City of FargoCommunity Development CommitteeFargo, North DakotaJuly 30, 2012

Dear Community Development Committee,

I am writing to you today in hopes that you will nd the attached proposal to be signicant and time worthy. Over the past few years living in Fargo, I have noticed a few areas in which improvements could be made in order to achieve progress within the community. My proposal suggests a community garden be installed within the downtown area to create better lives and ways of living for the Fargo community. Gardens are a symbol of good health and prosperity. Not prosperity in terms of great fortune, but rather having a wealth of knowledge and opportunity. A community garden would provide fresh produce that could help boost community health and nutrition; ultimately, improving their quality life. The garden would also create a sense of unity within the community and with the environment. The garden would be located just south of downtown in Island Park where Fargo residents frequently pass. Hopefully this will gain their interest in the garden’s objectives and encourage them to take part. This location would also allow community members to enjoy the garden’s natural aesthetic beauty. Stepping stones placed through the middle of the garden will help to create a connection with the community.

Anybody from the community who has interest in the garden will be given the oppor-tunity to invest in a share. Doing so would provide them with a percentage of the harvest as well as a portion of the garden responsibilities. After all shareholders have been given their allotment of the fresh produce, the rest shall be donated to a local food shelf. In this way, the community garden will be able to extend its gains to the entire community; to those who can afford to support the garden and those who can’t. Hopefully we will eventually see a commu-nity wide improvement in nutrition and health. The garden would therefore be a physical representation of a community coming together to achieve a greater good. representation of a community coming together to achieve a greater good. I believe that after reading the following documents, you will nd that my proposal is time worthy and essential to continue a forward motion within our community. I look forward to hearing back from you soon.

With kind regards,

Mackenzie Lyseng

Executive Summary:

Fargo is the largest city in North Dakota; being home to over 107,000 people. Roughly 11,000 of those people are currently living below the poverty line and unable to afford fresh produce. Unfortunately, the impoverished are not the only ones suffering from a lack of nutrition. Many of Fargo’s community members are not meeting the national recommenda-tions for fruit and vegetable consumption daily, yet this can be resolved. The addition of a community garden could be a great benefactor to the Fargo community. It would offer the following:

1. A place for downtown residents to experience the joys and benets of growing fresh produce. 2. Learning opportunities for those who are interested in gardening. 3. A resource to show the benets of healthy living styles. 4. A source of food supply for those who are unable to afford fresh produce on their own. 5. A sense of unity and pride for the Fargo community.

The community garden would be available for anyone interested in volunteering or owning a share of the garden. All share owners would become a part of the garden commit-tee and would be responsible for a portion of the garden duties. Committee members would pay a fee which would be used to purchase seeds and pay for water supply to the garden. Once the produce is harvested, share owners would be given a portion of the yield while the rest would be donated to the local food shelf.

Fresh produce at the food shelf is a rare occurrence and would be a treat for those who would otherwise not be able to afford it. This would not only unite community members but also improve the health of residents from lower socioeconomic classes. Another way that the garden could be used to inuence community health would be to offer free seminars at the garden. Local volunteers or committee members would be able to inform the public of the benets of gardening and healthy lifestyle choices.

The budget for this project is $1,000 and will cover the cost of both materials and labor. This excludes the cost of seeds and water. The money needed for these things will be collected from the shares that committee members invest in.

The project is scheduled to be completed within 13 weeks, yet this is subject to change. The designing and constructing part of the project is quite basic so most of the time will be put towards community outreach to gain enough interest from the community. The proposed schedule goes as follows:

1. Planning and Designing 2. Community Outreach 3. Committee Planning 4. Bidding Negotiation 5. Site Preparation 6. Opening Day

Statement of Problem:

1. Apartment owners in Fargo are currently not offered a space to grow their own fresh vegetables. With the high price of produce found in grocery stores, this could lead apartment owners towards the more affordable foods high in saturated fats. The installation of a community garden would give them the opportunity to grow fresh, healthy vegetables at a low cost.

2. Underprivileged families in Fargo do not have the generous budget needed to purchase nutrient rich, fresh vegetables. As a result of this, poor health is often seen in indi-viduals living below the poverty line. One of the advantages of a community garden is the opportunity to provide fresh vegetable to local food shelves. Doing so would allow lower income families to enjoy the benets of nutrient rich foods.

