Of Playgrounds, Produce and Peace: A Toolkit of Parts for Edible Therapeutic School Gardens and Envisioning Community Hubs
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Date
2021-06-13
Authors
Parr, Kristine
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Abstract
The benefit of both urban agriculture and therapeutic gardens are historically
acknowledged and legitimized in landscape architecture. In their own ways
they seek to address issues of resiliency and quality of life. However, there
is little cross-pollination between landscape designs that provide nourishing
produce and those that nourish mental and emotional wellbeing. This is
especially true for children’s landscapes, whose school environments are
known for their unhealthy lunches and fluorescent classrooms. Mapping food
insecurity shows that many students within Eugene’s urban growth boundary
are vulnerable in the current systems of scarcity. They are placed at the
forefront of both food insecurity and corresponding mental developmental
crises; all exacerbated by stressors associated with COVID-19. Therefore,
envisioning schools as whimsical oases of accessible, foraged produce and
inclusive beauty could richly impact Eugene communities as a whole. Placing
a ½ mile radius over every school doubled the footprint of access to fresh food
and therapeutic spaces. Therefore, the proposed “toolkit of parts” features
combined agricultural and therapeutic elements in the forms of Community
Learning Circles, Medicinal Food Meadows and Healing Food Forests. Each
piece, and their many possible configurations, builds gracious, inclusive and
adaptable school gardens as bountiful community hubs.
Description
149 pages. Committee chair: Roxi Thoren
Keywords
therapeutic garden, edible city, food security, food security