1. I. Vision
We BioPhiles don't just want to feed people;; we want to change the paradigm so that our human systems
are fair and supportive of a thriving, biodiverse, healthy planet. Our project takes advantage of the fact
that food and food systems intersect powerfully with those issues. As we strive to secure food availability
for a growing population, we will integrate sustainable and innovative agricultural practices into local public
and private schools. By responding to this challenge locally we will establish a foundation for a system that
is not limited by borders, which integrates ecological stewardship with community health and economic
stability. The model can be modified for the diversity presented by each individual community. We believe
youth, as our future leaders, have the opportunity to undergo the shift necessary to create a resilient,
healthy, and holistic world.
II. Motivation
We have found a fire inside that arises out of Love, in response to the need for healing that we perceive in
a world that's starving: either for food, for justice, for connection and community, or for a sense of
meaning in a jaded world. We want to provide all of these essential elements for a whole and healthy
world by shifting the way people relate to food so that community and ecological bonds are strengthened.
Inspired by the impact of our own experiences, we believe the school is an ideal place to build this kind of
community and a platform for students to recognize their talents as powerful agents of social reform.
III. Theoretical Framework
Because America is highly influential across the globe, by modeling something sustainable here, we have
the potential to model for the whole world. It’s easy for many of us in the U.S. to be sheltered from the
realities of poverty and think that our system is perfect, and yet nearly 1 in 4 children in this country live in
food-insecure households. At the same time, obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease are three highly
prevalent, diet-caused problems in the U.S. Clearly, we have work to do at home. Even if it were a
question of simply increasing yields, doing so via our current agricultural practices would actually be
detrimental;; even with current yields, the productive capacity and ecological function of the land is being
eroded. Bearing this in mind, it’s important to acknowledge that even though there is enough food today,
hunger remains a problem. All of this points to a problem at the level of the system itself. We want to build
a food system that incorporates local, ecologically sustainable community at its heart, so no one is left out.
School gardens are being implemented more and more around the country because they are an effective
model for education and production, engaging students in the movement for local food. Agroecology, a
science, practice, and movement for healthy functioning food systems, is being hailed internationally as a
solution to many persistent problems of our time. Merging these two up-and-coming ideas in a manner to
heal division within communities and cultivate critical, passionate change agents is where we find we have
something revolutionary to offer.
IV. Goals
2. Our goals are synergistic, not entirely distinct;; like the issues they address, they are intertwined.
Transformative Learning –
- a critical engagement with global problems and local solutions
- experience with coming to consensus
- clearing out stereotypes and preconceived notions in order to have actual
communication across the school’s different cultures
- encouraging expression and inclusion of different demographic perspectives
- collaboration and understanding across socio-economic class
- blowing up students’ worldview far beyond its previous limits
- learning to be in community
Integrity of Community –
- youth as valuable contributors, on equal playing field, empowering students
- engaging parents and the larger community via dinners
- outreach to “at-risk” as well as “AP” students
- healing the rift between disparate groups/classes
- an expanding local food system
- sparking community/lawn gardens
Health –
- changing relationship to food
- producers, not just consumers
- shifting diet
- cooking healthy food
- providing an outdoor, active alternative to a sedentary lifestyle
- a sense of mission, being a part of something meaningful
V. Site and Physical Planning
Keyhole gardening has been chosen as a “phase one” of our school’s food revolution because it is easy to
build and maintain, and it is well-suited for local climate. Implementation of other methods will be
evaluated accordingly as the project develops and expands to other schools. A keyhole garden is a circular
raised bed that has a center compost tube that distributes nutrients to the surrounding layered garden bed.
A small pie-slice section of the bed is used for easy access to the center compost tube, forming the
keyhole design.
3. Benefits
·∙ Require a small area, a maximum of 6-‐1/2 foot (2 meters) diameter
·∙ Use less water with mulching and moisture from center basket; drought-‐tolerant
·∙ Compost collecting in the center tube provides a steady supply of nutrients, moisture, and
other amendments to the plants
·∙ Depending on outer wall materials, soil can be warmer than traditional raised beds
·∙ The use of recycled/discarded material makes the gardens inexpensive, or even free, to build
·∙ Keyhole Gardens can provide artistic opportunities for student projects: construction,
mural-‐painting, etc
Sample Construction Materials: (can include, but is not limited to)
The Keyhole Raised Bed:
> Cinder blocks, concrete chunks, and/or large rocks (for exterior wall)
> Smooth stones (for the top layer of exterior wall)
> Concrete
> Chicken wire or wire mesh
> Soil from local compost facility
Compost Tube:
> Cardboard, phone books, newspaper, wood shavings, etc.
