UBC Social Ecological Economic Development Studies (SEEDS) Student Report Exploring the Food Garden Movement on the UBC Campus: Engaging with the Growers and Considering the Policy Opportunities Meredith Seeton University of British Columbia PLAN 550 December 2011 Disclaimer: “UBC SEEDS provides students with the opportunity to share the findings of their studies, as well as their opinions, conclusions and recommendations with the UBC community. The reader should bear in mind that this is a student project/report and is not an official document of UBC. Furthermore readers should bear in mind that these reports may not reflect the current status of activities at UBC. We urge you to contact the research persons mentioned in a report or the SEEDS Coordinator about the current status of the subject matter of a project/report”. Exploring the Food Garden Movement on the UBC Campus: Engaging with the Growers and Considering the Policy Opportunities Directed Studies Course: PLAN 550, Fall Semester 2011 Student: Meredith Seeton SEEDS Program Coordinator: Brenda Sawada Staff Member: Dean Gregory Faculty Member: Dr. Mark Stevens 2   Table of Contents Introduction  ........................................................................................................................................................  3   Context  .................................................................................................................................................................  3   UBC  as  a  Leader  in  Sustainability  ............................................................................................................................  3   Existing  Food  Gardens  on  Campus,  and  the  Push  for  More  ............................................................................  4   Where Food Garden Projects Meet Campus and Community Planning  ...................................  5   Speaking with the Leaders and Facilitators  ..........................................................................................  6   Motivation for Growing Food on Campus:  ........................................................................................................  6   Students  ..............................................................................................................................................................................................  6   Faculty  .................................................................................................................................................................................................  7   Staff  .......................................................................................................................................................................................................  7   Visions for the Place of Food Gardens in the Campus Landscape:  ......................................................  8   Students  ..............................................................................................................................................................................................  8   Faculty  .................................................................................................................................................................................................  8   Staff  .......................................................................................................................................................................................................  9   What Other Universities Are Doing  ........................................................................................................  10   Planning and Policy Implications  ............................................................................................................  11   Appendix:  ..........................................................................................................................................................  13   Growing Food on Campus: Potential Guidelines for Developing Food Gardens at UBC  ...................  13   3   Introduction This paper explores the growing movement for food gardens on UBC’s Vancouver campus. Over the past few years, the Campus Sustainability office and Campus and Community Planning have had an increasing number of food gardens proposed by groups associated with particular schools, faculties or departments, to be installed adjacent to faculty buildings in the academic core. This study digs into what is motivating current and prospective gardening groups, and what their visions are for the campus landscape. The paper also attempts to point to the opportunities for policy-making that could facilitate successful gardening projects, while addressing the concerns of other campus stakeholders. Context UBC  as  a  Leader  in  Sustainability UBC is a leader in sustainability, continuously pushing the frontiers of infrastructure, energy, building and community sustainability. The university has committed to the concept of campus as a Living Laboratory for sustainability, and this mandate has created room for a range of sustainability initiatives and strategies such as food gardens. The sustainability of the campus and development is monitored, directed, and tracked through the Campus Sustainability office and also through various certification and rating systems. Some green buildings are certified through LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design), for example. UBC also recently achieved Gold in the Sustainability Tracking and Rating SystemTM (STARS), run through the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE). The university notably received full points for having an organic farm on campus as well as a farmers’ market. Indeed, gardening