Japanese Garden Project

JFMF Follow-On Project June 2007

A Sustainable Southwest Japanese Garden

Service Learning Project Rhonda Spidell

Inspiration

Manzanar Interment Camp Longs Valley California

http://t2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:eMqORT28iwBBMM:http://

farm1.static.flickr.com/233/517090582_e41dac7531_o.jpg

Inspiration

Internment Camps in the SWhttp://t1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:thGFg9AJU3Gx6M:http://www.nebrwesleyan.edu/depts/education/mcdonald/Eisenhower/partsites/northeastpage/safarik/map.gif

Partners • Japanese Fulbright Memorial Fund Fellowship• Students, Faculty, Staff, 6th and 8th grade

Community Service, Chargers in Action (CIA), alum and parents (Albuquerque Academy Parents’ Association made funds available to the Sustainability Committee)

• Sustainability Committee (Director Karen Beamish)Mark Mellott Sustainable/Grounds

• PNM “Energy Exploration Grant” Diane Ogawa funding for solar pump hook ups

• BP A+ for Energy-funding for cistern and water collection

• National Lab Day scientist (Karl Horak) -harnessing solar energy

• Intel Engineer (Emilio Tapia)• Gene Sievel (Deerbroke Landscaping)

Wintertime View

before before

after after

First Day, ninety 8th graders working in two groups began the project.

WorkersOver 1,000 work hour by students, staff and faculty.

Over 200 hours of help from the AA Grounds Department with special thanks to Mark Mellott.

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are needed to see this picture.

• Proposal Objectives: • Using the garden as a demonstration garden with placards denoting the

details of water collection, solar hook up, choice of plant materials and how the rock selection represents the local geology.

• Using the garden will be used to teach Earth Systems Science by demonstrating the interconnectedness of the Earth’s spheres (hydrosphere, biosphere, geosphere and atmosphere).

• Using the garden to teach the geology of the region. The design of the garden will illustrate the unique geology of the Rio Grande Rift.

nvolving students in water conservation by harvesting water from the roof of the library.

• Engaging students in calculating water collections, rock and solar output needed for the garden.

• Teaching students how to harness solar energy. • Giving students a historical perspective about the lead-up to WWII.

• Rock Cycle– Igneous rock

• Sandia Granite---a Precambrian granite intrusion called a batholiths-

• Cinder cones--Basalt and Scoria

– Sedimentary rock• Chemical -Gypsum• Bio Limestone Pennsylvanian • Alluvium

– Granite sands– Metamorphic rock

• Gneiss

View of the Rio Grande Rift

Coldest day of the year

Alum Workers too!

Using recycled carpet

Rock sculpture

Not finished yet, but you can see the design elements that

represent the geologic features of the Rio Grande Rift.

Rhonda Spidell holding Brad Lancaster’s Rainwater Harvesting

Overall Design

Water Cycle

• Collecting Water

– 1,500 gal cistern collecting from the roof

– Measuring roof surface area

– Calculating irrigation and pump requirements

Ground Water

Aquifer---100 deep

Water shed activity

Water audits

Pond ecology

Ecocolumns

Water quality

Solar Energy“Under construction”

• Sandia Photovoltaic Systems Research & Development (information from NLD scientist)

http://photovoltaics.sandia.gov/weather/Weather.htm

CURRENT WEATHER from the Photovoltaic Systems Evaluation Laboratory

at Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA Latitude:

35.05N Longitude: 106.54 W Altitude: 1657 m (5436 ft)

• --- for 1/31/10 (day 31 ) at 13:33 MST (13:14 Solar) ---

Weather: Sun Reference: Air Temp 7.1°C ( 44.7

• Global Tilt Yesterday 6.89

Components:•1 meter square solar panel

•The pump needs about 10 amps at 12 volts, or 120 watts.

•Pumps need to deliver 40 gallons per hour through a drip irrigation system.

Experimenting with the stand-alone set ups.

The Sustainable Southwest Japanese Garden will be dedicated on

April 5, 2010 ---Diversity Day.