Growing Biodiversity Gardens

I am appealing to Growing Garden which is an organization that encourages communities to

build a garden and promotes sustainable urban agriculture.
https://www.growinggardens.org/mission

Statement of Problem:
The challenges of our time are promoting good nutrition practices in a costly and
sustainable manner. In Boone, North Carolina the local poverty rate is 62% (“NC in Focus,” 2017),
which is higher than most college towns. There is also an increase in the homeless population of
Watauga County (“Watauga Democrat”, 2018). With the poverty and homeless population on the
rise, people lack access to wholesome nutrient foods. Since unhealthy food is inexpensive, this
population is forced to consume unnatural food products. This population needs access to diverse
and nutritional diet through fresh vegetables and fruits.
Human health depends on the accessibility to a wide variety of nutrient rich foods. Healthy
diets are maintained by sufficient intake of nutrients levels and require high biodiversity.
Industrialized agriculture and intensified food production have affected biodiversity, therefore
causing an impact on the global nutritional status and human health. Enhanced food production
through harmful pesticides, irrigation practices, chemical fertilizers, crop varieties and cropping
patterns has caused unwanted effects such as habitat simplification. (“Biodiversity,” 2012).
Biodiversity loss can increase communities’ vulnerabilities by disrupting life sustaining
ecosystems that yield health and nutritional benefits (“Health and Biodiversity,” 2016).

Specific Goal:
To provide sustainable and nutritional diet to the population of Boone by increasing the
access to fresh fruits and vegetables. The specific aim is to lower the cost of produce, increase
food security, increase acceptance and improve taste perceptions of the community.

Broader Significance:
Understanding that human health is specifically linked with the health of ecosystems and
life supporting benefits it provides is crucial to the health the people and environment
(“Biodiversity,” 2012). By connecting global priorities, biodiversity and human health, the general
public and governments can explore strategies of how to contribute to Sustainable Development
Goals and follow the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (“Health and Biodiversity,”
2016). Recognizing that the current global food system fails to feed humans sufficiently is
important. Prioritizing diets that include nutrient-rich biodiversity will help decrease malnutrition
and increase healthy ecosystems (“Health and Biodiversity,” 2016).
The community garden will impact Boone population by addressing malnourishment and
food security issues. The garden will become a food source for those who cannot afford to buy
fresh fruits and vegetables, reducing their overall food bills. The garden will help improve access
to food, improve nutrition, and promote social health of the community.