initiatives are already contributing to the reputation of UBC as a sustainable academic institution. An example of UBC’s dynamic and collaborative leadership on food, gardens and sustainability, the UBC Food Systems Project is a multi-stakeholder project that started in 2001. The project has had numerous concrete impacts on various aspects of UBC’s food system. Projects are conceptualized and directed by the coordinator and partners, and taken up as part of the capstone undergraduate course in the faculty of Land and Food Systems. Project outcomes have included the adoption of recommendations for a rooftop garden on the newly designed Student Union Building, the planning and construction of the Orchard Garden, changes to on-campus food procurement such as more food and flowers being sourced from the UBC Farm, the Orchard Garden, and other local sources, and numerous waste management, food policy, and food marketing and education achievements. There are opportunities for food garden projects to tie into and build on the UBC Food Systems Project. “Campus as a Living Laboratory combines campus operations and administration (e.g. energy and water management, land use and ecosystem management, buildings and infrastructure, planning) with the education, research and outreach mandates of the university. Campus as a Living Lab involves students and faculty developing and applying sustainability research and teaching in collaboration with university staff and can also involve industrial or community partners working with academic and operational staff.” – The Sustainability Academic Strategy 4   Existing  Food  Gardens  on  Campus,  and  the  Push  for  More   In recent years, several proposals have been received and implemented for community gardens, herb gardens, orchards, and rooftop gardens on academic campus lands. These initiatives have been driven by students, faculty, and staff. Some of the initiatives have been successful, yielding a range of benefits, such as learning and research opportunities, fresh fruits and vegetables, and an increase in social integration of campus community members. Others have been unauthorized and had some successes but also been a source of concern for some campus stakeholders. The impacts and successes of gardening initiatives on campus have ranged, but the interest in growing food on campus is certainly growing. The most established food-growing place is the UBC Farm, home of the Centre for Sustainable Food Systems. While the 24 hectare UBC Farm, located in South Campus, represents a form of agriculture that is quite different from smaller gardens generally proposed for the academic core of campus, programs and initiatives at the Farm represent a huge resource for other food growing initiatives elsewhere on campus. In 2007, the Orchard Garden was established behind the MacMillan Building, as an initiative of the UBC Food Systems Project, and involving the Faculty of Land and Food Systems as well as the Faculty of Education. Other gardens have been planted near the Earth and Ocean Sciences building, at Green College, at Regent College, and outside of the Beaty Biodiversity Centre and the Aquatic Ecosystem Research Lab. Food crops such as zucchini and carrot patches have also been planted intermittently across campus in the form of less visible ‘guerilla gardens’ (unapproved gardens or gardens on someone else’s land). Plans for additional gardens are in the works, and requests for more gardens are being made. Excerpts from UBC’s submission to the Sustainability Tracking and Rating System (STARS): The Centre for Sustainable Food Systems (CSFS) is home to the UBC Farm, a 24-hectare teaching, research and community farm located on UBC’s Vancouver campus. Forming a rich mosaic of cultivated fields, teaching gardens, forest stands, hedgerows, and orchard plantings, the farm is a unique urban agrarian gem. […]As the only working farmland within the city of Vancouver, the UBC Farm’s urban interface enhances research opportunities that also address community, ecosystem and global health. ~ ~ ~ […]In the spring of 2007, students tilled and prepared soil on the west side of the MacMillan Building. “The Orchard Garden” title is intended to reflect this particular area’s history as an apple orchard. Previously occupied by portable offices, the Garden is now designated as informal learning space within UBC Vancouver's Public Realm Plan. The Orchard Garden complements the UBC Farm as a garden-scale outdoor classroom for hands-on, holistic learning about sustainable food systems, from production to consumption and disposal. It also provides a space for transforming teacher education through innovative curriculum and pedagogy design. Diners at the student-run Agora Cafe and the Agriculture Undergraduate Society's weekly barbeques enjoy delicious “backyard garden” treats from The Orchard Garden that include early potatoes, garlic, beets, kale and squash. From https://stars.aashe.org/institutions/university-of-british-columbia-bc/report/2011-08-02/6/23/149/ 5   Where Food Garden Projects Meet Campus and Community Planning As described above, food garden aspirations on campus are growing, and there is a lot of energy and momentum behind the groups creating food gardens for students, staff, faculty and visitors. The lead individuals and groups behind garden projects are comprised of students, faculty and staff. There is an expectation by the University that applications for permits (Streets and Landscape Permits and sometimes Development Permits) include a convincing and well thought-out case for a garden. The Campus Landscape Architect has begun to develop a series of minimum requirements for food garden proposals to move forward: • Support, in the form of Letters of Support from the Dean of the faculty and the head of the department associated with