Over the course of the summer students, staff, and faculty have worked to build the top portion of The Garden.

Starting this week student organizations, individual students, faculty, and staff who have signed up for a plot will begin planting in their respective spaces:

(This picture is of August construction, taken from the 30ft Satellite Dish in our space--which is being transformed into a giant sunflower: details under the Design Team Description).

With over 12,000 sq ft, The Garden is most obviously a physical space aimed at addressing food issues. 

It's also about “enabling people to discover how their special talents and passions could be blended with others’ to build community and shape our world” as written by UMBC's David Hoffman. 

That's a pretty lofty mission statement that must be qualified; How are we building community? How is The Garden shaping our world?

In order to fully answer those questions, each Vice President of The Garden has laid out a description of their respective team, example projects that illustrate the nature of the work, and the kinds of individuals we need to push forward:

Community

(This is a photo of Bhutanese refugees and others in one of the International Rescue Committee gardens after a workshop about pests and soil)

Vice President: Rosa Rada, INDS: B.A. Nutrition and Food Policy ‘17

Who we are:  

• Organizers, Advocates--those dedicated to serving others: establishing partnerships. advancing social justice campaigns, and leading institutional change. By working with organizations outside of UMBC: community organizations, schools, and nonprofits, we hope to create programs and collaborative efforts that can affect social change. We work to strengthen ties with Baltimore and beyond to extend The Garden’s impact on issues that affect our community.

What we do:  

• We have recently established a partnership with the International Rescue Committee (IRC). Through this effort a Burmese family is now using three of our plots to grow their own food. They are also engaging with UMBC students formally and informally through course curriculum integration with a class in the Interdisciplinary Studies department (INDS 232).
• We aim to create a refugee garden in Spring 2015 by deepening our commitment to the work of the IRC. We are working to establish youth food justice programs with Refugee Youth Project, CHOICE, College Gardens and others, and we’re open to partnering and working with any organization that serves the public good.

Who we need:

• Those who are passionate about social justice and serving others            
• Those who have experience working with an external organization, particularly service organizations in the Baltimore area                                  
• Those that consider themselves inventive organizers/advocates.                    
• Those who enjoy and excel at working with people.

• International Rescue Committee
• Sondheim Scholars Program
• Living Classrooms

Design

(Sam holding a blueprint of the top space. Fine Arts and PAHB can be seen in the background)

Vice President: Gabi Margarida, B.S. Mechanical Engineering ‘17

Who we are:

• Makers: Engineers, Designers--those who want to create. The role of the Design team is to facilitate projects that physically shape The Garden and our campus. The Garden is a space and concept big enough for every idea to fit within it, and the Design team brings those ideas to life.

Media

(Our media team, from bottom right corner going counter-clockwise:
Sam: graphic design, Tonye: computer science, Hannah: theater performance, Alec: business tech, Andres: digital storytelling, Bri: animation, Mel: writing, and Sarah: photography ((she did the picture-taking!)) )

Vice President: Andres Camacho, INDS: B.A. Entrepreneurship and Digital Storytelling ‘15

Who we are:

• Story-tellers of every variety: photographers, designers, performers, and writers working to engage the community within and beyond The Loop.