Use information write 4 pages about WHAT & WHY: About the Garden (Mission; what they do); Why they do what they do (Info on their page)
The Garden is dedicated to growing food on campus as well as working with local campus dining services and the greater Baltimore food distribution system. With over 12,000 sq ft, The Garden is most obviously a physical space aimed at addressing food issues. The mission statement is to “enable people to discover how their special talents and passions could be blended with others’ to build community and shape our world.” The Garden has organized into teams which manage community projects, engineering/design, media and communication, academics/research, and sustainability efforts to keep the garden active throughout the season. Each of these teams are searching for additional volunteers and involvement from our student body and faculty on campus.
By meeting with organizational leader Julianne Brightman, we were able to decide on a front and back flyer layout which will include a variety of contact information with a strong focus on social media connections including the Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram pages dedicated to the project. Also to be included on the front of the flyer will be information regarding a student opportunity to sign up for a plot in the spring semester to grow fresh food. Students also have many independent research opportunities to explore through The Garden with target audiences participating in Capstone projects for interdisciplinary studies which can be promoted on our flyer. Plenty of information about what is grown and what projects are done on campus at the garden site, and with coordination from the media team of the project we hope to include photos and a map to indicate where the site is located.
Community
Vice President: Rosa Rada, INDS: B.A. Nutrition and Food Policy ‘17
Who they are:
· Organizers, Advocates–those dedicated to serving others: establishing partnerships. advancing social justice campaigns, and leading institutional change. By working with organizations outside of XXXX: community organizations, schools, and nonprofits, they hope to create programs and collaborative efforts that can affect social change. They work to strengthen ties with Baltimore and beyond to extend The Garden’s impact on issues that affect their community.
What they do:
· They have recently established a partnership with the International Rescue Committee (IRC). Through this effort a Burmese family is now using three of our plots to grow their own food. They are also engaging with XXXX students formally and informally through course curriculum integration with a class in the Interdisciplinary Studies department (INDS 232).
· They aim to create a refugee garden in Spring 2015 by deepening our commitment to the work of the IRC. They are working to establish youth food justice programs with Refugee Youth Project, CHOICE, College Gardens and others, and they’re open to partnering and working with any organization that serves the public good.
Who they need:
· Those who are passionate about social justice and serving others
· Those who have experience working with an external organization, particularly service organizations in the Baltimore area
· Those that consider themselves inventive organizers/advocates.
· Those who enjoy and excel at working with people.
Partners:
· International Rescue Committee
· Sondheim Scholars Program
· Living Classrooms
Design
Vice President: Gabi Margarida, B.S. Mechanical Engineering ‘17
Who they are:
· Makers: Engineers, Designers–those who want to create. The role of the Design team is to facilitate projects that physically shape The Garden and our campus. The Garden is a space and concept big enough for every idea to fit within it, and the Design team brings those ideas to life.
What they do:
· One project of the Design team is Sunflower. In The Garden’s space there is a 30 ft dilapidated satellite dish which we are working to convert into a giant sunflower, both functionally and aesthetically. The Design team is tasked with creating a functional Sunflower, one that is powered by and rotates with the sun, mirroring the behavior of an organic sunflower.
· The team is also facilitating the aesthetic half of the project, in which Artists of all kinds will transform the satellite dish into a sunflower by touch, smell, and sight.
· The functional component of this project will consist of the following:
o -Strip the satellite of its old drivers and electrical components and install a new system.
o -Once operational, line the dish with solar panels whose energy would power the rotation of the satellite as it follows the sun throughout the day
o -Routing leftover energy to outdoor appliances such as power tools, and the outdoor lighting and sound system for our performance space.
§ Other projects include helping to design the 8,000 sq ft agro-ecology food forest in The Garden’s bottom space, an 8 ft tall (for deer) fence lining the entire perimeter of The Garden, potential hoop house construction, and many, many others.