the landscape proposed for food production. These letters should express a commitment to provide financial resources to Plant Operations for restoring the landscape should the project be abandoned or unsightly. • Proposed budget, funding and construction timeline • Process, including: design, reviews, campus consultation and construction (aesthetics should be consistent with the Design Guidelines in the Vancouver Campus Plan) • Management plan explaining who maintains and harvests Groups that bring garden proposals forward to Campus and Community Planning are given the list of preliminary items above and invited to apply for permits. Still, there is room for a more clear process to be outlined for interested groups. It is in UBC’s interest to understand further the movement for food gardens on campus, and to proactively create room and support for these initiatives. On one hand, UBC is seeking to affirm its position as a leader in sustainability, and there are potential sustainability gains from shifting from strictly decorative landscaping towards a landscape that incorporates food growing. On the other hand, unregulated or unplanned garden initiatives can represent a challenge for the planning and operations staff of the university (the stewards of the campus landscape), and even for the broader campus communities: • Campus landscapes must serve a variety of interests and purposes. Campus landscapes are planned and developed through public processes that aim to balance various missions as well as resource constraints. Garden initiatives that are started without any consultation or public process have the potential to negatively impact existing landscape designs and programming. • Gardening initiatives that are not adequately planned and approved risk being very short-term and causing additional cost and work for staff that must either recreate the previous landscape or maintain the new garden. Because there is no clear supportive policy for food gardens on campus, enthusiastic groups might implement gardening projects without going through a formal application process. They will also miss the opportunity to be guided by the experiences, concerns, and perspectives of Campus and Community Planning, Plant Operations, and other campus stakeholders. At the same time, Campus and Community Planning risks missing the opportunity to learn from the needs, motivations and trends on campus. A first step in engaging the food gardens movement is to attempt to better understand it. The following section explores the movement from the perspective of the leaders and individuals who have facilitated garden projects on campus. Interviews focused on the motivations behind the garden projects and the broader visions for the place of food gardens in the future of the campus landscape. 6   Speaking with the Leaders and Facilitators As part of this exploration, several students, faculty and staff involved with existing and potential gardening projects were interviewed. Their ideas and opinions were sought on what motivates them to be involved with food garden projects on campus, and what their visions are for the future of food gardening on campus. Motivation for Growing Food on Campus: Motivations behind garden initiatives are diverse, but generally fall into two broad categories: food production (increasing food security, increasing the accessibility of local and fresh foods, experimenting with producing intensively in urban settings), and community-building and social interaction (creating landscapes that foster interaction and build community). Some interviewees also described outdoor activity as therapeutic - as a healthy way to balance intensive studying and office work. Students • One group of students, who planted their garden outside of their faculty building for the first year last year, is motivated mostly by the desire to have fun and build community. All members of the group are involved with intensive vegetable growing elsewhere and emphasized that the intention of their garden on campus was not to yield a substantial amount of produce. Instead, their project is intended to encourage interaction between students, faculty and staff on the different floors of their building, who usually do not interact and get to know each other. The fresh produce made available through the garden project is viewed as a positive spinoff. • Another student, spearheading the development of another garden site, is motivated by a desire to demonstrate biodiversity, and connect the Beaty Biodiversity Centre buildings to the landscape surrounding them. This student expressed that he and fellow students and faculty feel the landscape could be enhanced with a well-structured and well-designed set of raised beds that mirror the design elements of the buildings. These could showcase landscaping that fosters biodiversity, ecological functionality and more intensive use. The planned garden is intended to be a space that will allow for hands-on learning for visitors to the Biodiversity Museum. The garden is also intended to encourage interaction amongst students, faculty and staff of the Biodiversity Research Centre as well as other departments across campus. Food production would be focused in half of the garden site. Enjoying food grown on the site would be an additional benefit of the activity, interaction, and observation that would happen at the site. • A student involved in maintaining the Orchard Garden explained that, for him, growing food on campus is about producing food as well as enjoying the benefits that stem from production, such as the health benefits of fresh produce, the environmental benefits of local food, and even the food security benefits of having a significant portion of food produced locally incase supply channels are temporarily disrupted. The student articulated that as a