Project Design:
To practice sustainable food production and promote biodiversity for healthier diets, communities
can take action by creating a community biodiversity garden. The community garden will show
the role of biodiversity and how it relates to healthy food and good nutrition.
Garden Type: The garden will be composed of fruits, vegetables, and trees to benefit those in the
surrounding communities who are poor, malnourished, or just local community members or
students.
Garden Site: The site will be located in Boone, North Carolina, on an empty lot near Jimmy Smith
park. This lot will be exposed to at least 6 full hours of sunlight each day to allow vegetation
growth. The garden will be 1,000 square feet.
Garden Beds: The garden will be composed of long beds made up of recycled scrap wood. The
garden will be divided by 20-by-10-foot raised beds for planting fruits and vegetables. Three of
the raised beds will only be accessible to the poor and homeless, the other individual raised beds
will be assigned to community members. One box will be shared for growing herbs and another
box will be for compost.
Seedlings: Seedlings from vegetables will include tomatoes, beets, broccoli and also mixed herbs.
Garden community members and Appalachian state students will also be able provide their own
seeds for which they want to plant. Donations of seedlings to the garden by the community
members, Appalachian State Students and Alumni will be accepted. Diverse seedlings will be
encouraged to increase biodiversity. Self-pollinating trees will be planted around the edges of the
garden such are apricots, nectarines, peaches and sour cherries.
Garden Storage: There will be a small storage area where the community tools will be placed.
Timeline:
1-4 weeks: Clean up the garden lot, test the soil
4-9 weeks: Organize volunteer crew workers, collect recycled wood, establish irrigation and tools
to construct the garden
9-13 weeks: Begin building the garden
13-15: Collect garden tools and seedlings
15-19 weeks: Organize garden members and begin planting the seedlings
Post 20 weeks: Garden is maintained by the community members
Personnel:
The members of the garden will be local volunteer work crews from the local college,
Appalachian State. Flyers and posters will be posted on campus to bring awareness to this new
garden project. The head of the garden will be the garden coordinator; their responsibilities will
include overseeing the necessities of the garden, communication between the members, and keep
track of the mail. There will be an appointed treasurer who will keep charge of the budget and
donations. The garden will be maintained through volunteer work of college students and local
community members. The garden coordinator will sign volunteer workers hour forms for those
who want to volunteer and help maintain the garden. There will be a Google volunteer sign-up
sheet link online under the Jimmy Smith Park website. The community biodiversity garden will
also collaborate with the Appalachian State gardening club once a month to ensure the garden is
supported.
Expected Outcomes:
The community garden will promote sustainable agriculture by reducing industrialized
agriculture and enhanced farming impacts. Food transportation costs, “food miles”, water runoff,
neighborhood waste will decrease. The health of the ecosystem and biodiversity of the area will
increase. The garden will benefit the health of the humans and surrounding ecology of the area.
The soil quality, air quality and water infiltration will improve. The nutritious foods from the
community biodiversity garden will improve populations nutrient level intake and increase the
consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables. The garden will promote positive health effects
through improvements of mental health, promote relaxation, and increase the physical activity of
its members through garden maintenance.
Dissemination of Results:
The success of the community biodiversity garden will be published in online
environmental blogs and articles. The specific measures and steps will be posted for readers to
understand the process of the community garden. It will promote sustainable farming practices and
encourage others to create their own community garden.
Plans for Sustainability:
The community biodiversity garden will continue to be sustainable through the support and
power of the community members, local college students, and volunteers. The members dedication
to the community garden will help with the continuous maintenance of the garden. The community
biodiversity members of the garden will strive to provide fresh foods and improve the food security
for those in need. The community garden will encourage volunteerism and improve community
involvement within the local area. Recognition of the community biodiversity garden will increase
awareness of sustainable practices. Donations from local residents, community members,
Appalachian Alumni or businesses will be accepted and appreciated.

Budget:
Item Quantity Cost

Flyers 50 $3.50

Garden hose 50’ 2 $50

Water nozzle 2 $16

Hose reel 2 $70

Garden hoe 1 $8

Watering can 1 $7

Small Irrigation system 1 $2,300

5 gal buckets 2 $8

“D” shape shovel 4 $100

“T” shape shovel 2 $90

Garden secateurs 1 $10

By-pass pruners 1 $10

Recycled wood for vegetable beds 100 $600

Sand base 8 $30

Compost Bin 1 $50

Nails (large pack) 1 $70

hammers 3 $65

Screws 3 $65

Cordless Screwdriver 3 $120

Soil testing N/A $100

Small storage shed (6’ x 8’) 1 $548

 Storage lock handle 1 $8

Soil bags 12 $516

Apricots seedlings 3 $24

Nectarines seedlings 4 $37

Sour cherries 3 $61

Tomato seeds 2 $8

Broccoli seeds 2 $10

Radish seeds 1 $9

Herbs mixed pack 3 $6

Annotated Bibliography

Adam, K. L. (2011). Community Gardening. National Sustainable Agriculture Information

Service, Retrieved from https://attra.ncat.org/attra-
pub/summaries/summary.php?pub=351

The National Sustainable Agriculture Information addresses how residents and

community members will have access to fresh fruits and vegetables through a community
garden. This can encourage a healthy diet and good nutrition. With access to fresh produce
community members and residents can reduce their grocery and food bills.

Bellows, A. C., Brown, K., & Smit, J. (2004). Health benefits of urban agriculture. Community
Food Security Coalition’s North American Initiative on Urban Agriculture. Portland,
OR: Community Food Security Coalition.