4. > Food scraps, grass clippings, coffee grounds, etc.
> “Red Wigglers”: a species of earthworms adapted to decaying material.
Execution Plan:
1. Measure a 6-foot diameter circle that will define the inside wall of your garden. Notch the
circle (like cutting a wedge of pie or like you are drawing a heart) so you can access the compost
tube at the center.
2. Construct the 3-foot tall exterior wall using cinder blocks, concrete chunks, and/or large rocks
found locally. Cement the layers of the wall to secure the structure. Placing smoother stones as
the final layer to the exterior wall will provide a nice, smooth place to sit on or lean over when
reaching for the plants.
3. Use chicken wire or wire mesh to create a cylindrical tube 1 foot in diameter and 4 feet tall.
The tube will stand in the center of the circle and act as the opening for food scraps and other
compostable items to be deposited.
4. Line the outer walls and bottom of the garden area with layers of compostable materials, such
as cardboard and phone books. Wet these items down as you go. Then position the chicken wire
tube in the center of the garden.
5. Begin filling the garden area with soil from compost facility. The soil should slope from a high
point at the top of the center tube downward to the edges of the garden wall. Simultaneously,
begin filling the center tube with alternating layers of compostable materials, such as kitchen
scraps and grass clippings, which will provide the plants with moisture and nutrients.
6. Adding “Red Wigglers,” a species of earthworms adapted to decaying material, will speed up
decomposition of organic matter. When adding the worms, gently bury them in the soil;; they will
make their way down to the compost and do their thing.
7. Watering for the garden will only need to occur when plants are first introduced and not yet
fully established. If the compost tube is kept stocked with high moisture materials like food scraps
drought should not be a problem. However if it becomes apparent that the soil is in fact drying out,
additional watering can be implemented. If during hot, summer months the garden is persistently
drying out, consider arching a framework of wire supports to hang a cloth that will offer shade to
the garden. In winter months, plastic sheeting can be attached to create an instant greenhouse.
8. Remember to feed the garden by adding cafeteria food scraps, coffee grounds from the
teachers’ lounge, etc. to the center basket. Then sit back and let nature do its trick!
5. 9. You’re ready to plant your garden!
VI. Community Aspects
All students are welcome to help out at the gardens. Promotion of the gardens will target all demographics
represented in the school. College Station ISD already has a community volunteer form that interested
citizens from the community can fill out in order to be involved.
Students who feel especially called to the opportunity that we are providing through our project will form a
group to meet monthly in order to explore its goals in the context of the interconnected global issues to
which the garden itself is a response. Format of this exploration will be a “Question-Share”. Facilitation
will be modeled heavily on The Dialogue Gamesm
. The theory of our approach is based on critical
pedagogy, transformational learning, and Socratic seminars. These are methods of developing
collaborative, critical, engaged thinkers.
In addition to the gardens and student group, an instrumental part of the project is a monthly dinner
(staggered with the student meeting), which we could call “Thought For Food Dinners,” where students,
parents, teachers, and community members gather to share meals prepared using what the students have
grown. The dinners will follow the Question-Share/Dialogue Gamesm
format, in which the facilitator
provides a brief background and some penetrating questions on a topic of their choice, within the wide
realm of relevance to sustainable food systems, food security, community development, social justice,
human health, etc. This brings the larger community into the conversation, sparking further curiosity,
learning, and action around the goals of the project and community at large. As a community event, a
central benefit is the connections and networks it fosters, but it also has the capacity to raise funds on a
donations basis, taking care not to alienate those who may not be able to afford it otherwise.
It is only once people gain empathy and understanding for others that we can truly begin healing our
current societal problems (hunger, violence, racism, divisions of class, etc). A lack of listening, that is,
without the barriers of stereotype and the need to be right, is at the roots of current communal rifts. Our
prescription is a shared space, specifically a garden, where we empower the youth with the tools for
societal healing. Like we’ve mentioned before, they are our future.
