Role:
Project Designer - partnered with teachers in design research and prototyping during professional development sessions, then refined the prototype for classroom use. I attended all classroom build sessions, continually updated lesson plans based on student progress, helped design student roles, and supported students as they built the large-scale garden structures.

Project Description:
Two 6th grade sections and two 8th grade sections collaborated to build vertical garden beds that combined raised planters with bottle-tower irrigation systems. Designed for long-term use by the school, the gardens allowed students to grow food-producing plants such as herbs, beans, and lettuce while connecting lessons in ecology, sustainability, and applied math with hands-on making.

Design Approach:
Teachers wanted a project linking ecology with recycled materials and real-world gardening. Together, we built a small prototype in PD, which I later scaled up and improved for classroom use with casters, better drainage, and sturdier construction. Because this was a large collective build, I structured rotating student roles so that every participant could contribute, even when only a few at a time could use certain tools.

Project Sequence:

• Students collected 2L bottles to serve as irrigation towers.

• In build sessions, they measured, cut, and assembled wooden frames while rotating through roles (measuring, drilling, stapling, project management, bottle prep).

• Classes constructed two large garden beds, incorporating bottle towers for vertical planting.

• On the final day, students wheeled the beds to the school roof, filled them with soil, and planted seedlings in a celebratory event.

Student Learning Outcomes:

• Practiced measurement, sawing, drilling, and tool use in a collaborative build.

• Learned about soil, plant selection, and irrigation systems through research and planting.

• Explored sustainability concepts by repurposing recycled bottles.

• Experienced the structurural and logistical elements necessary for a large-scale building process.

• Connected ecology concepts to tangible growing systems.

• Took pride in creating a living system for the school community and celebrating its completion together.