at the
University of Michigan
University of Michigan
Project Team:
Marco Campos
Madeline Dunn
Talia Kula
Ryan Morton
Tyler Petzak
Lexi Targan
Project Sponsors:
Chiwara Permaculture
Nathan Ayers
Director/Head Research Instructor
Sam Schiebold
Research Partner
U-M Sustainable Food Program
Liz Dengate
Project Manager
Executive Summary
Permaculture
is an ecological design science modeled after natural ecosystems and based on
ethical principles. It attunes those who study it to the patterns inherent in
natural systems, which are used as a lens in solving current societal problems.
Permaculture has enormous potential to build more efficient and enriching food,
energy, and water systems for the University of Michigan that are symbiotic
with nature. This would allow the University community to live within the
patterns of abundance that already exist in nature, thereby going beyond
sustainability to create a regenerative campus. The 12 Permaculture Principles,
if integrated into the University, would decrease irrigation, fertilization and
waste management costs while providing an enriching and educational experience
for faculty, students, and staff. Permaculture integration will help the
University attain its sustainability goals in climate action, waste prevention,
healthy environments, and community awareness (Planet Blue, 2011).
The
following is a list of recommendations for the University of Michigan
Sustainable Food Program and Chiwara Permaculture that indicates how
permaculture can be integrated into the University of Michigan. These
recommendations are derived from research and interviews conducted by students
enrolled in Environment 391 - Sustainability and The Campus:
1
The
establishment and maintenance of a satellite garden is crucial to the
integration of permaculture on campus. The following sites are possible
satellite garden locations based on visibility, feasibility, utility, and
applicability of permaculture principles.
a
Northeast
of Dana Building, West of CC Little Science Building
b
Northeast
of the Exhibit Museum of Natural History
c
North
of the Museum of Art, South of Tisch Hall
d
North
of the Museum of Art, South of Tisch Hall
2
The
UMSFP should work with Chiwara on co-curricular educational programming.
a
A
lecture series by Nate Ayers on the 12 Permaculture Principles and how they can
be implemented at the University of Michigan will target students from various
schools and departments and will be sponsored by the UMSFP.
b
Hands-on
student workshops organized by the Permaculture Design Team and held at the
Chiwara Permaculture Research and Development Lab in Ann Arbor.
3
The
creation of an interdisciplinary capstone course that promotes permaculture
principles and cultivates further involvement in sustainable food efforts on
campus.
a
The
following faculty members that have expressed interest in such a course:
Raymond De Young (SNRE/LSA Program in the Environment), Joseph Trumpey
(SNRE/School of Art & Design), and Rebecca Lange (LSA Earth &
Environmental Sciences).
The
next steps of this project include meeting with Sue Gott, the University
Planner, in order to secure a location for a satellite garden, holding a round
table with the professors interested in being involved with the
interdisciplinary capstone course, and the possible continuation of this
endeavor as an Environment 391: Sustainability and the Campus project during
Winter 2013.
Project Objectives
Our
sponsors asked for recommendations for how to integrate the permaculture design
principles into the University’s sustainable food efforts by creating more
hands-on, complex-systems learning experiences for students and staff. Through
consultation with the sponsors we developed the following four deliverable
objectives for the project:
1
Recommendations
for possible locations for a pilot permaculture satellite garden.
2
Recommendations
for how Chiwara Permaculture can have a presence on the University of Michigan
campus.
3
Recommendations
for how Permaculture Ethics and Design Principles can be incorporated into
existing curricula and new courses that could be created.
4
An
educational presentation that teachers and students can use to educate
themselves and others on the Principles and Ethics of Permaculture with
examples that apply to the University.
The
long-term goal is to educate students about food production that does not harm
the earth and traditional methods of growing food. Chiwara Permaculture and the U-M Sustainable Food Program
are working to educate current and future generations in sustainable food
production. These efforts are in
conjunction with President Mary Sue Coleman’s Sustainability Goals
including: “the purchase of 20% of
U-M food in accordance with U-M Sustainable Food Purchasing Guidelines by 2025”
and “to educate our community, track behavior, and report progress over time”
(Planet Blue, 2011).
Project Background
The
University of Michigan has an expansive selection of theory-based courses from
which students can choose from to enhance their educational experience. In addition, the University’s focus on
research provides the opportunity to integrate theory into practical
applications. Permaculture presents the opportunity to apply theoretical
knowledge in a living laboratory, which will provide students with more
hands-on, systems-based learning in order to develop skills that will help
solve pressing environmental problems that are becoming ever more complex.
The
sponsors of this project are the U-M Sustainable Food Program and Chiwara
Permaculture. These are the mission statements of our sponsors:
U-M Sustainable Food
Program
“Fostering collaborative
leadership that empowers students to create a sustainable food system at the
University of Michigan while becoming change agents for a vibrant planet.”