campus community our main concern should not be whether or not we can grow absolutely all of our produce locally. We should instead simply reconsider what we use our open landscapes for, and focus on producing much more food in the spaces available. Learning, interacting and building community are welcomed by-products that occur as a result of focusing on intensively producing food in an urban (in this case academic) environment. The interviewee explained that students who spend time volunteering on the UBC Farm or participating in different gardening projects on campus leave feeling confident that they can grow vegetables in and on their own backyards, balconies or roofs. He feels this increase in capacity can have a significant impact on food production in Vancouver. This student is motivated by all of the many benefits of growing food on campus: the increase in production, the learning that takes place 7   as a result of participating in food production, and the community-building that occurs in gardening projects. • Two students involved in planning for a new garden site are motivated by a desire to contribute to food security and sustainability, and to create educational opportunities outside the classroom. They also hope the garden produce could be a fundraiser for the student association or the sustainability group in the faculty. Before proceeding with the garden project, they are conducting a survey of students in the faculty to see whether their interests are shared broadly enough to ensure that a committed group could be formed to maintain the garden. They suspect that their interest are shared, and are eager to create an interactive space adjacent to their faculty building. Faculty • One faculty member interviewed described being motivated by a guerilla gardening pedagogy that is grassroots, biocentric, regerative, and reflects a dynamic notion of sustainability. The intent of his project is to contribute to community through making a place that is more livable and enjoyable – “an agricultural micro-parkland”. The garden evolved out of a community-service learning project that the faculty member led. • Another faculty member said the project he is involved with was intended to be a teaching garden, and also to contribute to food security. He is motivated by a drive to see a paradigm shift in the way landscaping is done – from decorative and fossil-fuel-dependent to landscaping that is functional and supports food security. Staff • One former staff member previously planted ‘guerilla gardens’ and was motivated by the movement to grow food more locally, and by reading specific books such as The 100 Mile Diet. He also described how food fresh from the garden tastes better and brings back memories of parents’ kitchen gardens. The interviewee is motivated by his experience of gardens as therapeutic spaces that are important for health and wellness – for social interaction. • One chef on campus who has started a food garden is motivated by a desire to serve fresh and local foods, and allow students, staff and faculty the opportunity to see the connection between the garden and their plate. This chef is also motivated by the ease with which the garden was created and could be expanded to supply more produce to the kitchen. He explained that growing food on campus is simply very do-able. • Another staff member involved with farming and gardening projects on campus focuses on the “second order contributions” of urban agriculture: the provision of food knowledge, and the skills and awareness that can be gained through participation in urban agriculture. He explained that urban agriculture on campus is about more than growing vegetables - it’s about linking people to where their food comes from. • A staff member active in a group that is planning a new garden site is motivated by a desire to create educational opportunities outside of the classroom. She is also interested in building a garden that will be monitored for productivity and its contribution to food security. 8   Visions for the Place of Food Gardens in the Campus Landscape: Views on the broader place of food gardens in the campus landscape range, though in general all interviewees support an expansion of food gardens. Some expressed visions of more extensive food gardens and edible landscaping across the campus, while others cautioned that there must first be committed groups and the capacity to maintain the gardens. These latter interviewees tend to envision hubs of urban agriculture projects across campus, wherever there is capacity, interest, and appropriate sites. Students • One student group referenced UBC’s commitment to sustainability and suggested that the campus landscape “should say something about sustainability”. They sited the university’s vision of campus as a living lab and suggested that experimentation and modeling should be allowed as part of this vision. They also stressed that the campus landscapes should encourage interaction. • Another student sees the garden project that he is involved with as part of a broader attitudinal shift or movement around biodiversity conservation and sustainability. He envisions food gardens being incorporated across campus at various specific sites, each intentionally designed with a particular focus and purpose, demonstrating or allowing for different outcomes. He feels that allowing the planting of food haphazardly across the campus landscape would not be the best way to create food gardens that are well maintained and serve the purposes they intend to serve. • A student involved in the Orchard Garden described the need to shift away from underusing the green spaces in the campus landscape, and towards intensively growing food in the large sunny open spaces that are available across campus. In this student’s vision of the future campus