The EARTH (Education And Resiliency Through Horticulture) is a joint project between Iowa State University and Gifft Hill School. EARTH focuses on integrating horticulture, environmental science, and agriculture into the curriculum at Giff Hill School. To accomplish this goal we are constructing fruit and vegetable production facilities and landscaping around the school. The process of building and maintaining these facilities will be used to teach the students about math, chemistry, biology, ecology, etc. The idea of having real data from their school to use in classes has already created a lot of interest among the teachers and students. A problem we hope to tackle through this program is the lack of home gardening on the island. Groceries cost roughly double what they do in Ames. By producing their own food we hope to reduce living expenses on the island.
Currently, my portion of the project includes researching the use of Geographic Information Systems for site planning and horticulture facility planning and maintenance. I am gathering as much information about the site as possible to process after returning to Ames. Current mapped data sets include weather, soils, elevation, and facility location.
Two more visible projects I have been in charge of include the installation of a commercial weather station and clearing and the marking of a path for a future trail. The weather station provides real time and recorded weather conditions that will be used in environmental science and mathematics courses. Students will be able to learn using real data from their school. I will also be using information from the weather station in my research. The trail will link the lower campus, containing the elementary school, to the upper campus housing and the middle and high schools. Currently students walk down a busy, narrow road to travel between schools. This causes obvious hazards. I didn't realize the importance of this future trail until we had walked the entire proposed path and returned to the school to tell everyone. The teachers were jumping up and down screaming, they were so happy. They explained that this trail will unite the two schools and allow the elementary students to utilize everything that we do at the upper school including the soccer field designed by Dr. Minner. Winston Beck and Morgan Wright have been designing and building a landscape area along side the soccer field and a new half basketball court, which is in memory of a student who passed away earlier this year. When I have time I help them with construction and planting. The Gifft Hill School students are closing out the year, but they have also helped us with clearing brush and landscape construction.
The best part about this program has been the people I've been able to meet and work with. The research team has been truly outstanding and I can't thank them enough for all that I've learned from them especially Dr. Reinert, Dr. Minner, Morgan Wright, and Winston Beck. Everyone here on St. John has been very welcoming. This community reminds me very much of my hometown. The school employees, school board members, parents of students, and other people in the community make this feel like a second home. They have taken us out to eat, sailing, snorkeling, and hiking. We have gone to community events such as the dog show and volunteered at the Friends of the National Park Beach to Beach Swim. There is also a wealth of knowledge here on the island and we have met with and been introduced to many local experts who will be great assets to the program as we continue.
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