Chiwara
“Chiwara Permaculture is
a Michigan based research, education, design and incubation firm. We research,
design and educate permaculture solutions in 6 main areas: Food, Energy, Water,
Building, Transportation and Waste.
We offer three tiers of educational programming: K-12,
College/University, and Professional.
We believe that permaculture is a powerful vehicle for STEM [Science
Technology Engineering Math] education and problem based learning. To that end,
we combine our research work with our educational programs, in pursuit of
innovative solutions to community problems. Our best ideas are incubated and
shared, toward ecological economic development. Our mission, guidance, and business practices are found
within the Permaculture principles and ethics. We promote small scale, community based solutions.”
Our
sponsors stressed the importance of obtaining a permaculture “lens” which would
allow us to properly locate sites for a satellite garden and foster a
discussion between group members, students, and faculty. We obtained this “lens” through a
day-long intensive training in Permaculture Ethics and Principles, which took
place on Tuesday, October 16th.
Permaculture Training
We
began our training at the Nichols Arboretum with a nature walk led by Nathan
Ayers, our project sponsor and creator of Chiwara Permaculture. He used the
many ecosystems existent in the Arboretum to teach us the fundamentals of
permaculture. We observed examples of closed loop systems, biodiversity, and
the patterns that naturally exist in nature. Observation is vital to
permaculture, as it uses biomimicry to duplicate systems that are found in
nature. We also learned about plant fundamentals and why preserving
biodiversity is vital to sustainability. Nate Ayers stressed that our
agricultural dilemmas are issues of scale and that understanding and being able
to duplicate nature’s stacked functions is key to fixing the system. Small and
slow solutions allow permaculture designers to consider all elements of a
system and how they interact with each other when building new systems. These
concepts are explained in the 12 Design Principles of Permaculture founded by
Bill Mollison and David Holmgren (Holmgren, 2002):
1
Observe
and Interact
2
Catch
and Store Energy
3
Obtain
a Yield
4
Apply
Self-regulation and Allow Feedback (set limits to growth)
5
Use
and Value Renewable Resources and Services
6
Produce
No Waste
7
Design
From Patterns to Details
8
Integrate
Rather than Segregate
9
Use
Small and Slow Solutions
10 Use and Value Diversity
11 Use Edges and Value the
Marginal
12 Creatively Use and
Respond to Change
Using
these Principles and the design techniques learned during the intensive
training, we developed the criteria for locating potential sites for a pilot
satellite garden for the UMSFP’s Campus Farm. These criteria are explained in
the Methodology section (4.0). The Principles are used to help us design in
tandem with nature’s patterns. The UMSFP is already planning to use
permaculture methodology in the design of the Campus Farm. In addition, they
would like to have an educational satellite garden on campus that would
function as a pilot Research and Development Lab for high-yield, low-labor
growing techniques. One of the advantages of a permaculture satellite garden is
that it is a never-ending resource for research and education.
Existing Projects at Other Universities
University
of Massachusetts: Amherst
UMass
Amherst is the nation’s leader in permaculture initiatives that are gaining
massive momentum and support (UMass Permaculture Committee, 2012). In 2010,
students from the UMass Permaculture Initiative approached campus food services
with a detailed proposal to grow food for the dining commons. According to Andrew Mack, their
proposed budget was $10,000 for a ¼ acre space in front of the Franklin Dining
Hall. This area had a high amount
of traffic and was visible to both the students and the community. This was an
important component in attracting enough interested volunteers to turn this
idea into a reality. The first
step taken was growing fertile soil.
The students used sheet mulching to regenerate and aerate the earth:
this included 1,200 pounds of organic matter, 500,000 pounds of university
compost, recycled cardboard and mulch (UMass Amherst In the Loop, 2012).
While
the soil sat for five months, the UMass Permaculture Initiative held a design
roundtable that attracted over 100 community members and university students
from across the nation. The group was mainly comprised of undergraduates who
created 40 different designs for the ¼ acre space. Upon checking the soil, students found about eighteen worms
per square foot with fungi colonies birthed throughout (UMass Amherst In the
Loop, 2012). These are indicators that the soil is rich in nutrients, which is
the most vital aspect for a successful garden. The goal for this space was to
provide food for the students and to be an educational hub for the entire
community (UMass Amherst In the Loop, 2012).
Over
1,000 volunteers planted a total of 150 different species of plants in a 3,500
square foot space, producing over 1,000 pounds of food in one year. Interest in
permaculture spread quickly on campus. Over 20,000 students, about 70% of the
student body, became familiar with the term and could explain what permaculture
is trying to accomplish. The students were so intrigued by permaculture that
the senior class of 2012 funded the newest garden project outside of Berkshire Dining
Hall with money raised by their class.
The students understood that they should not just be consumers, but also
creators (UMass Amherst In the Loop, 2012). The enthusiasm and work ethic that this project evoked was
remarkable and can be replicated on other college campuses.
Yale
University
Yale
University is an example of a peer institution that is incorporating
permaculture principles into its campus.
