At a glance
Green Square: Where the Plants Are.
Through student-led innovation and design, the UW Tower Demonstration… Read full summary
- Funding received
- 2015-2016
- Large
- Awarded
- $59,730
- Funding partners
-
- Services and Activities Fee (SAF)
Green Square: Where the Plants Are.
Through student-led innovation and design, the UW Tower Demonstration Garden team aspires to transform the Tower plaza by enhancing the appearance of the expansive red brick with an attractive oasis of green urban food production. The garden will demonstrate University of Washington's sustainability goals through an adaptive appropriation of urban space. With the traffic of visitors and staff at the UW Tower and high degree of public exposure from the adjacent Link light rail station, Green Square will represent the innovative mission of the University and the Campus Sustainability Fund to a broad audience.
Green Square will demonstrate the possibilities of urban food production and the co-benefits of greening underutilized urban spaces. The project will use design techniques to balance food production and aesthetics appropriate to the Tower environment while inspiring to the community to grow its own food. Similar in approach to parklets for streetscapes, Green Square will be a vibrant urban community space to relax in a refuge of planters, vertical green-screens, bench seating and gathering spaces. In addition to the ecological benefits that this project will produce (increased biodiversity, lowered urban heat island effect, improved water filtration, pollinator support, etc.), the garden will be an excellent model for the valuable role that intensive gardening can play in our community. The garden activities will not only offer educational volunteer opportunities for students and the local community, Green Square will also be a garden destination that can be organized to host attractive community events such as dinner gatherings, university ceremonies, garden parties, guest speakers, outdoor movies, and other innovative ideas.
Successful implementation of the Green Square Urban Garden Demonstration project will showcase the possibilities for environment-appropriate urban gardening, create an attractive community gathering space, highlight current garden design innovations, and exemplify the University of Washington's dedication to sustainability.
The UW Tower is the gateway to the University. It hosts the office of accounting, advancement, international exchanges, and many others. It is important that the building reflect the sustainable mission of the University.
The University of Washington Tower plaza has the potential to become an example of the transformative power of greenery in turning a harsh urban environment into an oasis of life and beauty. Currently, the Tower plaza is dominated by brick and stark concrete walls, with a handful of aging pots filled mostly with ivy and other ornamental plants. A few years ago, the Green Team at the UW Tower started an urban garden project in the plaza. It was a discrete small scale appropriation of a few pots to replace the ivy, but very successful in engaging coworkers by organizing movie events and handing out fresh produce. Inspired by this initial tactical gardening project, we want to grow the garden started by the Green Team and transition it to a robust demonstration of the success and strategies to growing edibles in an urban plaza.
We want the new edible garden to be visually and physically engaging by including vertical elements, such as artistic green screens, and raised beds forms that engage the space and existing layout. It will be educational and involve the community in creative ways. We plan on designing a temporary urban garden feature that includes green screens, planters with a variety of edible and native plants, and a more pleasant place for people to relax and enjoy the outdoors during their lunch break or after work. The design is inspired by the tactical style and accessibility of parklet installations on roadsides; to create an inviting space that strategically incorporates benches, planters, and green screens adapted into a cohesive artistic experience that drastically alters the austerity of the plaza. It is an art installation calling for creativity, ingenuity, and continued garden maintenance. The end result will be aesthetically pleasing and vibrant, a place for people to learn about growing edible plants in surprising locations, and to enjoy the outdoors. Most importantly, it will advance to the University of Washington’s reputation in sustainability and innovation.
Up until now, sustainability projects have been focused on the main campus. The UW Tower Urban Garden Demonstration project, however, will help adapt sustainability to existing urban property beyond central campus. Due to the visitor exposure that the UW Tower receives and the anticipated increase of traffic as a result of the incoming light rail station, this project has the potential to enlighten a substantial number of people about urban agricultural practices and the university’s commitment to sustainability.
We are asking for $60,000 in grant funding to help carry out the design, construction, and initial maintenance for this project. After the projects kicks off, we hope to establish a connection to farmer's markets to raise additional awareness and funds to help support garden maintenance.