The health benefits of sustainable agriculture were identified such as how community
gardens improves mental health and relaxation, increasing the well-being and social ties of a
community. The social ties of the community also positively correlate with an decrease crime
rates.
 “Biodiversity.” World Health Organization, World Health Organization, 3 Dec. 2012,
www.who.int/globalchange/ecosystems/biodiversity/en/.

The World Health Organization addressed the relationship between biodiversity

and human health. The nutrient levels that biodiversity provides a healthy diet and beneficial
nutrient intake. The organization also made a connection to fertilizer use and species loss and
damage.

Garvin, E., Branas, C., Keddem, S., Sellman, J., & Cannuscio, C. (2013). More Than Just An
Eyesore: Local Insights And Solutions on Vacant Land And Urban Health. Journal Of
Urban Health, 90(3), 412-426. doi:10.1007/s11524-012-9782-7

This journal reveals how community gardens established on vacant lots can increase the
value of the property by decreasing littering. Often vacant lots are used to dump litter, tires and
chemicals. The decrease of vacant lots are associated with decrease drug use.

“Goal 15: Sustainable Development Knowledge Platform.” United Nations, United

Nations, 2018, sustainabledevelopment.un.org/sdg15.

The Sustainable Development Goal 15 offered ideas of how protect the life on land
through sustainable use of ecosystems. It shed light on the idea the shrinkage of the forest is
negatively affecting terrestrial ecosystems, forest coverage, and biodiversity. The forest area has
shrunk to 4 billion hectares, causing a decrease in land productivity. This is affecting one billion
people and 24 million hectares of land. The loss of the forest is affecting biodiversity, the forest
and home to many plants and animals and with deforestation species are threatened.

“Health and Biodiversity.” Convention on Biological Diversity, 7 Dec. 2016, Secretariat

of the Convention on Biological Diversity, www.cbd.int/health/.

The Convention on Biodiversity confronts Sustainable Development goals of 2020 by

promoting sustainable practices. It brings awareness to connection of environmental biodiversity
and human nutrition. It provides lists of countries that mainstreamed activities on biodiversity.

Howard, B. C. (2012). Urban farming is growing a green future: Green Gotham. National
Geographic, DOI: Howard, B. C. Retrieved from
http://environment.nationalgeographic.com/environment/photos/urban-farming/
 The article addresses how urbanization has caused negative impacts such as health
problems and pollution. It includes how community gardens can be sustainable and
environmentally conscious. Community gardens can improve water infiltration and replace
impervious structures.

Jackson, David R. “Forest Landowners Guide to Tree Planting Success.” PSU, Penn State
Extension, 14 Dec. 2014, extension.psu.edu/forest-landowners-guide-to-tree-planting-
success.

Penn State Extension has developed objectives for planting to help dictate the species and
number of seedlings needed. They listed what needs to be learned about land before starting a
forest such as soil type, flooding, amount of sunlight, and exposure. Penn State Extension made
the of point limitations of planting success. They included the process of ordering seeding and
the spacing between the different types of seeding. PSU went into depth of how to prepare the
site to plant the seedlings to create a forest.

“NC in Focus: College Student Impact on Local Poverty Rates.” Carolina Demography, 7 Dec.
2017,demography.cpc.unc.edu/2017/12/07/nc-in-focus-college-student-impact-on-local-
poverty-rates/.

Carolina Demography provided statistics about poverty rates in college towns,

specifically in Boone, North Carolina. It included a graph of poverty rates and the population.

“Point-in-Time Homeless Population Count Takes Place Jan. 31.” Watauga Democrat, 25 Jan.
2018, www.wataugademocrat.com/mountaintimes/point-in-time-homeless-population-
count-takes-place-jan/article_7f47bd1a-ba4e-5318-bb35-b924a2d921e8.html.

Watauga Democrat provided the demographics of the increasing homeless population in

the county.

“What Can You Do?” CBD Home, Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity,
10 Apr. 2008, www.cbd.int/ibd/2008/youth/action/1.shtml.

The Secretariat of Convention explains what biodiversity is and how it has impacted humans and
the environment. The Convention on Biological Diversity breakdowns impacts into sections such
as environmental, food, farmers, and farming. It also encourages readers to take action and learn

about biodiversity and food issues.