The farm was established in May 2003, when the Yale Sustainable Food
Project was initiated. Although
this farm is not described as a ‘permaculture’ garden, it utilizes and
incorporates many of the permaculture principles. Prior to the farm’s creation, this space was overrun by
shrubs, weeds and several dying hemlock trees (Yale University, 2012). Students, staff and community
volunteers came together and transformed this degraded plot to a fertile and
productive garden that produces a variety of edible plants. It was important for their team to
create a garden that is beautiful, productive and sustainable (Yale University,
2012). They also have a chicken coop located next to a compost pile, which aids
in the aeration of the organic matter and speeds up the composting process.
This is a model of a closed loop system; the output of one system is the input
of another. A native species section functions as a food forest with fig trees
and medicinal plants. This is a key aspect of permaculture; native species
require less maintenance and watering because they are adapted to local
conditions. Yale’s utilization of
their garden is similar to how UMSFP and the University of Michigan could use
our proposed satellite garden.
Methodology
The
first part of our project was focused on learning about the elements of
permaculture. This was accomplished through the previously mentioned intensive
training.
The
second part included developing recommendations for a satellite garden,
integrating permaculture into the University curriculum, and raising awareness
about permaculture on campus. In order to accomplish these goals, we identified
faculty and staff whose field studies were related to permaculture and/or had
previously shown interest in Chiwara. Once key players were identified, we held
interviews with them to obtain valuable information for our recommendations for
the garden sites and integration of permaculture into curricula.
The
following criteria were used for identifying satellite garden sites:
1.
Determined using permaculture criteria:
○
Sufficient
southern exposure for adequate sunlight
○
Between
1/10 and ⅛ acre to allow for enough space to implement permaculture practices,
but not more than can be properly maintained while the program is in its
infancy
2.
Determined using our understanding of University practices:
○
Visible
to most of the campus population
○
Ability
to incorporate signage that is highly visible and demonstrative of the
practices being applied
○
Easy
access for Grounds and student volunteers for purposes of maintenance and care
○
Close
proximity to water access OR a rainwater capture system for irrigation
The
faculty interviews were conducted using the following topics as a general
framework for the discussions with key faculty about how to integrate
permaculture into curricular activities:
○
Their
existing knowledge of permaculture and explained it if necessary
○
How
permaculture could be (or is) incorporated into what they already do
○
If
there are existing courses that teach elements of permaculture (and may not be
calling it that)
○
How
changes in curriculum are implemented at UM
○
Barriers
to creating new curricular programs (i.e. courses, seminars, special topics,
minors, etc.)
○
How
to make permaculture attractive and interesting to the campus at large
○
Recommendations
of other key players to interview
When
interviewing Tracey Artley, Sustainability Programs Coordinator for Plant
Building and Grounds Services, different questions were asked since this
interview was to gain information about how best to implement a satellite
garden. The questions were:
○
How
do we go about getting our voice heard?
○
Given
that the University of Michigan - Ann Arbor is not an explicitly
agriculture-focused university like MSU, how do you see a campus satellite
garden fitting within the University’s core mission?
○
Have
you heard any student interest for this kind of project before?
○
What
challenges do you identify with our project?
○
Are
there other contacts for consideration?
Additionally,
we successfully planned and hosted a Diag Day on Central Campus, where we handed
out “green smoothies” (made out of apple and kale) to students while explaining
the basics of closed-loop systems. We used a stationary bicycle connected to a
generator that powered LED lights that would grow kale, hence allowing the user
to consume it and gain energy to re-start the whole cycle. This event was used
as a means for us to gage interest among students and staff and to increase
awareness about permaculture. We wanted to see how people reacted when informed
of the basic idea of permaculture and systems thinking.
Lastly,
we created a presentation on the 12 Permaculture Principles. This presentation
was prepared on prezi.com, a website that allows for information to be
presented as a visual story with flow and narrative. This presentation format
mimics the way permaculture urges us to think about and imitate nature.
Findings
Student Interest at Diag Day Event
As
mentioned above, the purpose of our Diag Day was to increase permaculture
awareness on the University of Michigan campus and gage student interest. We
talked to students about the benefits of permaculture designs, and we
demonstrated a closed-loop system in action. Moreover, we collected signatures
for a petition in support of the sustainable food program’s effort to implement
an educational satellite garden on campus. The purpose of the petition was not
for official use but rather to gauge student interest and passion for the implementation
of such ideas. We found that there
is interest among students in learning more about this subject.
Faculty and Staff Interviews
In
order to start gathering information on how to approach this project, we met
with Tracy Artley, the Sustainability Programs Coordinator for Plant Building
and Grounds Services. We asked her questions on what the first steps should be
in order to obtain a land space for the satellite garden. With her information
we were able to identify possible options on campus, and create a list of “must
haves” and “would likes” that the garden requires. Moreover, she pointed out
previous teams that have worked on landscape redesign around campus that could
be helpful people to contact. We also identified some of the future challenges
that our group may face, such as who will be in charge of the garden in a few
years and who will take care of it in the meantime. She also mentioned that the
university is moving towards more natural looking landscapes because of costs,
and finding a spot on Central Campus may be harder than finding a spot on North
Campus. However, with enough support from faculty and staff, this project would
have a higher potential of continuing.