Cheryl Wheeler
Project lead
- cherylwh@uw.edu
- Affiliation
- Staff
Troy Swanson
Team member
- troy2@uw.edu
- Affiliation
- Staff
The UW Tower is the gateway to the University, it hosts the office of accounting, advancement, international exchanges, and many others. Furthermore, the new link rail station is being build on the other side of the street, making it the first building many strangers will see when they come to the U-District. It is important that the building reflect the sustainable mission of the University, and currently is does not.
The University of Washington Tower plaza has a potential to become an example of the transformative power of greenery in turning a harsh urban environment into an oasis of life and beauty. The Tower plaza is surrounded by bare concrete walls, covered in brick and contains a few bulky concrete planters. A few years ago, the green team started an urban garden project in the plaza. It was small scale, but very successful in engaging coworkers by organizing movie events and giving out fresh produce. We want to build on the project started by the Green Team and make it bigger and better.
We want the new edible garden to incorporate more vertical space, such as green screens. We want it to be more educational and involve the community in creative ways. We plan on designing a temporary urban garden that includes green screens, planters with a variety of edible and native plants, and a place for people to relax and enjoy the outdoors during their lunch break or after work. The idea is to design something is the style of a parklet; a temporary platform that incorporates benches, planters, and green screens all in one structure. It is somewhat of an art installation which calls for creativity and ingenuity. The end result will be aesthetically pleasing and vibrant, a place for people to learn about growing edible plants and enjoy the outdoors. Most importantly, it will advance to the University of Washington’s reputation in sustainability and innovation.
Explanation of how the project will meet the requirements and preferences of the CFS:
Environmental impact
The main focus of the project is to educate people of the potential of growing food in a strictly urban environment. It would connect people to the food system and entice them to start their own edible gardens at home. The urban garden could potentially provide food for the UW Tower and help localize the food system. It would furthermore provide a habitat for animals and pollinators, leading to an increase in biodiversity. The garden would also incorporate a water-capture system.
Student leadership & involvement
We foresee three phases of this project: design, construction, and maintenance. Student involvement is critical for each. We want this to be a multidisciplinary project which will involve students from many different majors. Landscape Architecture and Environmental Science students would be involved in the design, construction would be carries out by Industrial Design and Construction Management students (with oversight of a contractor). Students from any major can be involved in maintenance, preferentially it would be someone who is working at the UW Tower. Since there is no complicated technology involved, and the project can be constructed in a studio and then transported in part to the plaza, we believe that students can be the primary designers, constructors, and leaders in this project.
Education, outreach, & behavior change
As mentioned above, the main aim of the garden is to showcase the potential for growth in harsh urban environment. A secondary educational aspect is that of the food system, and the importance of urban agriculture in localizing the food system and decreasing carbon footprints. Passerby’s will be inspired and hopefully try to start their own gardens at home. In addition, we hope that people realize the benefit of urban agriculture and support such projects in the future. Once the garden starts growing enough produce, we plan to organize a little farmer’s market on the plaza which could also incorporate produce from the UW farm.
Feasibility, accountability, & sustainability
The yearly budget that the green team received is not enough to design and construct a project of the scope we have in mind. This is where we need most assistance. It is enough to hire a student to maintain the area after it it constructed. Furthermore, this project is part of the Carlson Center, and receives quarterly service learners (such as myself) to help in any way possible. We can thus assure the sustainability of the project. We have reached out to faculty around the campus, and have already received interest in the project. We plan of having students work on the design and construction either for extra credit, as a capstone project, or as an internship. The green team at the UW Tower will play a big part in this project, they are familiar with the requirements of the UW Tower for such project, and have experience with projects in the past.
We are asking for $59,730 in total. $5,700 will be spent on the design phase, $44,530 on construction, and $8,500 for maintenance.
Request amount and budget
How the project will react to funding reductions
- 5% cut: use different materials in construction.
- 10% cut: smaller-scale, different materials, but still the same idea.
