Build Week 10: Micro-Farming, Composting, and Vertical Gardens
Many Campfire discussions as of late have focused on issues of climate change, with Greta Thunberg helping drive deep interest for many of the learners around the issues and challenges of climate change. Thus, as Build Week 10 approached, the teaching team knew they needed to plan an experience that would help the learners understand ways they could impact climate change.
The first morning of Build Week finally arrived and began with Ellu Nasser, a climate science planner, teaching us more about the greenhouse effect. She showed us pictures of what happens with climate change, including images of wildfires, droughts, and hurricanes. She taught us about climate mitigation and efforts to reduce climate change. Then, she introduced a concept many of us were not familiar with — climate adaptation, which refers to making adaptations to adjust to actual or expected climate change and its effects. Finally, Mrs. Nasser issued the Build Week challenge:
By the end of the week, design and build a sustainable system that acts as a solution to one or more of these problems:
Restore air quality in urban areas (ex: live plant wall)
Reduce the distance of food travel (ex: vertical garden or small mobile garden bed with a wicking system)
Recycle food waste (ex: worm compost bin)
Maximize the efficiency of food production (ex: hydroponics, aeroponics)
Eager to get to work, learners broke into teams and scattered among the rooms to locate their workspaces. They found their zones taped off with masking tape and their team names spelled out on the grey concrete floor. Shortly after settling into their new workspaces for the week, which were equipped with whiteboards and tables, sketches of ideas began to emerge.
After some time to brainstorm, everyone reconvened to make sure the challenge and parameters were clear. Additionally, teams were shown a map of the median income of households in Austin so that learners would better understand how many families may not have easy or affordable access to fresh fruits and vegetables.
After a break at the park, teams gathered back together. Mrs. White reminded us that educating others was an important point that Mrs. Nasser had made earlier that morning. With this, one of our science teachers, Mrs. Winchester, told us she hosts a booth at a farmers’ market each weekend with her husband and the idea was surfaced that perhaps we could attend and teach others about our work on climate change. But which market and would they let us take part in this endeavor? Luckily, Mrs. Winchester had some connections, and she promised to go home that night and send some emails to see if this would even be possible. Fingers crossed!
In the meantime, the teams went back to work to ensure they had a well-thought-out plan before investing resources, spending the afternoon working on a proposal to be reviewed by our experts. At the end of the day, it was a rush to get all proposals turned in...and some teams weren’t finished yet!
As learners walked in for Day 2, there was a whiteboard stationed prominently in the front of the hall. It read: “Proposals will be approved pending more information and demonstration of deeper understanding. Toward that end, we are hosting workshops this morning that all groups should attend. You may attend as a group or you may divide up. Workshops will be:
Hydroponics
Composting
Irrigation and drainage
Wicking beds
Plants that will grow in Texas
Teams filtered back into their workspaces and reviewed comments on their proposals. They immediately began improving proposals and then made their way to their chosen workshops. After the focused 20 minute workshops, proposals began getting resubmitted and receiving stamps of approval. And soon we heard the buzz of saws and whir of drills as teams started building! Some learners expertly handled drills, while others were learning for the first time. Some learners filtered into the shop to have Mrs. White show them how the circular saw worked and others quickly made cuts so they could get back to their team’s area for continued collaboration.
Day 3 began with the exciting news that Mrs. Winchester had secured booths for us at the Sustainable Food Center’s Farmers’ Market the following Saturday and the HOPE Farmers’ Market the Sunday after that. Our designs would be showcased to the public and we would have the opportunity to educate others. Teams move off to their workstations and the major goal for the day was to build, build, build!
By the time lunch came, vertical gardens were taking shape. Wicking beds were coming to life, and compost bins were nearly spinning on their axes. Builders could see their visions coming to life. And by the end of the day, a handful of products were nearly ready. Many more had another hour or two of work needed. Luckily, we had one more day.
The morning of Day 4 was a flurry of building activity. And at 10:00 am there was a writing workshop offered to help groups produce informative written materials to accompany their designs at the farmers’ market booths. Each group sent at least one team member to the workshop, and writers worked to develop informative materials describing the problem their group’s design was attempting to address. They also worked to include information about their product and how it worked. Finally, they detailed the materials and cost for the design.
Meanwhile, other group members continued to build. As our lunchtime deadline approached there was a mixed level of calm of and frenzy — some groups had finished and quietly reviewed their written materials, but other groups furiously worked until the last second. Finally, lunch came and the building deadline was up. We left our workspaces, grabbed our lunch boxes, and walked to the park on a beautiful day.
Once we returned from lunch, teams worked hard to clean up their workspaces, preparing them for the final showcase that would take place at 1:30. Writers ensured they took advantage of final editing and printing services offered by the literacy teachers.
At 1:30, the gallery walk began. Learners split their groups, with half of the team taking up post next to their team’s final design, and the other half walking around to inspect the work of other teams. A group of adults took on the role of evaluators and with clipboards in hand, they carefully reviewed products and interviewed team members.
After an impressive presentation of all of the designs, it was time to gather for our final meeting. Evaluators gave feedback and highlighted creative solutions, impressive craftsmanship, and strong communication skills. They then led the whole community through a reflection about what they had learned across the week. Convinced the kids were ready to take charge of the farmers’ market booth — providing education and explanation — they signed up volunteers for the Saturday and Sunday farmers’ markets.