3. Many Fargo community members are unaware of the benets of growing their own fresh vegetables. According to the American Journal of Public Health, only 25% of non-gardeners meet the national recommendations for fruit and vegetable consumption daily. A community garden would provide the opportunity for local gardeners to teach and demon-strate gardening techniques to community members. Hopefully this will increase the number of home gardens in Fargo as well as the number of people engaging in a healthy nutrition.

Applicable Skills:

Drawing, Drafting, Model MakingSoftware Knowledge: Adobe Photoshop Adobe Illustrator Adobe InDesign Bonzai 3D AutoCAD 2012 Revit Architecture 2012 Google Sketchup Microsoft Office Suite

Mackenzie Lyseng(651) 303-6324 | 546 Hawthorne Woods Drive, Eagan, MN | Mackenzie.Lyseng@my.ndsu.edu

Project Experience:

Tea House | Studio Fall 2011 | VorderbrugenA tea house and tea garden project designed for Fargo, ND which focused upon the poetics of architecture.

Boat House | Studio Fall 2011 | VorderbrugenA boA boat house overlooking the Mississippi River designed for the Minneapolis Rowing Club featuring public recreational space as well as private storage facilities.

Dance Studio | Studio Spring 2012 | BookerA danA dance studio designed in Moorhead, Minne-sota that found inspiration from the movement and rhythm of belly dancing.

Dwelling | Studio Spring 2012 | BookerAn environmentally friendly home with a 200 square foot limitation; custom designed for a client of our own creation.

Job Experience:

Landscape Project Desk | Gertens | 2012Project Desk employees assist wholesale and retail customers in designing and purchasing landscaping materials.

Sales Associate | Victoria’s Secret | 2011AAssociates must have strong customer service skills and the ability to persuade customers into buying company merchandise.

Architectural Objectives:

To create well designed commercial and residential spaces that have a positive envi-ronmental impact.

To methodically use architecture as a way to inuence progression within the social framework.

To design spaces that teach, inspire, protect, balance, and revive us.

Education:

North Dakota State University | 2015 Master of Architecture degree GPA: 3.6Eagan High School | 2010 GPA: 3.4

ML

Experience and Qualications:

As of this fall, I will be third year architecture student at North Dakota State University in Fargo. Having been a Fargo resident for the past two years I have come to understand the community’s framework. I am aware of the community’s strengths and weaknesses which I believe is necessary to lead a project that was designed for the community. I know that Fargo is the type of community that will come together in times of need as seen every year with the ood efforts. I also know that like all other cities, Fargo has its issues that need solving. That is precisely why I have designed this proposal.

As an architecture student working towards a Master’s degree, I have come to learn much about the world of design. There are two things which I learned that have always stood out in mind and therefor have transposed into all of my designs; the rst being that simple, yet beautiful designs are often more powerful than complex, extravagant designs. This mean-ing that it doesn’t always take a lot of energy output to get a point across, as long as there is signicant energy input. The second thing I learned is that through coming together and sharing ideas, the greatest solutions are found. Everybody brings a unique perspective and skill set to the table. If we are able to harness all of these distinctive assets and use them skill set to the table. If we are able to harness all of these distinctive assets and use them together, the outcome will be far greater than if we were to only make use of our own. I believe that the community garden captures these two lessons perfectly.

Another reason why I am qualied for this project is because I have worked on several projects such as this in the past. I am currently employed at the Landscape Project Desk at Gertens Greenhouses and Garden Center. This job allows me to help with the designing and planning portion of landscaping projects. Contractors and determined home owners come to us with their ideas and then it is our task to help them nd and purchase the materials for the job. Typically we deal with more complex, hardscape designs, yet large-scales gardens, such as a community garden, are quite frequent as well. With this experience I am able to deter-mine the identity and amount of materials needed, as well as the general cost of each item. mine the identity and amount of materials needed, as well as the general cost of each item.

Proposed Schedule:

Planning and Designing: 1 Week Plans are drawn out and a location is determined

Community Outreach: 6 Weeks Community is informed of garden details and a committee is formed

Committee Planning: 3 Weeks Committee determines garden organization and maintainence

Bidding Negotiation: 2 Week A contractor is found for the project

Site Preparation: 1 Week Sod is removed, soil is added, and stepping stones are placed

Opening Date: Total: 13 Weeks Garden is ready for use and seeding begins

The following iamges are drawings that were created during the design process for this proposal. Their purpose is to further illustrate my ideas and goals for this project.

Proposed Design

Raised Bed Idea

Site Analysis