Our
next step was to identify key faculty members that would get on board with the
interdisciplinary capstone course. We sat down with Professor Raymond DeYoung
from the School of Natural Resources and the Environment, and figured out
current courses on campus that are related to permaculture. Some of these are
in urban planning, education and policy offered by SNRE and Program in the
Environment (LSA). However, if we were to reach out to other fields like
humanities, international studies and even poetry programs, we could get new
stakeholders involved in sustainability issues, which could lead to more people
talking to the deans. For example, faculty in engineering and business are
interested in sustaining the health of the planet.
Professor
DeYoung mentioned that in order to reach new students and get them involved in
permaculture, it is necessary to create a precursory familiarity with the idea
and to create an association between the word and its concept. For instance,
students could see a small demonstration site, read about it in a poem, hear
about it on campus, or read about it online. As Professor DeYoung mentioned, “the
third time you see something is the time it clicks.” After this preliminary
exposure to permaculture, students who see a course being taught about the
topic will be more likely to take the class. Some courses are taught in a case
based format, so another potential publicity avenue is to use cases that talk
about permaculture.
Other
options that Professor DeYoung suggested were to take one principle and use it
as a pre-existing solution for one aspect of the university instead of showing
the whole system at once, which may be overwhelming. Students should be
informed of the benefits of permaculture on campus and point out where could it
be implemented using small demonstration sites. The students could then question why it is not being
implemented yet and be compelled to ensure that permaculture is integrated into
the University. He also recommended the creation of a Diag demonstration
pilot. The best way to approach
this is to sit down with Grounds staff and ask them if it would be a feasible
option.
We
also approached Professor Joseph Trumpey from the Stamps School of Art and
Design. He also agreed that Central Campus was a better location for the
satellite garden because of the amount of students that walk around in a daily
basis. Furthermore, Professor Trumpey seemed very interested in supporting us
in the creation of the interdisciplinary capstone course, and helped us
determine the first steps towards it. The first step is to identify the department
that would host the class, identify specific faculty members that are
interested, and obtain support from the dean. Once this has been accomplished,
a “special topics class” could be created. The University of Michigan is
decentralized, and this requires us to approach each dean individually. However, the decentralized nature of UM
will allow us to reach new frontiers and break a lot of institutional barriers.
He strongly recommended getting the students involved. After all, it is the students who have
a bigger voice in this university, even more than the faculty.
We
were also able to meet with PhD student John Graham. John is focusing his
dissertation in ecological design of systems and agricultural restoration. He
talked to us about his view of permaculture and inspired us to make our project
more appealing to the public. For example, we could start speaking about
environmental ethics in order to get a wider audience, since social
responsibility is a characteristic that every student should have. Learning the
basics can make people feel empowered.
With any kind of political or cultural movement, we must talk to people
in their language. For example, if they value money, find out what that does
for them. He mentioned Aldo Leopold, an ecologist and philosopher who published
a book in 1949 laying out an ethical philosophy. Leopold wrote essays that say
we need to extend ethical consideration to the non-human community. We must include soils, animals, plants,
and ecological processes in our ethical community. Since Leopold’s work, others have expanded this idea. Leopold's land ethic should be an
inherent ethical system of permaculture and of the university. This is a question of how our system
holds power. We are a part of a
community that extends beyond our species. Therefore, we must extend our ethical responsibility beyond
our “tribe.” Some of the challenges we will face include the lack of
peer-reviewed science attached to permaculture practices and principles,
examining ways of doing permaculture type activities on a larger scale, and
raising awareness of what permaculture is.
Our
interview with Professor Rebecca Lange, Chair of the Department of Earth and
Environmental Sciences, reinforced what both professors previously expressed
about student involvement. Student initiatives and their commitment to their
projects is what the campus needs for this university to keep moving forward.
Furthermore, professors should get involved in this project as well. This
project serves as a good educational tool, where students can get involved in a
more practical way. The capstone course can include trips to the satellite
garden where “hands on” activities can take place, and students can learn from
a classroom as well as on the field. This course can also be designed to be
interdisciplinary, where professors from different departments can give
lectures throughout the course.
Recommendations
The
following is a list of recommendations for the University of Michigan
Sustainable Food Program and Chiwara Permaculture that indicate how
permaculture can be integrated into the University of Michigan.
