Justice Starts at Home
Lab: Justice Through School Gardens, Fall 2022
Instructors: Joan McGregor, Steven Zuiker
Type: Project
Tags: Sustainability, Gardening, Children and Youth
Team: Marshall Morgan, Ryan Brown, Bradley McNish, Dawson Singer, Shardul Shetye, Julian Padilla, Jose Valdez
Learn more about this Lab
About the outcome
In the US children are facing a mental, social, environmental, and health crisis that stems from a lack of hope, education, and opportunities. One of the most effective ways to address this crisis is to develop and support fun and educational programming and opportunities. An effective solution that has been found through research is school gardens. However, with that said many marginalized and at risk communities, don't have the opportunities at school to participate in such a program. As a result our group chose to focus at an at-home solution and approach to ensure all children (and their families) had access to this opportunity. Through our research and project we are simply hoping to make a difference in the lives of our local community and we are hoping to inspire the next generation of learners and of advocates. Given the research we have done in class we have a fundamental understanding of the area of study and we plan on implementing said research to address the problem. We plan on doing this by creating an educational program for students that teaches them about sustainability and gardening, while additionally, providing them with the necessary tools to successfully implement their learning. The educational program will take the form of a video series and the garden kits will be given to the students at a local school that serves marginalized communities. By considering sustainability and psychological well being as the foundation of this project, our team is able to use our experience with computer science and digital media to create an effective and accessible educational program.
About the team
Marshall Morgan is a second-year Master of Sustainability Solution student, with the College of Global Futures. He comes from Nogales, Arizona and graduated Summa Cum Laude with his undergraduate degrees in History and Sustainability from Arizona State University. Much of his research and interest revolves around environmental education and environmental justice with Latino and Indigenous communities. Marshall is additionally passionate about the US National Park Service (NPS) and ensuring that NPS sites are accessible to all communities. Through his interests and dedication, Marshall has focused on creating programs and resources for his local community that expands NPS accessibility and interest.
Ryan Brown is a senior studying a BS in sustainability with a minor in mathematics. He is from San Ramon, CA. Most of his interests are in the Renewable energy field and has had multiple internships dealing with Biogas and Biodiesel.
Brad McNish is a current senior with a major focused in Sustainability and a minor in Urban Planning. His focus is on helping existing infrastructure change to be more environmentally conscious within cities, and helping businesses that want to see change be more sustainable through projects within their space.
Dawson Singer is a freshman studying Computer Science. He was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania but has lived all over the United States. He is primarily interested in micro-level social work and helping out his community.
Shardul Sheyte is a senior studying Psychology and minoring in Urban Planning. He was born in California but
grew up in Chandler, Arizona. He has a wide variety of interests, but is currently focused on sustainable urban design and the psychological effects of suburban sprawl in North America. He currently researches with the SoLET lab at ASU.
Julian Padilla is a senior double majoring Sustainability and Urban Planning who comes from Albuquerque, New Mexico. His interest is in sustainable urban development and at transportation. He also is passionate about regenerative permaculture and mixed farming systems that emulate natural processes while requiring minimal inputs. He’s additionally interested in supporting smallscale farmers and providing affordable nutritious food to marginalized groups.
Jose Valdez is a freshmen studying Civil Engineering, whose focus is to develop more sustainable methods through construction infrastructures. Him being from San Luis, Arizona and growing up in an agricultural community, sees the importance of creating more renewable and sustainable ways to preserve our resources for our future generations.