landscape, large areas seeded in grass would be reexamined and evaluated for their potential to be food-growing spaces. Space does need to remain available for events, sports, and relaxing outdoors, but gardens do not exclude all of these activities, and other spaces would remain (paved areas, sports fields, smaller patches of grass). Gardens and edible landscaping could be spread throughout campus, not restricted to hubs or to the UBC Farm. Creative models for maintaining these gardens could be pursued. For example, Plant Operations could consider maintaining some of the lower maintenance gardens or edible landscaping, the Faculty of Land and Food Systems could form consulting and maintenance groups, and funding could be sought out so that maintenance was largely performed by paid staff. This student recognized the need to plan for and create spaces that are well maintained by stewards that are supported. He stressed that using creative models and prioritizing food production could allow us to overcome the barriers that currently exist. He feels there is a large untapped potential for growing more food on campus. Faculty • One faculty member described a need for a “new paradigm” for landscape design and maintenance. This faculty member suggested the landscape should reflect the university’s commitment to diversity and tolerance. The landscape should build dynamic sustainability and agri-literacy, and should also have diverse ecological functionality. He stressed that food growing projects should be allowed wherever there is underutilized or untended lands. Campus should be a living laboratory for sustainability projects and urban agriculture. “Messy stages” should be allowed, as part of the experimentation process. • Another faculty member also called for a paradigm shift for landscaping, calling into question the usefulness and appropriateness of large amounts of grass on campus, though he recognized that 9   having more labour-intensive landscaping would require more resources for those who maintain the landscape. Staff • One staff member expressed that there is a large potential for rooftop gardens on newly developed buildings if they are planned for at the designed stage. He also feels there are some existing rooftops on campus that could support small gardens. • A former staff member envisions garden space for UBC staff, so that employees could step out of workplace at lunch and into garden space, and have opportunities to interact with each other and meet staff from different departments in a relaxing space. This person envisions gardens sprouting up in the parts of the campus landscape that are not formally designed. Recognizing the beauty and importance of the formally designed spaces and gardens on campus, food gardens could be planted outside of these. • The vision of a chef on campus is to have many of the dining halls supplied with food grown right on campus. He emphasized that great chefs need access to fresh and healthy ingredients. • Another staff member who is involved with maintaining landscapes suggests a future that includes food gardens that are well marked with signage and clear boundaries, stewarded by groups of people that are committed for the long-term. Campus landscapes could become more irregular and include edible landscaping, if a move in that direction is accompanied by an increase in the resources available to Plant Operations. • A staff member involved with growing on campus envisions a campus ‘foodscape’ with urban agriculture demonstrated at multiple scales. The UBC Farm can be seen as the top of the urban agriculture scale on campus. Land and Food Systems students could act essentially as urban agricultural extension consultants, helping plan new garden projects. These gardens could then be stewarded and maintained by groups living, working or learning nearby. • Another staff member involved with the planning of a new garden envisions gardens sprouting up on campus wherever there is the capacity and interest to maintain the gardens. Students, faculty and staff expressed their motivations and visions for food gardens on campus with a lot of passion. Collaborations and coalitions are building across campus, with many common aims around increasing food production, building community, and using campus landscapes for interactive and health- promoting activities. 10   What Other Universities Are Doing The movement taking shape at UBC is not unlike the movements happening at other campuses across North America. Insights can be gleaned from the actions and approaches these other universities are taking. Some universities are re-imagining their campuses as foodscapes ready for demonstration urban agriculture projects. Not only are many university farms popping up (see a complete list at http://www.rodaleinstitute.org/ffc_directory), but food gardening across the rest of campus is also becoming more common. Many projects are tied into university dining services, and others are rooted in a broader view of campus food systems. Below are a few examples: The Yale Sustainable Food Project “Every day, food offers us the opportunity to engage with the world around us. By gathering people around shared food, shared work, and shared inquiry, the Yale Sustainable Food Project fosters a culture that draws meaning and pleasure from the connections among people, land, and food.” - http://www.yale.edu/sustainablefood/ The Yale Sustainable Food Project is another prominent example of a university proactively engaging the food systems reform movement. The project grew out of a sustainable dining program on campus. The Yale Farm was created in 2003, and now several educational programs run under the project. There is also an eye to increasing “the proportion of Yale’s academic and extracurricular landscape devoted to food and sustainable agriculture”, primarily