Satellite Garden
The
University of Michigan Sustainable Food Program's [UMSFP] long-term plan for
the University includes the implementation of satellite gardens directly on
campus. However, no funding has been allocated towards this project thus
far. The purpose of a satellite
garden is to expand the visibility of the Sustainable Food Program on campus
and reach students that normally would not voluntarily visit the campus
farm. The visibility of a student
led garden is crucial to the development of sustainable food awareness
throughout campus. The campus farm
has attracted many students that are already excited about sustainable food
systems, but in order to engage those without this predisposition, a satellite
garden is necessary.
The
Permaculture Design Team [PDT], a member organization of the UMSFP, is
currently focused on acquiring funds for the start up costs associated with the
implementation of one satellite garden. To help with this, Madeline Dunn,
Co-Founder of the PDT, has applied for a grant from the Planet Blue Student
Innovation Fund for $10,000. The
anticipated outcome of this project is a student-operated garden that would
embody the needs of communities located in close proximity. For example, a
garden by the School of Art and Design may grow fibers that can be harvested
and dyed for student projects. The UMSFP already has had success in rallying
volunteers for workdays at the Campus Farm. We anticipate an even higher level of student engagement due
to the easy access and visibility of the proposed satellite garden.
We
will be using permaculture methodology to design this garden. This means that
it will be a low maintenance space that employs companion planting and
polycultures to ensure a closed loop system. It will produce little to no waste
and will need no synthetic inputs. The goal of this garden is not to feed the entire
university, but rather to expose the university community to a new way of
thinking about how land can be used and how to grow food. Further goals include
providing students with opportunities to volunteer and a source for research
into alternative land use solutions.
Potential
sites for the satellite garden have been chosen based on visibility and
permaculture requisites that were developed through our intensive training with
Chiwara Permaculture. Having a
site on Central Campus is crucial to student engagement. After conversing with the students in
our group who take classes on North Campus, we have determined that a satellite
garden on North Campus may be rarely used and appreciated. This is not due to
disinterest or apathy, rather to the ample time intensive majors located on
North Campus. We have spoken with many faculty and staff members regarding
possible site locations and uses for a garden. We spoke with Tracy Artley who
told us that a project like this is innovative and likely to succeed. Meeting with Sue Gott, the head
university planner, needs to be the next step in implementation of a satellite
garden for the UMSFP.
We
will then work with the University Grounds staff to prepare the soil. The
challenges in working with grounds include the following: the sheer mass of
campus land they have to cover and take care of, they are not necessarily an
educational component of the University, they already have a logical system set
in place and we are asking them to take care of a piece of land that may be
intensive for a few years. They
have their job and they complete that based on recommendations and order from a
higher authority. This will vary depending on the site location. Typically, an
area is sheet mulched using recycled cardboard, mulch, and compost. After
roughly five months, the soil can be tested and planting can begin. The
Permaculture Design Team will help create the design for the garden as well as
evaluate the soil quality of the location.
The
UMSFP can measure the success of this project by keeping records of the
official uses of the satellite garden. This can be done through a guest book at
the garden. For example, when a
teacher uses the garden for a class project or when a student organization
volunteers in the garden we will document this usage. Also, the general student
interest and engagement can be monitored through periodically sending out
surveys to the University population. In the long run, the garden will be an
easy passing point during campus day tours or new student orientations.
Site
recommendations for a satellite garden include, but are not limited to the
following:
1
Northeast
of Dana Building directly west of CC Little Building (Latitude
42.27768,Longitude -83.735937)
a
Location
is highly visible to the student, faculty and staff population because it is at
the crossroads of the Central Campus Transit Center, the entrance to the hill
area of campus, and three other highly trafficked educational buildings: The
Chemistry, Dana, and C.C. Little Buildings. With a large percentage of the University population passing
by this site every day, this location allows for a large volunteer base due to
its visibility and accessibility.
b
The
size and geography of this location allows for the implementation of an outdoor
classroom within the garden that will be specific to and utilized by the three
buildings surrounding it.
c
This
site is not obstructed by shade from any trees or buildings during the peak
hours of sunlight and is south facing.
d
This
location currently only houses grass that requires synthetic inputs, mowing,
and an ample amount of water.
Right now the main use for this space is for University aesthetics and
we would like to enhance this purpose using permaculture methodology. By using
permaculture methodology, we can not only turn this space into a more
aesthetically pleasing and productive area, but also make it more inviting to
students.
e
This
space is designated as a Horticultural Zone Two Planting Bed by the University.
This means that it is an area designated for gardening.
f
Mike
Shriberg mentioned in passing that the Dana Native Garden space, directly
adjacent to this site, is going to set up a rainwater collection system. By
collaborating with the Native Garden, the satellite garden can utilize their
water resources.
g
All
trees, shrubs, bushes and plants will be productive in the sense that they are
edible, medicinal, native or fix the nutrients of the soil while also properly
representing University aesthetics.
h
“Small
and slow solutions” is the Ninth Permaculture Principle. This 1/10 acre space is the perfect
size to do a pilot satellite garden.