VI. Funding
Startup Resources:
-Kickstarter or other online fundraising sources
-Donations by PTOs, Master Gardeners, Patron or Patroness
-Donations by local soil and material companies
-School System
-Challenges/contests- Reward Money
6. -Grant money
-Community fundraising through students for monetary and project materials
Ongoing Resources:
-food sales from garden
-Patrons, PTOs
-Marketing by students to receive community donations and grants
Additionally, in order to reduce need for funds, we will partner with local organizations, companies, and
pre-existing agricultural networks that share our goals. Also students can develop their entrepreneurial
spirit through fundraising schemes for additional projects that they may want to implement.
VII. Proposed Sites
College Station ISD
College Station High School
A&M Consolidated High School
Timber High School
Bryan High School
VIII. The Committee
The student group’s Committee will start with seven chairs, each delegated with a specific position. There
will be no definitive leader;; rather, a consensus-based structure will be used to encourage every voice to
be heard, in keeping with the goal of community integrity. Initial Student Committee positions are
Marketing, Information (historian), Administration, Treasure, Food Production Analyst, Public Relations,
Event Coordinator. The student group’s members will be made aware of the agenda items for committee
meetings and are encouraged to attend in order to voice ideas and concerns.
The chair positions listed may be adapted or added to with a consensus decision in order to meet specific
community challenges. Upon consensus, the Committee will send BioPhilia a write-up their decision and
their reasoning to keep us informed and give us a chance to offer guidance if we see a hole in their
reasoning. A description of the chair and the responsibilities will be included with the write-up. Every
member of the committee shall sign the request before being sent to BioPhilia for review.
Marketing Chair: The marketing chair will be responsible for developing techniques that attract school
students and community citizens to the school garden. The chair will produce and design promotional
material, be involved in media relations, and conduct marketing research, to facilitate community
awareness of the school garden. Any course of actions taken shall be shared with fellow committee
members.
7. Informational Chair: The information chair will provide information minutes in the form of a newsletter
for board meetings, document social meetings, and record ongoing developments to the school garden. The
information collected by the food production analyst will be compiled by information chair and shared to all
committee members.
Administration Chair: The administration chair will provide information regarding the extensive school
logistics and legal realities pertaining to the function or development of the school garden. Networking with
the school administration will be the responsibility of the administration chair. Share any pertinent
information with fellow committee members.
Treasurer: The treasurer will be responsible of ensuring that the budget is fiscally balanced, while
analyzing receipts and sales to make sure the budget is not compromised. A statement of the account
balance will be announced at the monthly committee meetings to keep all members aware of the current
financial status. Any fiscal investments to any needed improvements to the garden should be reviewed and
presented to the committee by the treasurer.
Food Production Analyst: The responsibilities include determining crop yields for individual crop species
planted, documenting disease in plants, insect problems, and water usage. This data shall be shared with
the committee members, in order to keep an ongoing record of challenges and successes.
Public Relations Chair: The public relations chair will coordinate jointly with the marketing chair and
information utilizing the resources provided by each chair position to display and inform the school
community as well as the general public. Informing the public about ongoing events at the gardens,
extending the reach of the farm, and building strong communal bonds are some key responsibilities of the
public relations chair.
Event Coordinator Chair: The event coordinator chair will schedule events tying in the school garden
and the local community, and provide presenters who generate critical thinking about critical issues. The
chair will also be in charge of getting a spot in the local farmers market.
Additionally, the students will choose a mentor, such as a teacher or faculty member, to seek advice or
assistance regarding their job on the committee. The mentors that the students chose should have
knowledge and experience that correlates with the students’ specific committee responsibilities. At least
one mentor advising the committee should have knowledge of basic gardening techniques. Allowing the
gardens to be primarily student run, yet still maintaining mentor input, fosters a non-hierarchical
environment and an even playing field of responsibility.
Feedback Form: Feedback Form:
BioPhilia will provide a template for a feedback form that will serve as an archive of the school’s garden
8. development and a tool for reflection on the state of the project. Listed below are the sections the form
will include, ranging from physical maintenance to detailed assessment of the involvement of diverse
groups of the student body. Forms will be sent to BioPhilia as well as retained in the Committee’s files.