through their Chewing the Fat speakers series (http://www.yale.edu/sustainablefood/about_history.html). There are food gardens in some of the courtyards of residential colleges across the campus. Notably, the Manager of UBC Farm, Mark Bomford, has recently accepted an invitation from Yale for a one-year position as Director of the Yale Sustainable Food Project. UC Santa Cruz: Student Garden Guide and Campus Food Guide At the forefront is University of California Santa Cruz. The Center for Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems (CASFS), the Food Systems Working Group, and other groups on campus publish an annual Campus Food Guide, and in 2010 published a Student Garden Guide. The Student Garden Guide profiles nine farms and gardens across campus, each with a particular ‘niche’, and provides information on how to get involved. The Campus Food Guide is a broader guide on finding sustainable food on campus, and includes an exploration of the “farm-to-college” movement. These documents make it easy for new students, faculty and staff to see how to get involved with food production, whether for therapeutic, social, or nutritional reasons. The guides also showcase the depth and breadth of the food movement on campus, and point to more initiatives to come. Stanford: Creating a Food Gardens Master Plan At Stanford, a food garden master planning process was to begin in the spring of 2011, which is to include an articulation of the university’s philosophy on land allocation to food gardens. In addition to the Stanford Community Farm, Dining Services runs kitchen gardens across campus with the help of students. Fruit trees and shrubs are also planted around campus as edible landscaping. 11   Planning and Policy Implications The interviews conducted through this study, which represent an initial scan of the campus community members actively involved in growing or planning gardens, begin to uncover some of the roots of the keen interest in growing food on campus. Groups have very balanced views of the value of food gardens to the community and to the ecosystem. Many emphasize community-building and health benefits more than food production, though there is an undercurrent of interest in creating landscapes that are productive and seen as contributing more to sustainability. These groups are interested in understanding and working with the interests of other groups and stewards of the campus landscape, such as Plant Operations, Building Operations, and Campus and Community Planning. Some have already engaged with the campus landscaping community but expressed frustration at the lack of clarity of the policy and process for developing gardens. Groups are open to creating maintenance plans and understanding of the need to make gardens that are aesthetically well designed, that last and that can be deconstructed when their usefulness is at an end. Some expressed that what is lacking is a roadmap for developing plans that meet the requirements and needs of the campus planning and landscape community. As an illustration of such a roadmap, an example guideline was developed and is included as an appendix to this report. The guideline is an example of a potential draft that could be further developed and adopted by Campus and Community Planning. It is meant to address the communications gap that exists and causes groups to delay their projects or proceed without guidance from Campus and Community Planning. The guideline provides suggestions for how to build a garden proposal that would be successful from the point of view of the various stakeholders on campus. It is based on the minimum requirements developed by the Campus Landscape Architect, and includes a requirement for a Streets and Landscaping Permit as this is what has historically been required or requested of gardening groups.1 By using and further refining such a guideline, Campus and Community Planning could provide early and clear guidance to interested groups. It is hoped that this guideline could support a step in the direction of creating more clear and supportive policy that enables food gardening groups. Further policy and program development could follow. The following list is not exhaustive but demonstrates the many opportunities for action that exist: • Inspired by UC Santa Cruz’ guides profiling growing opportunities across campus and showcasing the various scales of urban agriculture demonstrated by different projects, each with unique purposes and foci, UBC (Campus Sustainability, the UBC Farm, the UBC Food Systems Project, or another group) could create similar guidebooks. This would highlight the mechanisms and opportunities for students, faculty and staff to engage in food growing on campus. • Building on the successes of UBC’s Gold STARS achievement, a sustainability lens could be brought more to the level of the landscape by consulting the guidelines developed by the Sustainable Sites Initiative (SITESTM). 2 The SITES system focuses on hydrology, soils, vegetation, materials, and human health and wellbeing. Benchmarks encourage food gardens as components of sites. 1 It should be noted, however, that the Streets and Landscaping Permit process seems targeted towards projects of a much larger scale than a small food garden. Perhaps a different process to bring garden proposals to interested groups such as Plant Operations could be found. A process involving communicating concerns and creating a path forward together could be more productive than requiring a Streets and Landscaping Permit. 2 SITES certified projects will be based on a four star scale, but the rating system is currently in the pilot-testing phase. However, the Guidelines and Performance Benchmarks are freely available online. SITES Guidelines and Performance Benchmarks may be incorporated into future iterations of the LEED rating system, but in the meantime, UBC could begin considering campus landscapes through the lens that SITES offers. 