakeholder interview is a time for you to consult with the various users of this garden space. You will formulate questions to gain insights to help you design the garden space. What does the Education & Outreach Team need from this space? What does the Farm Manger need from this space? What are their educational goals? production goals?
Some information about the site you can gather on your own. Make sure you are getting the specialized, specific knowledge and information that you need that these stakeholder have. Each member should participate in the interview process- plan ahead and have your questions prepared. Remember to practice good listening skills. Here is an article about what makes a great listener.
GRADING
You will be evaluated on the following criteria:
Questions (50%) - Do you ask at least ONE question and seeking to find out the interviewee's vision for the space?
Listening, participating, note taking (50%)- Are you actively listening, observing and taking notes?
II. Site Evaluation [20 pts]
The site evaluation is a written document that gives an overview of what is known about the project site. Use what you have learned from the stakeholder interview and your own observations to write up a comprehensive evaluation of the Education Garden.
Deliverable: A site evaluation document with questions, answers, observations and insights to guide the design process (one document submitted for the entire cohort).
Due: Friday June 10th at 6:00PM
GRADING: The document should include the following [1 point for addressing each item]:
Date
Names of group members
Brief description of the site
area/sq. footage (total and growing spaces specifically)
how is the site used? how will it be used? # of people served?
Ability to invest in the site? Budget? Time?
On-site resources
Basic agronomic data: soils? elevation? average rain fall? frost dates/ temperature? aspects (N, S, E, W) gradients?
History of the land? other maps?
potential catastrophes?
known problems?
Desires, dreams, wants, and needs?
Short and long range priories?
Access?
Water?
Vegetation?
Habitat?
Notable features?
Other influences? noise? neighbors? environmental conditions? Social constraints?
principle aims for the site?
III. Budget [10 pts]
What are the expected costs for your design project? Materials? Labor? Plants? Can improvements be done in phases? Remember to include sources and vendor options. *Note: We will not include internal Merry Lea costs (farm manager labor, equipment, plants grown on-site etc.) in the budget. Only additional design elements/features, like plants or inputs purchased off-site will be part of this budget.
Deliverable: google spreadsheet with expected costs, phases (or timeline). A larger version *might* be desirable to share with stakeholders at your presentation.
Due: Thursday, June 16th 5:00PM
IV. Wild Designs/ Short presentation [15 pts.]
Students will be given a blank image of the Education Garden and will use this to create their own design elements based on the permaculture design principles that we have discussed in class. Each person will then give a short presentation on their ideas to their fellow classmates.
Due in class: June 16th
GRADING:
Produces a draft map of bed space with location of plants for regenerative ag principle (50%)
Gives reasons (permaculture and agronomic) for design decisions (50%)
V. Base Map [10 pts]
A Base Map is a visual depiction of the Education Garden that is to scale. All notable features of the Garden should be included on the map (existing plant beds, sculpture, windmill, fences, gates, etc.). The map will also include what is planted where and what we plan to plant and when.
Deliverable: A map (one for the entire cohort) that shows the features present in the education garden and what is/will be planted where.
Due: June 23rd 5:00PM
GRADING
Contains pertinent information (75%)- The map includes all important features and plants.
Visual appeal (25%)- The map is proportional with correct dimensions and is elegant in its presentation.
VI. Zone & Sector Analysis [10 pts]
A "Zone-and-sector analysis reveals the impact of habitation and the influences of the environment on the site" (The Permaculture Handbook, Peter Bane, 2012). Zones indicate the intensity of interventions in the system and the impact of those primarily inhabiting the space. Sectors describe the influences of the sun, wind, wildlife, noise, etc. Each sector is impacted by a direction.
Deliverable: Group Diagram illustrating Zone and Sectors Focusing on the Education Garden as the center.
Due: June 30th 5:00PM
GRADING - Diagram includes pertinent zones and sectors
VII. Design Presentation [30 pts.]
As a group you will share your vision, plan, what you have done in the Education Garden, and how you have planned it to be used educationally. Each person will highlight the regenerative agricultural principal that they demonstrated in their raised beds. This presentation will be given to previously interviewed stakeholders, the incoming class of Master's of Environmental Education Students, and course instructors. All previous, relevant parts of the Education Design Project should be touched on in the presentation.
Deliverable: A group presentation given in class on July 28th 8:00-10:00AM
GRADING: You will be graded on the following criteria.
Content knowledge (50%)- Student demonstrates learned knowledge of the education garden design project space, especially highlighting their regenerative agriculture principle in two garden beds.
Participation (25%) - Speaks for 5 minutes and answers questions in a group context.
Publics speaking skills (25%) - Student communicates clearly and professionally.
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