2
Northeast
of the Exhibit Museum of Natural History (Latitude 42.278557, Longitude
-83.735511)
a
Location
is highly visible to the student, faculty and staff population because it is at
the crossroads of the Central Campus Transit Center and the entrance to “the
hill” area of campus, including the Natural History Museum. This site is also
visible from every bus that passes through the Transit Center.
b
This
site is not obstructed by shade from any trees or buildings during the peak
hours of sunlight and is south facing which is a key factor in using
permaculture methodology.
c
This
location currently only houses ornamental trees and brush that require synthetic
inputs, mowing, and an ample amount of water. Right now the main use for this space is for University
aesthetics. By using permaculture
methodology, we can not only turn this space into a more aesthetically pleasing
and productive area, but also make it more inviting to students.
d
All
trees, shrubs, bushes and plants will be productive in the sense that they are
edible, medicinal, native or fix the nutrients of the soil while also properly
representing University aesthetics.
e
“Small
and slow solutions” is the Ninth Permaculture Principle. This 1/8 acre space is the perfect size
to do a pilot satellite garden.
3
Directly
North of the Museum of Art and South of Tisch Hall (Latitude 42.276008,
Longitude -83.740003)
a
This
site is highly visible to the student, faculty and staff population as well as
the Ann Arbor community due to its central location. This site can easily be incorporated into campus tours, as
they start at the Student Activities Building and pass this location when
moving from the Michigan Union to the Diag. This prime location allows for both
prospective students and their parents to become educated about the
University’s commitment to sustainability. With a large percentage of the University population passing
by this site every day, this location allows for a large volunteer base due to
its visibility and accessibility.
b
This
site is not obstructed by shade from any trees or buildings during the peak
hours of sunlight and is south facing which is a key factor in using
permaculture methodology.
c
This
location currently only houses ornamental trees and brush, which requires
synthetic inputs, mowing, and an ample amount of water. Right now the main use for this space
is for University aesthetics. By
using permaculture methodology, we can not only turn this space into a more
aesthetically pleasing and productive area, but also make it more inviting to
students.
d
All
trees, shrubs, bushes and plants will be productive in the sense that they are
edible, medicinal, native or fix the nutrients of the soil while also properly
representing University aesthetics.
e
“Small
and slow solutions” is the Ninth Permaculture Principle. This 1/10 acre space is the perfect
size to do a pilot satellite garden.
4
Directly
South of Shapiro Science Library on South University (Latitude 42.27512,
Longitude -83.737164)
a
This
site is highly visible to the student, faculty and staff population as well as
the Ann Arbor community due to its central location connecting the Shapiro
Undergraduate Library to South University. This site sits directly on South University and is due East
of the President’s house and due West of the Southeast entrance to the
Diag. With a large percentage of
the University population passing by this site every day, this location allows
for a large volunteer base due to its visibility and accessibility.
b
This
site is not obstructed by shade from any trees or buildings during the peak
hours of sunlight and is south facing which is a key factor in using
permaculture methodology.
c
This
location is currently covered in grass and sits in front of a row of ornamental
trees which both require synthetic inputs, mowing, and an ample amount of
water. Right now the main use for
this space is for University aesthetics.
By using permaculture methodology, we can not only turn this space into
a more aesthetically pleasing and productive area, but also make it more
inviting to students.
d
All
trees, shrubs, bushes and plants will be productive in the sense that they are
edible, medicinal, native, or fix the nutrients of the soil.
e
“Small
and slow solutions” is the Ninth Permaculture Principle. This 1/10 acre space is the perfect
size to do a pilot satellite garden.
We
have made the preceding recommendations based on the knowledge that we gained
during our intensive permaculture training. Please refer to Section 4.0 Methodology for more information
on the specifics of site selection.
Mike Shriberg was consulted upon choosing this site. He said that as a professor who
frequently teaches in the Dana Building, he is very excited to see this space
become a satellite garden.
Shriberg also noted that he would most definitely utilize the space as
an outdoor classroom as well as a zone of contemplation. Please see appendix for photographs of
the site.
Chiwara Involvement at U-M
Liz
Dengate of the University of Michigan Sustainable Food Program (UMSFP), Nathan
Ayers and Sam Schiebold of Chiwara Permaculture formed our sponsor group. Chiwara Permaculture is a Michigan
based research, education, design and incubation firm. Their goal is to
research, design and educate permaculture solutions in six main areas: food,
energy, water, building, transportation and waste. Over the past several years, Nathan has transformed his
backyard into a living permaculture research and development (R&D) lab.
Each portion of his garden displays a different permaculture principle. He uses
the garden to teach students about permaculture and as a source of food. We
recommend that the UMSFP and Chiwara Permaculture work closely to achieve
common goals. Chiwara will be able to aid the UMSFP in designing an efficient
food garden and the UMSFP can aid Chiwara in helping connect the organization
with the University of Michigan.