The form will be filled out and signed by the presiding student and teacher committee members to ensure
integrity. The form will include the following bullets below, with emphasis on the final point:
·∙ Pulling crop yields to help generate a keener sense of productivity, and assess whether changes
need to be made or encourage what is working.
·∙ Surveys drawing upon the marketing aspect of agribusiness [for example increase in loyalty at
farmer’s market and/or name recognition] informs on the reach and effectiveness of marketing
skills.
·∙ A sign-In sheet to assess community flow and student involvement outside of class to be able to
pinpoint time blocks that are underserved or to incorporate conditions based upon what draws
activity.
·∙ Food Sales and cash flow analysis to assess the cost effectiveness of the project and adjust it as
needed so that it remains built to last
·∙ Statistical data gathered from plant development will provide insight into particular methodologies
and their effectiveness
` Any challenges or problems encountered, questions, solutions enacted, lessons learned.
We want to be allies and collaborators for the students, not an overbearing managerial body that they feel
pressure to meet requirements for.
IX. BioPhilia’s Involvement
We envision our involvement with our first school(s) to last a couple of years or so. We are building a
culture;; it takes care and tending to make sure that the project doesn’t fall into old ways of operating. Our
eventual place is as a resource able to be called upon, and as allies kept in the loop of the community’s
learning.
For our initial spark to engage the students, we would like to hold an interactive and narrative-shifting
symposium, called the Generation Waking Up! Experience, which inspires youth to rise to the global
challenges into which they are coming of age. The WakeUp (as it’s called for short) has participants see
themselves as a part of the movement that’s arising in response to our world’s interconnected crises, as
valuable creators and contributors. One of our team members is an experienced facilitator of this
symposium.
Once interested students have come together, we will facilitate the question-shares at the student meetings
and dinners. Over time, the students will begin to take over the leadership, phasing us out as we become
participants who offer feedback just like the other students, who will also provide feedback for us. This
models the non-hierarchical structure that acknowledges we all have something to learn from everyone.
9. We understand the importance of allowing this community to be take on the responsibility for it
continuance and to strengthen on its own;; for this reason, we will simply serve as training wheels for the
school. We desire that the local community take ownership and embrace the culture shift. Having a
feedback form will allow us to stay in touch and keep learning from their process.
X. References
Agroecology:
Agroecology is an interdisciplinary science, practice, and movement for healthy sustainable food systems.
It is a true systems-approach to food.
An illustrative comparison of Agroecology with Industrial Agriculture:
http://www.foodfirst.org/sites/www.foodfirst.org/files/pdf/Soil_to_Sky.pdf
http://agro-ecoinnovation.eu/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/Agro_eco_inno_What_is_agro-ecology_BM_13
Jul12.pdf
Journal of Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems. (Formerly Journal of Sustainable
Agriculture)
UN’s Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food: Report on Agroecology and the Right to Food:
http://www.srfood.org/images/stories/pdf/officialreports/20110308_a-hrc-16-49_agroecology_en.pdf
http://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/business/Can_agro-ecology_feed_the_world.html?cid=29709334
Critical Pedagogy:
Freire, Paulo. Pedagogy of the Oppressed.
Freire, Paulo. Pedagogy of Hope: Reliving Pedagogy of the Oppressed.
Wink, Joan. Critical Pedagogy: Notes from the Real World, 3rd Edition.
Transformative Learning:
“Transformative learning theory is the process of ‘perspective transformation’, with three dimensions:
psychological (changes in understanding of the self), convictional (revision of belief systems), and
behavioral (changes in lifestyle). An important part of transformative learning is for individuals to change
their frames of reference by critically reflecting on their assumptions and beliefs and consciously making
and implementing plans that bring about new ways of defining their worlds.”
http://transformativelearningtheory.com
Engaging Youth:
The Generation Waking Up! Experience: A multimedia, participatory workshop to ignite a generation of
youth to bring forth a thriving, just, sustainable world. www.generationwakingup.org
Keyhole Garden Construction:
How to Build Your Keyhole Garden:
http://www.bakerinstitute.org/programs/energy-forum/publications/lesotho/khg%20card%20final%ENGLI
SH.pdf
