August Reflection

Has your involvement in community-based research impacted your motivation to engage in community issues, research or service?

• This opportunity to become engaged in community-based research impacted how I view community. To briefly answer the question, I will be involved in this particular outdoor classroom and school for probably the next two years, so I will definitely stay motivated to stay engaged in service and community issues related to the project. I will continue gathering information and ideas for using the outdoor classroom. I hope to learn qualitative research skills. Beyond motivation, I gained a lot from this project. Through this project I got to see more of how a school works - I learned the best way to get the word out is in person or via phone calls. I learned that it is okay to ask just about anyone for help - if they want to say no they can, but frequently, people are interested when you are working on a new and crazy project. I saw how busy EVERYONE is! I came to admire the parents, teachers, students (from elementary to college), custodial staff, administration, and community professionals - they all were so helpful in ensuring progress in this project.
  
• I learned that one of the best ways to stay motivated is to have fun (UM...DUH, my future middle school students will be SO glad I learned this!:-)! We play games and riddles (silly sally), listen to eclectic music, and make mud castle/faces when we need breaks or things to do. On occasion, we show off dance moves and stunts we can do. We also eat excessive amounts of trail mix, granola bars, animal crackers, and raspberry fruit leather (sorry for all the dry and salty stuff!!!). I personally find it enthralling and fun to talk to people about their passions - contacting educators at Orange County Solid Waste Management and CH Stormwater Management, chatting for hours with master gardeners, parents, teachers, and students about the project (and dance, music, school, goals, extracurriculars) has been GREAT!

• What assistance will be most helpful to you in the fall semester in wrapping up your CBR project?

(sorry about the weird formatting, my computer is not being cool right now)

My CBR is not exactly wrapping up... Throughout the fall we will be planting and building things like picnic tables. I had hoped to get more done this summer, but the reality is that a courtyard full of invasive species that has not really been tended for 7ish years takes A LONG time to clear out. And planting in the summer would be basically plant homocide (or a HUGE waste of water). No excuses though, I took on a big project. I fully intend to stay involved in the project through a Geology independent study class and Teaching Fellows.
It would be fantastic if people wanted to volunteer time to help plant. I'd also like to host a ribbon cutting for the outdoor classroom, so I'll get assistance from the school to do that. Quite a few of the parent volunteers are on board with helping figure out long term maintenance through PTA. I will continue getting assitance from volunteers, teachers, master gardeners, designers, and the principal. My faculty advisors will continue to help with ideas and figuring out the rock garden extension of the project (part of my geol class).
I could use help brainstorming ideas for long term maintence and handing the project over to the school community completely when I can no longer be involved (probably by next fall).

Pre-Roto Tilling Pictures and Week 4 Update

These are pictures from Monday before we roto-tilled. Now the outdoor classroom looks like... DIRT!




It is SOOOO hot today! Yesterday I think we had a record number of people working in the Outdoor Classroom. We have been fortunate to have some really enthusiastic volunteers from the local TSA chapter that the technology teacher leads. The high schoolers have been a ton of help and fun to talk to. They've said they enjoy feeling like they are doing something productive with their time. I really appreciate that they continue to go above and beyond what is required for service in their schools. They are really good at using machetes, hatchets, and pick axes to get out the really stubborn roots :-).
I've started listening to NPR when I get to the Outdoor Classroom early. Yesterday they talked about eating bugs and they played whale songs. I think I need to bring in some CDs.
On Monday, one of the families stayed for SEVEN hours as the father roto-tilled the entire space. The students helped me collect soil samples which I dropped off to get analyzed yesterday. Yesterday the technology teacher through a stepping stone on a ground nest as we held the doors open for him to run through. We are trying to smother them. One family has been working on designs with some old software for landscaping. The designs are impressive. There are even 3-D images! The school community amazes and inspires me.

Now that we've roto-tilled we are removing roots and untilled patches. Then we will roto-till again with compost added, lay cardboard on top, and then put mulch on all of that. Preparing the soil is the hardest part from what I've heard and I'm glad. I can't wait to plant in the fall. The TSA students are going to do a lot of the construction for a competition.

July Reflection

First of all, I NEED to charge my camera battery! I really want to take pics of the current state of things in the outdoor classroom.

Secondly - here is my (late) July Reflection:

What is the current status of your project?

• For the past three weeks we have been raking, pruning, and digging in the garden. This is all to prepare the soil for planting in the fall. In addition, I have contacted designers, garden centers, and master gardeners to answer questions about planting. I've also talked to Muriel Williman at Orange County Solid Waste Management about composting. We bought a compost bin. We made a yard waste bin out of wooden palettes that I drove around in the back of my small car :-). In talking to a garden specialist at Niche Gardens and the Master Gardeners at the NCBG and one of the mothers who volunteers and by reading resources they provided I've been learning about what plants to plant to meet our goals of a drought resistant, easy to care for, native/pollinator plant garden. I worked with one of the students volunteering to collect samples of different plants in the outdoor classroom (ideally with buds, flowers, multiple leaves) so they could be identified. We found out we have a ton of yicky invasives (lespidosia, liriope, vinca, wisteria, nadina...). We discussed the pros and cons of using Round-up. We planned how to prepare the soil (this involved discussion with Master Gardeners, OCSWM staff, Botanical Garden curators, garden specialists at Niche, and more). We discussed how to get rid of poison ivy. I learned the hard way to pay attention to ant hills (ants HURT). Tomorrow we are roto-tilling.
  

How does your fellowship experience compare to your initial expectations?

• I think my fellowship is going to be far more on-going than I thought. I thought I'd be able to hand things over to the teachers by the beginning of the school year for the most part but we will still be planting because it is too hot to do so now.
  

What has been the most rewarding and challenging aspect of working with your community partner?

• It has been awesome getting to meet families with passions similar to mine. Its cool to see how dedicated they are - coming even when it is super hot and if it means early mornings. I've really appreciated the help of my coordinating teacher and the technology teacher who are both endless sources of ideas and help. I'm also grateful for the larger Carrboro/Chapel Hill community. Quite a few groups have offered price cuts, lots of people have offered advice and enthusiasm. Family friends, high schoolers, and community organizers have gotten involved. The custodial staff puts up with the mud I trek into the school, greets us cheerfully, and unlocks doors for me. The principal is saving plants from her garden for the project.
• The challenging aspect is thinking about the long term sustainability of the project and working with the hundreds of time restraints we all have. It is also sometimes tricky to navigate the project with all the different ideas about how it should work.
  

What role has your faculty mentor played in guiding your work and helping you to address any problems that you have faced?

• My faculty mentor has offered to support the project however possible and will help create a rock garden that will be a part of the project that extends into the fall.
  

In what ways have you needed to be flexible?

• I've changed the times that I'm available and I've worked somedays on my own for part of the day on the physical task of creating the outdoor classroom. I did not realize that planting would have to occur in the fall (DUH!) so that was a shocker.