Planting More than Just Veggies: Student-Created Plans for a Sustainable Urban Farm

[...]it follows the environmental capstone model of senior team projects for clients in order to address problems with social, economic and environmental dimensions (Shay 2013). The client (represented by the lead farmer, Jackie Park Albaum) met with the class and presented her request for six proposed projects that she had written up formally in an RFP (request for proposals): 1) permaculture design, 2) water management, 3) soil management, 4) a medicinal plant garden design and implementation, 5) an online farm records tracking system, and 6) education curricula for primary and secondary schools visiting the farm. Hugelkultur is the process of making raised beds made with biodegradable materials, which mimic natural microtopography (The Permaculture Research Group, permaculturenews.org). By focusing on the importance of water conservation in an urban farm, including the history of the location, total water usage in farm, and a proper determination of which irrigation system to use, they aimed for Liberty Hall Farm to serve as a sustainable model for other urban farms.