- 20% cut: no more parklet idea, just individual planters and benches with edible plants.
Plans for financial longevity
After the project is implemented, we will direct a lot of attention and funding for maintenance and outreach that year. This would consist of having 2 paid positions for maintenance and event planning for the year. After that, service learners and volunteers would upkeep the work started by the two paid student workers. The yearly Green Team fund ($500) and money made from fundraising events such as farmers markets would be used for replacing plants and organizing events. If big improvements need to be made, and then we might apply for another grant.
Problem statement
Our current food system is unsustainable. The edible urban garden demonstration project primarily addresses the need for individuals to understand where, when, and how food is grown. The extremely long and complex supply chains that get foods from farms to grocery stores disconnects people from the production and the hidden costs of environmental degradation due to transportation emissions, and extensive use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides. The primary focus of our project is to connect people to their food and second to introduce them about urban gardening techniques, and the benefits of localizing food production. The garden will have other beneficial "side effects" that will help impact issues like biodiversity loss, urban heat island effect, air pollution, stormwater capture, and declines in bee populations which build natural capitol and environmental services.
The garden project will increase biodiversity in the area and will provide a habitat for animals, particularly pollinators. The increase in vegetation would greatly reduce the heat-island effect inside the plaza and will help increase local air quality. The edible garden has the potential to help reduce the UW Tower’s reliance on the extremely long and complicated food chain that supplies it with food. During peak months in the past, the much smaller edible garden demonstration project was successfully producing enough food to hand out to coworkers and donate to food banks. We hope to continue those practices and additionally plan on supply fresh produce to UW Tower itself to help reduce its carbon footprint.
Although this is a small-scale demonstration project, we believe it will very successfully showcase the many cumulative benefits of urban farming, and the knowledge will radiate into the community and inspire people to start growing their own produce, planting more native plants, and thinking more about where their food comes from.
Measure the impacts
Monitoring and maintaining the UW Tower Urban Garden Demonstration will serve as a learning opportunity for University of Washington students. The students that participate in maintenance positions will receive hands-on experience upholding the sustainable practices that this project establishes by monitoring the following:
Food
Keeping track of the food the garden produces will be key. We will either count the individual vegetables/fruit we collect or weigh our total produce. The monitoring technique will depend on how much our garden produces. It will also be interesting to take this calculation one step further and measure how much carbon dioxide was displaced by consuming our local produce instead of consuming store-bought goods. To do this we will estimate the carbon footprint of say an apple in the grocery store by seeing where it was grown, and the miles it needed to travel to get to the grocery store.
Water
Reducing water use and managing water consumption is a key adaptation to maintain urban resilience in the face of climate change. Some studies say that Seattle can expect a 50% decrease in water supply over the next 35 years[1]. Collecting and using storm water is a good solution to reduce water consumption and keep our plants thriving. We hope to address storm-water capture within the demonstration garden to a) save water and b) show others how they can capture rain to minimize runoff. We plan on measuring the water collected on a weekly basis. This number would then correspond to the gallons of water we save.
Biodiversity
We will keep track of the number of both edible and native species of plants we display as well as keep track of the presence of bees near the garden.
Human benefit
The easiest way to judge if people are benefitting from our edible demonstration garden is to see if they are using it. Are they having their lunch there? Reading about the native and edible plants? Another measurement will be the number of people who volunteer to maintain the garden. We will also conduct surveys to get a better sense of people’s opinions of the project. The most important question for us will be whether individuals have gained an interest in gardening themselves as a result of the garden and the various events we plan on hosting.
Wind
The current UW tower patio design provides no relief from wind, acting as a "wind tunnel." The UW Tower Urban Garden Demonstration will introduce natural wind buffers into the space through the increase of impermeable soft surface from the plant species and through the construction of "Green Screens (vertical structures with vegetation)."
Qualitative data can be collected from surveys of people’s experience with wind before and after the project. An anemometer can be used to measure wind speeds in the patio before and after the project.