In
order to reach our goals, we recommend that Nathan Ayers conduct a lecture
series targeting the following departments at the University of Michigan: LSA
Program in the Environment (PitE), School of Natural Resources and Environment
(SNRE), the College of Engineering, LSA Ecology and Evolutionary Biology (EEB),
LSA Earth and Environmental Science, the School of Education, the Gerald R.
Ford School of Public Policy, Taubman College of Architecture and Urban
Planning, and the School of Art and Design. The series should be a collaboration between the U-M SFP and
Chiwara Permaculture, as this will foster a relationship between the University
and outside sponsors. We recommend
that this lecture series be held in the Dana building on University of
Michigan’s central campus. This
location would be ideal as it is the SNRE and PitE building as well as LEED
Gold certified building that incorporates some of the permaculture principles
into its design and everyday functions.
Marketing for this lecture series would be most efficient in the Dana
building as well as this is where most students who already hold a stake in
environmental issues take classes and study. We hope to make the series open to the public in order to reach
the most people. Approval by both
the University and the Dana building will be necessary.
The
lecture series will be instrumental in teaching the permaculture principles and
ideas to a wide range of people on campus. Permaculture is an ideal topic to present because its
principles can be framed in multiple ways and the goals can be extended beyond
their use in a food garden. The
founders of permaculture, Bill Mollison and David Holmgren, created
permaculture with food at its heart but hoped that it could be applied to
almost every aspect of life.
Chiwara focuses on six areas that permaculture can be applied to and
only one of these is food. The
other five address a wide array of societal needs. The lectures could play an important role in addressing the
ways that permaculture can be applied to both food systems as well as the five
other community based solutions.
Each lecture can revolve around a different permaculture principle. The hope is that this will be an avenue
towards creating a University of Michigan Permaculture Certification course
(see appendix).
Interdisciplinary Capstone Course
Our
third recommendation for integration of permaculture into the University of
Michigan is the creation of an interdisciplinary capstone course that promotes
permaculture principles and cultivates further involvement in sustainable food
efforts on campus, ideally through the satellite garden.
We
explored various options for the structure that such a course could hold. These included a freshman seminar, an
interdisciplinary course, a senior capstone course, a special topics course in
education/engineering/art and design/PitE/public policy/urban planning, or some
combination of these options.
After interviews with professors, we concluded that the best format for
such a course would be an interdisciplinary capstone course. Because permaculture tends to connect
various aspects of sustainable practices and encompasses an extremely wide
range of topics, it would be better received as a senior capstone course rather
than a freshman seminar. A
freshman audience might dismiss the topic because of the overload of
information. Permaculture attracts
people that have been working on various aspects of permaculture without
realizing it and without using the language. It serves as the conceptual framework for the culmination of
their efforts, and therefore its lessons would be best received in a senior
capstone course. We recommend that
the course be interdisciplinary—that is, held by two or more professors in
different departments—due to the nature of the subject and its wide application
across disciplines.
Course
content could include the three permaculture ethics (earth care, people care,
and fair share) along with the 12 permaculture principles. These could be presented in six
modules: Food, Energy, Water, Building, Transportation and Waste. A main objective of the course would be
to apply the principles and the ethics to the University to make it a more
regenerative and enriching system overall. The course could take a design approach, for example, of
energy efficient systems. However,
course content could take many forms depending on the faculty members that
participate.
In
order to reach the most students, it would be ideal for this course to reside
in the college of Literature, Science, and the Arts. Unfortunately, this college is not adding more courses at
this time. Through our interview
with Joe Trumpey, we learned that the most effective way to add a new course is
to approach several interested professors and gain their support. According to Rebecca Lange, the Provost
and the deans of many colleges on campus encourage interdisciplinary
collaboration by professors. These
professors must approach a department or college with a plan as to how this
course would be executed, its target audience, and its subject matter. Our research also indicated that an
effective way to integrate sustainability into the curriculum is to utilize
individual faculty members. Stubbs & Schapper argue that “most curriculum
initiatives [in sustainability] have been driven by individual faculty”
(2011). They also make the point
that in the absence of an integrated sustainability program individual faculty
members can use their disciplinary and pedagogical backgrounds to enhance their
own courses in a meaningful way (Stubbs & Schapper, 2011). This grassroots approach may be more
feasible at a decentralized university such as the University of Michigan.
In
research conducted, we also found that curriculum design can take on different
perspectives depending on the university and the department. Vincent &
Focht (2009) interviewed environmental program managers and found three
overarching perspectives: programs can aim to produce environmental citizens,
problem solvers, or scientists.
Schools that wish to produce environmental citizens “take a broad
liberal arts approach and reject career-focused training” (Vincent & Focht,
2009). This perspective holds that students in all fields need to develop
environmental literacy and that sustainability education should be infused into
all higher education disciplines (Vincent & Focht, 2009). For environmental
problem solvers, “environmental programs should train people to solve
environmental problems and influence environmental management decisions and
policy” (Vincent & Focht, 2009).