Who they need:
· Competency in 3d modeling, specifically landscapes: sketch-up or blueprint drafting equivalent/ fluency in CAD
· Extensive experience in construction, knowledge of various woodshop tools with the capacity to accomplish projects and be a resource for others
· Projects managers with the ability to set and meet deadlines
Partners:
· American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME)
· Engineers Without Borders
· XXXX Mechanical Engineering Department
Media
Vice President: Andres Camacho, INDS: B.A. Entrepreneurship and Digital Storytelling ‘15
Who they are:
· Story-tellers of every variety: photographers, designers, performers, and writers working to engage the community within and beyond The Loop.
What they do:
Current projects include:
· Large scale art-work: building-sized murals. metalworking, woodworking
· Industrial design projects: 3d educational mediums, stencils, interactive media
· Print media projects: watercolor signage, stamp-making
· Creating the content (digital, print etc) for a University System of Maryland-Wide campaign
· Crafting and refining our website and other digital platforms
· Graphic design projects: digital stories, posters, apparel design
Who they need:
· A long-form creative writer
· Photographer/Visual Artist
· We are always looking for talented Graphic Design/Print Media/Industrial Design folks, or any other artist looking to create.
Partners:
· Imagining America
· Linehan Artist Scholars Program
· Breaking Ground Work-Group
· XXXX Media and Communications Department
Academics
Vice President: Kelsey Donnellan, INDS: B.A. Community Health and Nutrition ‘15
Who they are:
· The Academic team is a bridge between the University and The Garden at a fundamental level. As students we are all stewards of our own education and are here to shape our knowledge through various mediums. They encourage the campus community to think about learning outside the classroom and research outside of a traditional lab.
What they do:
· Encourage and participate in undergraduate research: we already have two URA scholars working through the space.
· Class curriculum integration: we have had 3 classes (MLL 240, INDS 430, MCS 499, and now INDS 232) integrate our work into their curriculum, with students working on research, projects, and papers directly effecting The Garden.
· Academic partnerships: They work with three interns through the SUCCESS program and interface with academic departments to establish more robust independent studies, internships, and more engaging class curriculums.
· Real Food Challenge: partnering with the national non-profit of the same name, whose mission is to shift $1 billion of existing university food budgets away from industrial farms and junk food and towards local/community-based, fair, ecologically sound and humane food sources—what we call “real food”—by 2020.
· Learn more here:http://www.realfoodchallenge.org/about-real-food-challenge
Who they need:
To be on the team:(5-8 hrs/wk)
· Bridge the gap between The Garden board and engaged members.
· Either working on a project or teaching a class, while also completing garden tasks.
· Working with the agriculture team for Garden Orientation and continued education.
· Aid in organizing and hosting seminars about food, from our plate to industrial production and all the stories between.
· Interface with academic departments to create internship opportunities and independent study courses.
· Act as a liaison between departments and The Garden.
To be engaged with our work:
· Complete a research project in or around The Garden.
· Teach a class in or about The Garden
· Working with The Garden for a special academic project i.e. piloting technology, skills, and/or class assignments.
· Involved in Real Food Challenge and our relationship with Chartwells.
Partners:
· McNair Scholars Program
· The Shriver Center (SUCCESS)
· Real Food Challenge
· UMBC Biology Department
Sustainability
Vice President: Julianna Brightman, INDS: B.A. Food Systems Studies ‘16
Who they are:
· Students who cultivate our understanding of the social, cultural, and economic impact of food, achieved through the advancement of The Garden’s physical space: we tend to soil, plants, and people so that they may all grow.
What they do:
· Maintaining the physical growing spaces of The Garden by working with student groups, individual students, faculty, and staff gardeners that have a plot in the The Garden.
· Seed saving, composting, weeding
· Education: teaching others the importance of pollinators, companion planting, agro-ecology as well as the future of growing food, how our food system works, and what role we play in it.
Who they need:
· Detail oriented people
· Those who enjoy manual labor
· Lovers of spreadsheets, tool logs, and google forms
· Natural communicators and educators
Partners:
· Baltimore Orchard Project
· Big City Farms
· XXXX INDS Department