[1] McClure, Robert. “Climate Change is Darkening Seattle’s Water Forecast”. Investigate West. September, 2015. Source: invw.org/2015/09/09/climate-change-is-darkening-seattles-water-forecast/
Education and outreach goals
Visibility
As mentioned above, the main aim of the garden is to showcase the potential for growth in a harsh urban environment and the importance of urban agriculture in localizing the food system and decreasing carbon footprints. The UW Tower plaza is a central point for many UW employees, surrounding it are many offices that form the backbone of the university. The UW Tower houses 2000 people, most of which pass through the plaza at least twice a day. Many visitors to the University of Washington, such as donors, also go to the UW Tower and would be exposed to the project. The opening of the U District Link station means that many passersby will see the plaza when they exist the station, so visibility is not an issue. However, anytime we organize an event such as a guest lecture, or a farmer’s market, we will be sure to inform students who might not go to the UW Tower daily through social media and on the University of Washington website’s events page.
One of the goals of the UW Tower Urban Garden Demonstration is to exhibit sustainable urban permaculture techniques in a manner that is accessible for the average resident. To increase participation and awareness of the garden, social media will act as a tool to engage our audience, share the process of urban farming, and inspire people to grow their own container garden. The project social media profile will also serve as a method of sharing events and fundraisers that occur on site.
Involvement
The easiest way to get involved will be simply to use the space, and there is no doubt that it will be used. Many employees at the UW Tower complain of a lack of outdoor seating to enjoy the fresh air and have lunch. At present, you will see people leaning on walls, even sitting on the floor! Other than that, many events will be hosted to further educate and involve the community such as outdoor movie screenings, lectures, and farmers’ markets.
Student involvement is essential in the whole process of the garden coming to life. We want this to be a multi-disciplinary effort, with students and faculty from Landscape Architecture, Biology, Industrial Design, Environmental Science, Construction Management, and other disciplines getting involved.
Furthermore, both student and faculty volunteers will be encouraged to help maintain the space. Initially we will offer paid positions for students to maintain the garden. Eventually we hope that most of the work will be voluntary (and in exchange for some produce), much like the UW farm functions today.
Student involvement
The Urban Garden Demonstration Project at the UW Tower is primarily student-led, with some oversight from faculty and professionals in the field. We foresee three phases of this project: design, construction, and maintenance. Student involvement is critical for each. We want this to be a multidisciplinary project which will involve students from many different majors. So far two student service learners have been involved in the initial brainstorming and grant-writing process. They have also been responsible for reaching out to UW faculty and staff. We foresee Landscape Architecture, Environmental Science, Biology, and Design students to be involved in the design process, construction would be carried out by Industrial Design and Construction Management students (with oversight of a contractor). The vision for our project is a platform, or multiple platforms, that incorporate both areas to relax and areas to grow food. It will creatively combine benches, planters, vertical walls, all while looking aesthetically pleasing. Since there is no complicated technology involved, we believe the project can be assembled in separate segments off site (in a studio) and then assembled all in one day on the plaza. This will allow students to use it as part of a class project, and will result in minimal disturbance for the employees at the UW Tower. Students from any major can be involved in maintenance phase of the project.
For the design and construction phases, we will recruit students from UW courses by communicating with professors. For maintenance and event organization we plan on hiring up to two students for the first year after which volunteers and service learners will fill in the void. This UW Tower Green Team is already affiliated with the Carlson Center and has been receiving one service learner per quarter to work on the urban garden project (these are the students working on the grant, initial design and original idea for the project). We plan on continuing to have service learners to maintain the garden and give them a small budget to organize events.
Depending on their roles, students will develop design, construction, event planning, research, teamwork and leadership skills. They can take the knowledge acquired in class and use it in the real world. It will be a very hands-on learning experience. The students will be able to add this project into their portfolio, which will hopefully help them stand out in the future and be more eligible for their dream jobs. We believe it will be a unique experience for students to collaborate on a project of this size and scope. They will leave a mark on the UW campus that will have beneficial effects for years to come.