Fishbone Diagram

Management at the SAP has been irregular recently. With the pandemic and the farm manager position changing hands, stability has been lacking. Outside of these complications there are long term issues facing the SAP like the lack of involvement from the university. Managing the SAP would mean making sure it has sufficient resources and funding which it currently does not. With multiple groups like student organizations and potential community partners, the amount of people managing the SAP could cause issues.

The SAP is relatively close to campus but far enough away to be inconveniently located for most students. Having a bus route or a sidewalk would help mitigate this issue. Walking past the edge of campus along the road may not be difficult but it can seem odd and bothersome so having a way for students to easily get to the SAP could greatly increase involvement.

The environment at the SAP has a few minor problems and a couple major ones. Poor soil quality is an issue faced at the SAP, but with correct actions it could be a simple fix. The major problems are the size of the plot and the fact that it is not on campus. With multiple groups possibly operating at the SAP the space becomes a little crammed. The biggest problem by far is the distance between the SAP and campus, and how to bridge that gap.

This label addresses all of the stakeholders involved with the SAP. The main problem at hand is the lack of involvement from the student body. Another issue is the open position for farm manager and who will take over to run operations. New City Neighbors have interests in sharing the space with GVSU students/faculty, however, we are unsure of those plans and if they want to see it through. It is important to know because if they wanted to move forward with a collaborative project, that would help address budgeting concerns.

This label is meant to address the maintenance concerns of the SAP. The facilities need to be updated or fixed, which would help improve the farm. There are also some unused project ideas and materials that could be used for future projects or finished up for the benefit of the farm.

It would be good to raise awareness about the SAP to the general student population to get them thinking about it and engaged with it. Our hopes are to get funding through grants for a transport method to get students to the farm. If we get the funding and can implement the transport vehicle (bike, scooter, etc.), this will give our interested students something to look forward to!