Carolina Campus Community Garden Raingarden

LAR 524, 2019, Carolina Campus Community Garden Raingarden Design and Phase 1 build, Chapel Hill, NC – Designed and built a stormwater infiltration conveyance received a $250 donation resulted in a $1,000 value for design and $1,500 value for landscape construction

The Carolina Campus Community Garden (CCCG) is a program of the North Carolina Botanical Garden where they grow vegetables and fruit so that all UNC employees have access to fresh, sustainably grown produce. This is made possible through the shared efforts of staff, students, faculty, and local residents.  The garden serves as a learning community for developing gardening skills, healthy living, social responsibility, and interdisciplinary academic pursuits.

Students designed an educational and artful raingarden (stormwater management system) or “land-art” project that incorporates stormwater management and addressed stormwater while simultaneously conveying the ideas of health and beauty using appropriate plantings. As seen in many “land-art” installations, the planting design is the strongest feature of the project and seen as making the “water/plant experience” of the raingarden/stormwater system extend throughout the entire garden. Students addressed the ecological aspects by incorporating low impact design (LID), using appropriate grading and plants, addressing comfort and structural elements, and creating a raingarden that addressed flooding issues around storage building.  They also addressed erosion areas along path and lower planting beds.  Students addressed the social/cultural aspects by creating ways to support the educational needs of the community, assured that plantings were clear, inviting, engaging and appropriate for site, contributed to quality activity-programming, and ensure public health, safety and welfare is addressed.  Finally, the students address the artful expression aspects by incorporating a sculptural “land-art” aesthetic that was engaging to the senses, and an enhanced area to support the needs of the garden community and beyond.