12   • As another way to bring sustainability to the level of the landscape, a food systems checklist (or an addition to the REAP guidelines) could be incorporated into the development and building permit review process, and facilitate Campus and Community Planning bringing a food lens to development proposal evaluation. • Food gardens could be incorporated at the design stages into new developments on campus. The mixed-use hubs that are described in the Vancouver Campus Plan could include food-growing opportunities in various shapes and sizes. Planning for food gardens at the design stage could help streamline the process of developing garden sites later on, especially if the potential for rooftop gardening is considered. • In addition to the UBC Public Realm Plan for the Vancouver Campus and the Vancouver Campus Plan, lessons learned from Stanford’s current process could inform the development of a Campus Food Gardens plan. Areas appropriate for different types of food gardens and edible landscaping could be identified and planned for through a long-term planning process and document. In conclusion, Campus and Community Planning is facing an important opportunity to productively build on the food growing movement that is taking root on campus. Harnessing the energy and ideas of the campus communities seeking food gardening opportunities could help move the university’s sustainability goals forward. This paper has provided a scan of the motivations of visions of individuals and groups growing or aspiring to grow on campus. These insights can inform policy action to involve these groups and build on their work with a view to creating more sustainable and activated landscapes on campus.  13   Appendix: Growing Food on Campus: Potential Guidelines for Developing Food Gardens at UBC (Proposed DRAFT Only)* Process Checklist Creating a food garden on campus requires developing a complete project proposal. Follow the steps below to build support for the project, compose a proposal, complete a Streets and Landscape Permit Application, and pitch your idea to Campus + Community Planning. þ Consider speaking with groups who have successfully created food gardens on campus, such as the MacMillan Orchard Garden group (see http://outdoorclassroomubc.blogspot.com for inspiration and contact information). ☐ Consult the Campus Landscape Architect at Campus + Community Planning with your initial garden idea and suggested site. Initial feedback can help shape your proposal into a successful one. Campus + Community Planning will also decide at this point whether a Development Permit will be required in addition to a Streets and Landscaping Permit. ☐ Build a multi-stakeholder steering committee: support from staff, faculty and graduate students can ensure that garden projects continue to thrive as students graduate. Develop a draft proposal, including the following: ☐ Purpose Statement ☐ Site Selection Description ☐ Garden Layout, Materials and Construction Plan ☐ Budget (construction and on-going, source of funds) ☐ Maintenance and Management Plan ☐ Demonstration of support: • Support, in the form of Letters of Support from the Dean of the faculty and the head of the department associated with the landscape proposed for food production. These letters should express a commitment to provide financial resources to Plant Operations for restoring the landscape should the project be abandoned or unsightly. • Description of community consultation (if conducted) ☐ Set up a meeting with the Campus Landscape Architect for input on your proposal, and refine it accordingly. ☐ Complete a Streets and Landscaping Permit application and the Terms and Conditions form (both available at http://www.planning.ubc.ca/vancouver_home/plans_and_policies/forms_and_documents.php). • Visit Campus + Community Planning to inquire whether some or all of the submission and fee requirements will be waived. Many may not be required, depending on the scale and location of the project. • Include a site plan (consider zooming into site on Google Earth and including photos of the site), as well as landscape plan drawings (these may be the same as the garden layout drawings included in your proposal). • Submit the application as well as your garden proposal to Campus + Community Planning. Acquiring a permit will likely take from 6 to 8 weeks. *This guideline document is a draft only that may be further developed by Campus + Community Planning staff.  14   Components of a Successful Proposal: The intent of the sections below is to support your planning and proposal-writing process. Each section should be included in your proposal, but the prompting questions do not all need to be answered. Some may not apply in your case, or you may wish to describe different aspects of your garden plan. Purpose Statement: Positioning Your Garden The Purpose Statement is the place to make a strong case for your garden initiative. Consider answering the prompting questions listed below: • What is driving your group to propose a food garden? o What will the garden do for ecological sustainability or for community of learners directly and indirectly involved? o Are you hoping to build awareness about food security issues, increase the resilience of the local food system, or create a place that fosters more interaction? • How will the garden contribute to the academic mission of the university? Will the garden be tied into curriculum or research, or a place of informal learning? • How does your project tie into to the strategic objectives of the university? Note that the Living Laboratory mandate (outlined in the Sustainable Academic Strategy) creates space for innovative urban agricultural projects involving cutting