Blog 16: Independent Component 2 Approval

This petition can be signed at HOPE Club's designated wall setup in Pellegrini's classroom - public support is the most effective form of persuasion and showing determination towards a community-affiliated goal such as mine

A row of spicy red mustard leafage at Pomona College's Organic Farm - whose resources shall be vital in using only knowledge as a limiting factor

Content:

Please review the component contract in the senior project packet.   The Independent Component 2 is an opportunity for you to add a dimension of creativity and/or an additional outlet for research.  The goal of the component is for you to explore your answers in more depth.  On Friday, April 22, 2014, you will be turning in the following to your blog to prove completion of this component:

• Blog post answering specific questions posted by senior team
• Log of hours clearly delineated as Independent Component 2 on the senior project hours spreadsheet (with total number of hours included)
• Evidence of the 30 hours of work (e.g. transcript, essays, tests, art work, photographs) as digital artifacts    

For this blog post and approval, please answer the following questions.

1.  Describe in detail what you plan to do for your 30 hours.

• In pursuit of completion for this second independent component, I plan to use my responsibility as President of HOPE Club to establish a produce-producing garden - mini farm as I see it - in front of Mrs. Pellegrini’s homeroom - headquarters for the club - that will act as iPoly’s very own school community garden.  The raised bed of soil and limited number of crops to be chosen by members of the club will be maintained by these activists representing all grade-levels.  First bypassing the red tape surrounding the endeavor, I plan to address the various liabilities and possible risk factors included.  To this end, I shall be meeting with Mrs. Flores - the school’s principal - in person as well as ASB’s student government, seeking approval of the idea.  Outlining the materials needed to complete the startup phase of the project, I shall be assigning certain club members the task of retrieving an array of tools (ie shovels, gloves, etc.) and resources (seedlings of the crops voted into service, soil, mulch retrieved from Pomona College’s Organic Farm, etc.).  I shall also be using a google spreadsheet shift schedule with which I will assign club members the task of caring and supervising the garden at all times.  These caretakers - more officially to be known as ‘master gardeners’ - are to report to every Thursday club meeting at lunch and are to present any interesting findings, needs of the garden, and outlook on its products-to-be.  The edible products of the garden shall be included in future sale items the club will sponsor, and will supplement any existing food sales, such as house-grown strawberries being added as an option for a waffle topping as part of our weekly waffle sale.  As I have learned from one of my primary sources of research - “Grass, Soil, Hope” by Courtney White - on the topic of soil health and more conscious farming practices, it is important to note that the crops in our care will be closely monitored and the soil in which they preside will be constantly scientifically tested (through NPK test kits and the like) as a gage of the soil’s health -  a factor often dictating the amount of nutrients accumulated by any plant and thus the plant’s ability to provide a healthier alternative to market-grade fruits and vegetables.  Techniques on how to make the soil better able in preserving its microbial prosperity and thus a more promising candidate for strengthened food security and sustainability will be analyzed and made public so that the garden acts as a symbol of the benefits available through a more personal relationship with one’s edible garden.  
• I shall also be collaborating with Kyle Levin in establishing a composting site - made up of a bin or two filled with food scraps discarded by the school and student homes - on the school’s campus.  The compost provided by letting the collected organic waste bake and decompose will provide the garden with soil amendments - these acting as a sort of conditioner for the soil and a feast for its keystone microbial community.  If these ventures fail as a result of failing to overcome red tape interference, I have a backup plan to work at a community garden, where I hope to more visibly become exposed to how a community unites in addressing a city’s needs through urban farming.

2.  Discuss how or what you will do to meet the expectation of showing 30 hours of evidence.

• Social media sites will be used extensively to record the progress of both the garden and composting site, and plenty of pictures will be taken whichever route I end up trekking upon.  HOPE Club records will keep track of the small business-like atmosphere involved in maintaining the viability of a garden and complimentary compost site.  In this way, receipts will be tabulated, meeting notes will be recorded, discussions will be publicly had, and visible support will be dished out.  The produce to be produced is tangible too, and so showing evidence of what is produced and the process of producing it can be experienced with the five senses.

3.  Explain how this component will help you explore your topic in more depth.

• I hope to analyze the social and ecological benefits of urban farming, combing through these benefits in seeking to understand the forms of community involvement needed for an urban farm to flourish as well as the philosophy behind urban farming as a means of procuring food.  Given that I have partners in crime, it shall be an interesting component of my project to interview those I have worked with in seeing how their means of obtaining food normally have been altered by the garden, and how they can be now that they have had experience in urban farming.  Establishment of a garden will be my sole focus, as it is establishment of the idea behind urban farming that makes it relevant and an active solution to many modern-societal issues/obstacles (ie climate change, disconnection from food sources, discord within a community).
• My long-term plan for the garden is for it to be a symbol of sustainability and progress towards a better future - values I believe represent the spirit and teaching style made available to students here at iPoly.  Perhaps even, in a few years time, Denise Cancino’s Freshman Ecology house can utilize the garden’s grounds as a demonstration for a more ecologically-friendly way of interacting with one’s food.

4.  Post a log in your Senior Project Hours link and label it "Independent Component 2" log.

• New section created in pre-existing log of hours: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1RDVcBuC5xqVBpOXTjJxtnkQYIBQJX9FnZSf9BEX3z8U/edit?usp=sharing

Your answers to the questions should be supported with details and examples for the senior team to understand what you plan to do.   Once we review your Blog Post 16, your house teacher will discuss with you the approval of your plan.  If it is approved, please start working on it.  If it is not approved, your house teacher will explain why.  It is your job to address the concerns so you can get your component approved.  Additionally, any changes requested must be addressed to your house teacher well in advance of the completion date for full credit on the assignment.