Finally, the environmental scientist perspective advocates curricular
depth in a specific discipline; programs should train professional specialists
to solve environmental problems.
This perspective recommends that students combine environmental studies
with another field of study (Vincent & Focht, 2009). All three perspectives
on the outcome of an environmental education agree that programs should employ
an interdisciplinary approach and that students should develop systems thinking
skills “in order to devise innovative solutions for pressing environmental
problems” (Vincent & Focht, 2009). These perspectives are not antagonistic;
a single university may aim to utilize multiple perspectives to have the most
positive outcome for our society.
Further
involvement in sustainable food efforts on campus would ideally be incorporated
into the course. For instance, working on the satellite garden could be a
course requirement that would provide a hands-on experience for students,
faculty, and staff. This could
address the need for more complex systems-based curriculum in order to develop
skills in this kind of thinking to solve pressing environmental problems that
our society faces, as previously mentioned. Another possibility is to provide students with the
opportunity for involvement in the UMSFP or the Permaculture Design Team. Although these activities may not be
required, the class could serve as a networking tool for interested students.
Conclusions/Lessons Learned
Our
three recommendations to integrate permaculture into the University of Michigan
are to establish and maintain a satellite garden, to implement co-curricular educational
programming with UMSFP and Chiwara Permaculture, and to create an
interdisciplinary capstone course that promotes permaculture principles and
cultivates further involvement in sustainable food efforts on campus.
The
satellite garden, lecture series, and hands-on permaculture experience will
educate students about localization and growing food. These incorporations of
permaculture on campus will demonstrate how closed-loop systems and systems
thinking can conserve energy and resources. Permaculture is interdisciplinary
by nature, and encourages thinking about larger systems and life cycles. The
conversation about permaculture is actually the combination of several “common
sense” ideals that teach creative problem solving.
Of
our three recommendations, the most easily achievable (i.e., the low-hanging
fruit) is the co-curricular educational programming. This can begin without the establishment and maintenance of
a satellite garden, which is more of a long-term goal (long-term meaning more
than one semester will be required).
However, site identification for the satellite garden can proceed in the
short-term, meaning within the next semester. Our recommendation that will take the longest time to
complete is the establishment of an interdisciplinary capstone course. We will continue to gather support and
best practices from faculty in the coming months, hopefully through a round
table discussion.
We
believe that this project should be included as a group project option next
semester (Winter 2013). The group could help to organize and run events that we
have recommended, such as the lecture series and trips to the permaculture
research and development lab. Furthermore, they could make more progress on
developing a capstone course and solidifying which site will be used for the
satellite garden. Through the creation of the Permaculture Design Team and the
continuation of this project in 391, we can ensure that this project is
sustained.
Permaculture certification course
Joe
Trumpey brought up the idea of a permaculture certification course to Lindsey
MacDonald of the UMSFP and to us during a separate interview. His rationale was that creating a class
can be difficult. As a student
organization we have no limits except for time, whereas professors have limits,
including people to please, salaries to earn, and other things to worry about.
A permaculture certification currently has no official criteria. We can create our own U-M permaculture
certification, which could include the following:
●
Attending
all 12 permaculture principle lectures by Nate Ayers
●
Participating
in two workshops by the Permaculture Design Team
●
Putting
in a total of 20 hours at the farm
●
Taking
relevant courses such as General Ecology, Soil Ecology, Ethnobotany, and/or
Woody Plants
We
would like to work with the Graham Institute to implement something like this
due to their focus on sustainability education.
Works Cited
Holmgren, D. (2002). Permaculture: principles
& pathways beyond sustainability. Hepburn, Vic.: Holmgren Design Services.
Planet Blue (2011). Sustainability 2011 Annual Report. University
of Michigan.
Retrieved October 10, 2012, from https://ctools.umich.edu/access/content/group/57f195b9-c2d4-4464-a251-f55a6ac1c99a/Reading/9_19/Sustainability_AR2010.pdf
Stubbs, W., &
Schapper, J. (2011). Two approaches to curriculum development for educating for
sustainability and CSR. International Journal of Sustainability in Higher
Education,
12(3), 259-268. Retrieved October 10, 2012, from http://www.emeraldinsight.com.proxy.lib.umich.edu/journals.htm?issn=1467-6370&volume=12&issue=3&articleid=1939567&show=html
Vincent, S., &
Focht, W. (2009). US higher education environmental program managers’
perspectives on curriculum design and core competencies: Implications for
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Sustainability in Higher Education, 10(2), 164-183. Retrieved October 12, 2012,
from http://www.emeraldinsight.com.proxy.lib.umich.edu/journals.htm?issn=1467-6370&volume=10&issue=2&articleid=1776296&show=html
UMass Amherst In the
Loop. (2012, September 5). Third permaculture initiative video shows impact of
project. University of
Massachusetts Amherst.
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UMass Permaculture
Committee (2012). UMass Amherst campus sustainability initiative. University of Massachusetts Amherst. Retrieved December 12,
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