edge techniques and approaches, demonstrating an appropriate scale and intensity of food growing in a city, or otherwise pushing the frontiers of sustainability. • How will the garden project further the principles and objectives outlined in the campus land use planning and design policy framework? Overview of the land use planning and design framework at UBC: The public realm and landscaping on campus are planned and designed by Campus + Community Planning and maintained by Plant Operations. Landscapes in different character districts are intentionally molded to have particular impacts and provide particular services – from ceremony, to social interaction, to joy: • UBC’s Land Use Plan (2011) designates particular zones across campus. Most garden proposals would be sited within Green Academic areas, meant as “areas to support land-based teaching, research, community engagement and athletics” (page 11). Gardens might also be proposed on Greenway areas, and the green spaces within the Academic lands, which are “included to enhance campus life, social and study space, beautification, recreation, and circulation. In addition, there are significant cultural facilities such as an art gallery, concert hall, and gardens” (page 13). Check the Land Use plan to see how your proposed site is designated. • UBC’s Vancouver Campus Plan divides open space on campus into the academic commons, hub commons, ceremonial routes, and pedestrian routes/pathways and knowledge walks. Campus is also divided into character districts, each with different design guidelines. • The objective of the Public Realm Plan for the Vancouver Campus is to create a network of outdoor public space that: o “Animates, invigorates and brings life to campus. o Enhances the educational experience with outdoor informal learning. o Promotes the sharing of ideas, creative expressions and interaction across disciplines. o Supports and nurtures the physical and mental health of our students, faculty and staff. o Instills pride and a strong sense of place, showcasing to visitors from around the world UBC’s culture. o Are economically sustainable and well used and supported by the community” (page 6) • New proposals are evaluated through the lens provided by A Legacy & A Promise, which suggests UBC should be a complete community, a unique place, and a global leader.  15   Site Selection Description This part of your proposal should explain the reasoning for the siting of the garden.* Things to consider when selecting a site include sunlight, access to water, terrain and soil. Beyond these gardening basics, you could touch on the following issues: • How is the site currently used, and what was the intent behind its current design? How will the garden fit in with the surrounding landscape? Consider inquiring with the Campus Landscape Architect about the design and intended aesthetic of the place. Is this the right place for your garden? Some sites are important historical boulevards and designated as ceremonial routes, for example. Can your garden match or contribute to this aesthetic? • Is the site adjacent to a building in which the gardeners work or reside, such that the garden would naturally feel connected to and stewarded by the community in the building? Gardens may be well suited for courtyards, for example, because of the clear sense of ownership of that space by the community in the surrounding buildings. • What development is slated for that site in the future? Check the Vancouver Campus Plan to see whether development is slated for your site. What does this mean for the length of your project? • How would a garden on that site affect existing pedestrian routes and connectivity? Would pedestrians likely cut through the site? Keep pathways and mobility in mind when planning your site. * If you are proposing to install a garden on a rooftop, before proceeding, verify that such an initiative would be permissible by contacting the Architectural Systems Manager in Building Operations. Garden Layout, Materials and Construction Plan Gardeners should provide drawings, diagrams, plans or explanation of the garden plan, the types of beds and construction materials that will be used, and the aesthetic that will be aimed for. • Additional considerations include designing a clear boundary, in the form of a fence or other clear delineation, so that it is clear to Plant Operations as well as passersby that the garden is separate from the rest of the campus landscape. • Including interpretive signage in your project is also desirable, so that the campus community can understand what the initiative is about, and who is responsible for it. The garden plan should be accompanied by a plan and timeline for the construction and launching of the garden. Budget (Construction and Maintenance) Include a budget for constructing as well as maintaining the garden, factoring in all expenses, such as building materials, rental of equipment, and other start-up and maintenance costs. Though it is certainly strategic to seek out funding through various grant opportunities on and off campus, Plant Operations and Campus + Community Planning do not provide financial or labor support to gardening groups. Include a description of where your funds may come from. Maintenance and Management Plan Your proposal should demonstrate how your group would maintain the garden through the spring planting season, the summer months when many students are off campus, the fall months when the garden needs to be prepared for overwintering, and future seasons. Include also an explanation of how your group would deconstruct the garden should the momentum of the project slow or the usefulness of the garden come to an end. A well-developed maintenance plan will demonstrate that your garden group has sufficiently planned out how the garden project will proceed.